The finish standard

The slab underneath

Every exposed aggregate surface here is built as a full structural slab first. Excavation to stable ground, base material brought in and compacted where the ground needs it, and SL72 steel mesh on chairs through the pour so the steel works in the middle of the slab rather than lying at the bottom of it. Driveways pour at 100mm minimum depth; patios and pool surrounds are specified to their use. The mix is 25 MPa, batched with the decorative stone through it, not a topping over something cheaper.

The reveal

A surface retarder goes on behind the float, holding the top millimetres soft while the slab beneath begins its set. Inside that window, and it is a window of hours decided by the weather on the day, the surface is washed to an even reveal: enough paste lifted to show the stone, enough left to hold it for decades. An even reveal across the whole surface, edges and centre alike, is the single clearest mark of this trade done properly.

Joints, cure and seal

Control joints are cut on planned lines within a day of the pour, placed with the layout of the surface rather than through the middle of it. The slab then cures before sealing: two coats, matte or satin, chosen for wet-area grip where the surface meets a pool. Vehicles stay off a new driveway for seven days, and heavy vehicles wait about a month while full strength arrives.

Falls and drainage

Water is designed off every surface: crossfall on driveways, falls away from the house on patios, falls away from the water on pool surrounds. Where a slope concentrates flow, a formed drain or grated strip carries it. None of this is visible when the job is done, which is exactly why it is written on the quote while it still can be checked.

Looking after it

Exposed aggregate asks little: a sweep, an occasional wash, and a recoat of sealer every few years depending on sun and traffic to keep the colour at its best. What it never needs is what plain concrete eventually asks for, painting, resurfacing or apology.