Concreters in Tenambit, 2323
Tenambit lies east of the Maitland CBD at the outer edge of the East Maitland urban area, between Metford and Morpeth on council’s housing strategy map. Tenambit Public School on Maize Street opened in 1902, the No. 1 sportsground on Houston Avenue is home turf for the East Maitland Eagles, and council has designed a new community centre to replace the hall on Kenneth Street. This is settled, mostly detached housing with a median age of 41, not a release area, and about one in nine homes is a semi-detached, row or townhouse dwelling, a sign of infill behind the older streets.
Ground that slopes to the river flats
The suburb falls from roughly 40 metres in the west to about 10 metres at its eastern edge, so the high and low ends are not on the same footing. NSW SES puts Tenambit on its list of Maitland suburbs with frequent and occasionally severe flooding, and council defines the floodplain as low ground formed mainly of river sediments. The lower streets are where a slab wants a properly compacted base, falls away from the house, and control joints spaced for ground that moves with the seasons.
Jobs behind an established house
Nobody in Tenambit is pouring the first concrete on a bare lot. The driveway is usually a replacement, a cracked original or a single strip that a two-car household has outgrown, and where a lot has been split for a dual occupancy the second dwelling needs vehicle access of its own. Shed and garage slabs go into deep back yards, paths take over from a worn strip down the side, and a patio or alfresco slab extends a three-bedroom home built without one. Old concrete rarely comes out cleanly, so removal and replacement is often the first line of the quote.
Finishes that suit older streets
Plain broom finish is the default on established streets. Coloured concrete lifts a front driveway quietly, and exposed aggregate tends to appear where a house has been rendered and re-roofed. At the kerb Maitland City Council requires the layback and gutter in plain concrete, though a special surface across the footway is generally acceptable as long as it is not slippery.
Tenambit rates
Guide rates, supplied and laid per square metre: a driveway runs $95 to $185 depending on finish, with exposed aggregate at $130 to $185; paths $90 to $130; patios and alfresco $100 to $180; shed and garage slabs $110 to $150; and removing old concrete adds about $35. What moves a Tenambit price is how much old concrete has to come out first, and how far down the slope the block sits. Size the job in the calculator, then go to the cost guide, the Section 138 guide, the Hunter clay guide for the low end of the suburb, and the specification to check the quote.
Nearby: East Maitland, Metford, Morpeth