Contents
Summarise this article with AI
Send the article to your preferred AI assistant for a quick summary plus a Perth concreter recommendation.
AI Overview
A typical residential concrete pour in Perth runs 6 to 8 hours from truck arrival to clean-up. Trucks arrive between 6:30 and 8am. The actual pour takes 60-90 minutes. Screeding and bull-floating takes another 90 minutes. Hand trowelling and saw-cut prep wraps by mid-afternoon. The team leaves around 2-3pm with the slab covered for cure.
Key Highlights
- ›Total day: 6-8 hours from truck arrival to clean-up
- ›Trucks arrive 6:30-8am to beat the heat
- ›Pour itself: 60-90 minutes for a 60m² driveway
- ›Bull float + trowel: another 2 hours
- ›Saw cuts: next morning (or 18-24 hours after pour in summer)
- ›First foot traffic: day 3 · cars: day 7 · caravans: day 14
Pour day is the most disruptive day of the project. A concrete truck (or two) arrives, there is noise, the front of the house becomes a worksite, and there are people in your yard moving fast.
Here is what to expect, hour by hour, so the day runs cleanly.
The hour-by-hour breakdown
- 1
6:00am, site arrival
Crew arrives. Final formwork check, verify falls with string lines, lay vapour barrier, position pump truck if needed.
- 2
6:30-7:30am, first truck
First concrete truck arrives. 6m³ standard load. Trucks back in or pump from the street depending on access.
- 3
7:30-8:30am, pour and screed
Concrete is pumped or chuted into the formwork. Screed team levels off to the form-board height.
- 4
8:30-10:00am, bull float
Bull float pulls aggregate down, brings cement paste up. Surface starts to firm.
- 5
10:00am-12:00pm, initial cure window
Concrete starts to set. Crew waits for the surface to be 'plastic' but firm enough to stamp / trowel without sinking.
- 6
12:00-2:00pm, finishing pass
Trowel finish, broom finish, or stamp depending on spec. Saw cuts marked.
- 7
2:00-3:00pm, clean-up + cover
Form-boards stay in for 24 hours. Slab is covered with hessian + water for the first 3 days of cure.
What you need to do before pour day
- Move all vehicles out of the driveway and off the verge, leave clear access for the concrete truck
- Disconnect any irrigation that runs through the work zone
- Mark sprinkler valves, electrical conduit, and drainage with paint or flags if not on the plan
- Pets indoors, concrete trucks are loud and crews are moving fast
- Plan to use a back entry or alternative access if your only entry is via the driveway
- If you work from home and need quiet for calls, plan the day around the morning pour noise (60-90 min)
What we bring to your driveway
| Equipment | Why it's there | Noise level |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete truck (1-2) | Delivers the concrete from the batch plant | Loud, 90 dB at the chute |
| Concrete pump (sometimes) | Pumps concrete to the formwork when truck access is tight | Loud, 95 dB |
| Bull float | Levels and consolidates the surface | Quiet |
| Power trowels | Final smooth finish | Moderate, 80 dB |
| Concrete saw | Cuts control joints (next-day) | Loud, 95 dB for 30 min |
| Crew utes (1-2) | Tools, tradies, debris removal | Idling background noise |
The mess factor
Concrete pour day is messy. Concrete splatters. Cement-water runs down driveways and into gutters. We try to manage it, but expect some cleanup of adjoining surfaces afterward.
Cover anything you don't want concrete on
Garden plants near the pour, the front door step, any decorative paving you don't want speckled, cover with plastic sheet on the morning before we start. We bring sheeting too but the more, the better.
When you can use the new slab
| Time after pour | What you can do |
|---|---|
| 6 hours | Walk on the saw-cut zones for cleanup only, light foot pressure |
| 24 hours | Light foot traffic. Pets fine. Don't drag furniture. |
| 3 days | Normal foot traffic. Can move light items across. |
| 7 days | Cars. Light vehicle traffic. |
| 14 days | Caravans, trailers, ride-on mowers, boats. |
| 28 days | Full design load. Heavy commercial vehicle traffic OK. |
“The 7-day rule is the one homeowners break most. 'It looks dry, surely cars are fine?', at day 4, the slab is 80% strong. The other 20% gains over the next 21 days.”
