Steep driveways can be a challenge for home owners. Without proper site planning, you may end up with a driveway which is slippery when wet, floods with water damage or causes your vehicles to bottom out and scrape the driveway.
Consideration of the angles and gradient of the driveway, the material used, and site preparation are all vitally important when designing a driveway for a steep angle.
We’ve installed many concrete styles throughout Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills. When our concrete consultants get to work designing a steep driveway, we consider two important factors:
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Site preparation
Our site preparation is extensive. We consider the use of the driveway, the degree of the slope and the types of vehicles that use it. For example, whether you have caravans and trailers or whether there are children riding bikes or skateboards. We carefully prepare for proper drainage and water run off, which must be contained on site and not allowed to run on to the road or neighbouring properties.
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Concrete finish
We recommend a course surface to provide grip especially for wet conditions. This doesn’t limit your options when choosing colours, textures and patterns. There are several ways to create a slip resistant surface with some of our concrete styles including exposed aggregate concrete and coloured concrete with a smudge finish. The surface doesn’t need to be too course, which you don’t want anyway if you have kids running around so it’s important to choose a material and texture which has enough grip and practical enough for multi-use.
Here are four concrete styles we use for steep driveways
1. Platinum range exposed aggregate concrete for a steep driveway
Our Platinum Range of exposed aggregate concrete has the largest selection of integral concrete colour options and stone finishes. Having crushed stone aggregates and only a small amount of smooth river pebbles which are slippery when wet is recommended for steep slopes.
In this particular driveway which had a fairly steep slope, we used a courser white stone to lighten up the hue and provide the grip needed to prevent slipping.
2. Benchmark range exposed aggregate concrete for a steep driveway
The Benchmark Range is a popular exposed aggregate mixture with no colour pigment added, only the aggregate mix. A matching hue or accent can be created with selected stones or pebbles seeded to the concrete. Stones come in a variety of colours including white, gold, tan, black, grey, mocca, pink and variegated hues to suit your home’s style.
In this very steep sloping driveway, we used a natural course stone on a grey concrete to create contrast with the home and a natural even finish to the driveway.
3. Coloured concrete for a steep driveway with a broomed finish
Integral colour concrete now has a wide range of pigments and oxides to create anything from a rustic style to a modern, sleek finish. There are over 30 colours you can choose from at Panorama Concrete.
In this particular example, we used a shale coloured integral concrete with a border of the same colour. We used a smudge finish to give enough grip for the gradient of this slope.
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4. Handcrafted saw-cut concrete for a steep driveway
Handcrafted saw-cut concrete decorative paving is a modern and smooth finish style of concrete. A smooth and sleek appearance is achieved and the result looks like high end pavers or tiles but without the weeds and movement that can happen with paver blocks.
Handcrafted saw-cut concrete is one of our specialties and we have developed the expertise to install this paving style with stunning results. We’ve also used it on several steep sloping driveways around Adelaide. Once we have poured the concrete base, seeded with the right stones to provide the necessary grip, we allow it to harden and return after a few days to saw-cut square or rectangular patterns into the top of the slab in 600mm to 400mm sizes.
The example below is a gently sloping driveway with a uniform exposed aggregate finish and squares cut into the concrete for a sleek and modern style.
Abrasion Resistance for steep driveways
Steep driveways generally handle greater friction so abrasion resistance is an important factor to consider. Abrasion resistance is the ability of the concrete surface to resist wear and tear over the life of the concrete.
Concrete companies will use varying levels of abrasion resistance in the concrete. At Panorama Concrete Paving we install 25MPA strength concrete even though the Australian Building Code and Australian standards only require 20MPA in a residential driveway. If heavier vehicles are going to be using the driveway, we can also arrange for 32MPA concrete and higher grade steel reinforcing to be installed.
Call Panorama Concrete for styles and solutions for steep driveways
Call Panorama Concrete on 8297 9611 and we will help you decide on the best concrete style for your steep driveway. Whether it’s a high or low gradient slope, we will have a concrete style to suit you. Or drop into our showroom at 1 Maple Street, Forestville, Adelaide which is open weekdays 8.30am-5.30pm.