The path betweeneverything else.
Concrete paths, driveways, landings, patios, steps, and ramps — laid level, wide enough to turn on, and finished for grip in the wet.
A ramp to a paththat does not work.
It is a common and expensive sequence. A ramp gets built to the front door, funded and approved and done properly — and the person still cannot get out, because the path from the ramp to the gate is cracked, too narrow to turn a chair on, or falls the wrong way and holds water.
The ground is the part everyone forgets to include in the scope. A wheelchair needs a continuous surface at a workable width the whole way, not a good surface for six metres and then grass. A walking frame needs something without a lip every few paces.
So we lay it as part of the job rather than after it. Paths, driveways, landings, and patios set out to connect the modifications to each other and to the street, at a minimum width that lets somebody turn rather than reverse.
Accessible concretingacross the property.
New surfaces, and repairs to the ones already there, designed around how somebody actually moves through the place.
Barrier-free access
Paths and ramps laid level and continuous, at a minimum of around a metre wide, with the landings widened where somebody has to turn. Width is what stops a wheelchair having to reverse the length of a path.
Finishes chosen for grip
Plain concrete, coloured concrete, or a coloured top dust, finished with a slip-resistant stipple where the surface is exposed to weather. A smooth trowelled finish looks better and is the wrong choice outdoors.
Laid by people who do the rest of it
The concreting is set out to the ramp and the steps it serves, by the team building them, so levels and thresholds meet properly instead of being reconciled afterwards.
Vital Ease at a glance
- Projects completed
- 300+
Projects completed
- Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- 100+
Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- Valued customers
- 200+
Valued customers
What welay.
Six kinds of surface, usually two or three of them on the same job.
Concrete pathways
From the street, the gate, or the garage to the door, at a width that takes a wheelchair or a frame with room to turn at the ends.
Concrete driveways
New or replaced, laid to a grade that a chair or a frame can actually manage, and joined to the path rather than stopping at it.
Concrete landings
The flat area at the top of a ramp or a flight of steps, sized so a door can be opened while standing on it. This is the piece most often left too small.
Concrete patios
Outdoor living areas laid level and continuous with the door threshold, so the back garden stays usable.
Concrete steps
Cast steps with consistent rises and a slip-resistant finish, where a built timber or composite structure is not wanted.
Concrete ramps
Poured to the gradient the rise requires. Permanent, low maintenance, and the right answer where the ground is already hard surface.
Before you book,two things to know.
Concrete cracks, and it is usually not a defect
Fine cracking is normal in every concrete surface. It comes from shrinkage as the slab cures, from tree roots and nearby trees drawing moisture, from vehicles running over it, and from soil moving as garden watering and drainage change the ground beneath. The VBA Guide to Standards and Tolerances sets out where normal ends and a workmanship defect begins, and it is public — we would rather you read it now than argue about it later.
Colour varies, and that is normal too
Coloured concrete and coloured top dust shift in tone with the raw materials, the temperature and humidity on the day, and how the surface was finished. Two pours weeks apart will not match exactly. It is a natural product, not a paint.
It needs time before it is used
A new slab cannot be walked on, driven on, or loaded straight away, and the curing time depends on the weather. We give you the dates at the quote and talk about how you will get in and out meanwhile.
It starts with drawings
Levels, falls, and widths are set on paper before anything is poured, because concrete is the least forgiving thing we lay. A path that falls the wrong way cannot be adjusted afterwards.
Brochuresand guides.
The documents an occupational therapist, a plan manager, or a funding body usually asks us for. We are preparing these now — ring or email in the meantime and we will send what you need.
Product brochures
- Accessible concreting servicesComing soon
- Concrete finishes and coloursComing soon
Product guides
- New concrete — curing and first useComing soon
- Concrete cracking — what is normalComing soon
Quote request requirements
- Concreting — what we need to quoteComing soon
How the jobactually runs.
Draftsperson visit and design
Levels taken across the whole route, not just where the new surface goes. Falls, widths, and where the new work meets the old are set on paper, because none of it can be adjusted after the pour.
Documentation and a fixed price
Set out so a plan manager, case manager, or funding body can approve it without coming back to us. Funding is approved before anything starts.
Excavation and preparation
The old surface out, the base prepared and compacted, formwork set to the designed falls, and reinforcement placed. Most of what decides whether a slab lasts happens before any concrete arrives.
Pour and finish
Poured, screeded to the falls, and finished with the slip-resistant texture the surface needs. Then left alone to cure for as long as it takes.
Warranty
The work is carried out by licensed tradespeople and backed by the relevant warranties. If something is not right, ring the same number you rang the first time.
It usually goes in withsomething else.
Concreting is rarely the whole job. It is the landing at the bottom of the ramp, the path from the new steps to the gate, or the pad a portable cubicle stands on — quoted together so the levels meet and nothing needs a second approval.
The ramps page sets out the gradients the ground has to achieve.
Questions
What people ask aboutconcreting services.
Frequently Asked Questions
My new path has cracked. Is that a defect?
How wide does an accessible path need to be?
Can I have coloured concrete?
How long before I can walk or drive on it?
Will the NDIS pay for concreting?
Can’t see your question? Call us on +61 3 8658 1358 — we’re happy to talk it through.
More from Vital Ease
The rest of whatwe do.
Let us make your homework for you.
Ready to start your modification journey? Contact our team.
Ready to make your home safer and more accessible? Our team is here to help from your first consultation through to the final handover. Let’s talk about what’s possible for your home.