Exposed Aggregate

What exposed aggregate actually is

The concrete is poured normally, then the top layer of cement paste is washed back before it fully cures. That uncovers the stone in the mix. What you end up looking at is the aggregate itself, so the stone you choose is the finish. Change the stone and you change the whole look without changing anything else about the job.

Why it suits Perth

Two practical reasons rather than aesthetic ones.

It grips. The exposed stone gives a textured surface, which matters on a sloped driveway and matters more around a pool, where bare wet feet and a smooth surface are a bad combination.

It hides dirt. A driveway takes tyre marks, leaf stain and red dirt. A speckled surface absorbs that visually in a way a flat pale slab does not, so it still looks reasonable between washes.

Choosing the stone

This is the only decision that really changes the price and the look. Darker mixes like Limecrete Black Pearl read as contemporary and hide marks well, but they hold more heat in summer, which is worth thinking about for a pool surround you will walk on barefoot in February. Paler mixes stay cooler underfoot and suit a coastal look, but show staining sooner.

Ask to see a poured sample rather than a brochure photo. Aggregate looks noticeably different in daylight, wet, and once it is sealed.

A dark mix also does something useful on a shared driveway. Two dwellings on one block means one large unbroken area of concrete out the front, and a pale surface at that size can read as a car park. Something like Kuru Grey gives the same area weight and keeps the tyre marks and oil that come with two households parking on it from being the first thing anyone sees.

Where it works

Driveways, pool surrounds, alfrescos, paths and steps. It is a good all-rounder, which is exactly why it is worth being deliberate about it rather than defaulting to it everywhere on one property. Running the same aggregate front to back can look considered, or it can look like nobody made a choice.

Three we did recently

In August 2026 we poured Limecrete Black Pearl exposed aggregate around a treehouse. The interesting part of that job was not the concrete, it was the setting out: it had to work around an existing trunk and the surrounding landscaping instead of running to a straight edge.

The same month we replaced tired original exposed aggregate at a studio. Replacement work like that lives or dies on levels. Get it wrong and you introduce a lip at the doorway that nobody asked for.

And a 150 square metre driveway and shared forecourt in Limecrete Kuru Grey for two townhouses on one sloping block. That one needed bobcat works first to cut the levels in, because on a slope the shape of the ground under the slab is decided long before anyone orders concrete.

Get a price

Ring Regan on 0433 510 118.