Guides / Exposed Aggregate vs Plain Concrete
For most Toowoomba driveways it comes down to this: plain grey concrete is the cheapest and does the job perfectly well, while exposed aggregate costs more but gives real grip on frosty winter mornings and sloped Range blocks and hides surface wear far better over the years. Both finishes still sit on the same reactive black-soil base, so the ground preparation underneath matters more than which top you pick.
Plain grey concrete is exactly what it sounds like. The slab is poured, screeded, and finished with a trowel or a broom, and you are left with the natural grey of the mix. It is the standard finish and the reference point every other option is priced against.
Exposed aggregate starts as the same slab, but a decorative stone is included in the mix or seeded into the top, and the surface layer of cement paste is washed back before it fully hardens to reveal the stone underneath. The result is a textured, pebbled surface in whatever stone colour was chosen. It is then sealed. It is more work and more material, which is why it costs more, but you are buying both a look and a texture rather than just a look.
On price, plain grey is the value option. As an indicative market guide it tends to sit around $80 to $120 per square metre supplied and laid, while exposed aggregate runs closer to $120 to $170. Our Toowoomba driveway cost guide breaks the full range down. Those figures are market ranges to read a quote against, not a price from us.
On looks, exposed aggregate is the reason most people pay the difference. It reads as a finished, considered surface rather than a slab, and the stone can be matched to the house and the garden. It also hides its age well. Plain grey shows tyre marks, oil spots and general wear more plainly, while the busy texture of exposed aggregate disguises staining and the odd scuff, so it tends to look tidy for longer with less fuss. Plain grey can be sealed and kept clean, and a broomed finish still looks honest and neat, so this is taste and budget rather than right and wrong.
This is where Toowoomba tips the decision more than a flat, warm town would. Sitting around 700 metres up on the Range, the city gets genuine winter frosts, and a smooth trowelled plain driveway can be slick underfoot and under tyres on a frosty morning. Plenty of blocks on the eastern escarpment at Rangeville, Middle Ridge and Prince Henry Heights are also steep as they drop off the Range, and a slippery surface on a slope is worse again.
The textured surface of exposed aggregate holds grip in exactly those conditions, wet or frosty, which is why it is a sensible pick for a sloped or shaded drive on the Downs. A broomed plain finish also gives grip and is the cheaper way to get it, so if budget is tight, ask for a broom finish rather than a smooth trowel on any drive that sees frost or fall. The one thing to avoid on a steep, frost-prone block is a smooth trowelled plain surface.
Whichever finish you choose, the part that decides whether the driveway lasts is underneath it, not on top. Toowoomba's reactive black soil swells and shrinks with the seasons, and it will lift and crack a slab that was not built for it, exposed or plain alike. That means footings taken deep enough, a slab designed and reinforced to stay stiff over moving ground, and joints in the right places. Our guide on why concrete cracks in Toowoomba explains the movement. When you are ready, see how the two finishes are laid out on the exposed aggregate page and the driveways page.
The easiest way to compare is to price both for your actual block. Call 0482 392 415 or send the details through the contact page and a concreter who works your part of the Downs will look at the slope, the finish and the ground and give you a fixed price on each.
Neither is simply better. Plain grey is the cheapest and does the job. Exposed aggregate costs more but gives grip on frosty winter mornings and sloped Range blocks and hides surface wear and staining better over time. Both sit on the same reactive black-soil base, so the ground preparation underneath matters more than the finish either way.
Yes. The exposed stone leaves a textured surface that holds grip better than a smooth trowelled finish when it is wet or frosty, which is worth having on a sloped Range-edge driveway on a cold Toowoomba morning. A broomed plain finish also adds grip, but a smooth trowelled plain surface can be slippery.
As an indicative guide, plain grey tends to sit around $80 to $120 per square metre supplied and laid and exposed aggregate around $120 to $170. The gap reflects the decorative stone, the extra labour to wash the surface back, and sealing. These are market ranges, not a quote.
No. The finish is the top surface. Whether the slab survives the reactive black soil moving underneath comes down to the footings, the slab design and the steel, not whether the top is plain or exposed. Both finishes need the same engineered base out here.