Colo, NSW 2756
Concreters Colo
Concreting for Colo properties, from driveways and shed slabs to house pads and outdoor areas. Rural valley blocks come with distance, access and uneven ground, all of which need to be sorted before a pour. We handle every stage ourselves, from site prep and excavation to formwork, reinforcement and the final finish.
- LicensedNSW contractor licence 398552C
- Fully insured$20M public and product liability, plus workers insurance
- 13+ yearsHands-on in the concreting trade
- 5.0 on Google10+ five-star reviews
Who does concreting in Colo?
Southo Concrete is a licensed concreting contractor working in Colo, NSW 2756. We build shed slabs, driveways, hardstand, retaining walls and rural concrete for acreage and rural properties across Colo, and we do the excavation and site preparation ourselves. Colo is in the Hawkesbury local government area, and Hawkesbury City Council has to approve the driveway crossing between the road and your boundary. The same applies across Upper Colo, Central Colo, Colo Heights and Wheeny Creek.
- Business
- Southo Concrete, NSW contractor licence 398552C, $20M public and product liability plus workers insurance
- Suburb
- Colo, NSW 2756, Hawkesbury local government area
- Services
- Driveways and crossings, shed slabs, machinery slabs, hardstand, sandstone block retaining walls, pool surrounds, outdoor areas, excavation and site preparation
- Also covers
- Upper Colo, Central Colo, Colo Heights and Wheeny Creek, plus the surrounding district
- Experience
- 13+ years in the concreting trade, 5.0 from 10+ Google reviews
- Quotes
- Free, and we aim to respond within 24 hours. Call 0468 491 882
Colo and the Colo River valley
Small settlements along the Putty Road and the Colo River, bordered by the Wollemi National Park. Access and distance shape every job out here.
Along the Putty Road
Colo is about 85 km north-west of the Sydney CBD on the Putty Road, at about 15 m, bounded on the south and east by the Hawkesbury River and taking in parts of Wollemi National Park. Central Colo is near where the Colo meets the Hawkesbury, Upper Colo lies on the Colo River, and Colo Heights is about 93 km out.
Source: Wikipedia locality entries: Colo, Central Colo, Upper Colo, Colo Heights
Check if your block is bush fire prone
Much of the Colo valley borders the Wollemi National Park. Whether a lot is mapped as bush fire prone land is confirmed on the section 10.7 planning certificate from Hawkesbury City Council. A new home on mapped land has to meet the NSW Rural Fire Service’s Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019, which includes rules for property access, so settle it before the driveway is designed.
Source: NSW RFS, Bush fire prone land tool; NSW RFS, Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019
Remote pours need a plan
Out here the concrete plant is a long way off. We plan the base, forms and pump before the truck is ordered, so a load isn’t waiting on a job that isn’t ready.
Recent Southo projects
Recent work from across the Hawkesbury and the Hills, with the suburb named under each photo.
What we build out here
Driveways and the crossing at the road, shed and machinery slabs, hardstand and turning areas, retaining walls, pool surrounds and large outdoor areas.
Excavation included
We do our own cut, fill and base, so one crew handles the job from the first bucket to the final finish, and one price covers it.
Acreage, not patch-ups
Complete jobs on rural and acreage properties, where access, levels and drainage matter as much as the pour itself.
What goes under a Colo driveway or slab?
Colo sits where the river cuts down out of the Wollemi country, and on blocks like these the base under a slab changes more across one property than it does across a suburb.
The base under the slab
Hawkesbury City Council’s driveway specification sets the floor. Where the subgrade material is unsatisfactory, it has to be removed and replaced with a minimum of 150 mm of approved sandstone or road base material. On a non-granular subgrade, the slab is placed on a 25 mm layer of sand. On bush and valley blocks that usually means more excavation than the same driveway would need in town.
Source: Hawkesbury City Council, Driveway Specifications — construction of driveway crossings
Fall, grade and width
The crossing has to fall at a minimum of 1:48 (2%) and a maximum of 1:12 (8%) from your boundary to the layback, with a minimum width of three metres at the kerb and gutter line. Where a road has no kerb and gutter — which is all of this country — the gutter invert has to sit at least 2.2 metres back from the edge of the bitumen seal, with a heavy duty layback.
Source: Hawkesbury City Council, Driveway Specifications — construction of driveway crossings
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How your block gets classified
Slabs and footings for a house or habitable building are designed to AS 2870, which classifies a site by how much the ground is expected to move with moisture — Class A and S are stable to slightly reactive, M moderately, H1 and H2 highly, and E extremely. The more reactive the ground, the more the design has to allow for it. That classification comes from a geotechnical soil test on your property, not from a suburb map, and no honest quote assigns one without it.
Source: AS 2870 Residential slabs and footings, AS 3600 Concrete structures, and the National Construction Code
Getting a concrete truck to your block in Colo
Out here the run in is a design constraint, not a detail. It gets settled before the pour is booked.
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Concrete has a clock on it
Ready-mixed concrete is supplied under AS 1379, which governs how it is specified and delivered, including limits on the working life between batching and placement. The practical effect on a remote block is that the distance from the batching plant is part of the job specification — not something to find out on the morning of the pour. We confirm the run and the limits with the plant before booking.
Source: AS 1379 Specification and supply of concrete
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The road in
Colo is reached off Putty Road north of Windsor. Beyond the sealed road, what decides the job is the private access track: its width, its grade, the turning space at the pour, and how it behaves after rain. We look at all four before quoting rather than on the day.
Access is assessed on site before quoting, not assumed from a map.
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What we do about it
We sequence the loads so nobody is waiting, bring our own excavation so a second machine is not a second trip, and use a pump where a truck cannot make the last stretch. A job out here is priced as a proper day, which is why we would rather take a full driveway, shed slab or hardstand than a small repair that cannot justify the run.
Quotes are free, and we will tell you if the job is not worth the trip.
Our concreting services
Driveways and crossings
Long rural driveways and the crossing at the road, built to Hawkesbury City Council’s requirements.
Concrete drivewaysShed slabs
Slabs for machinery sheds, workshops and American barns, sized and reinforced for what goes on them.
Shed slabsRural and acreage concrete
Hardstand, stable and feed areas, water tank bases, and sandstone block retaining walls where levels change.
Rural and acreage concretingExcavation and site preparation
We do our own cut and fill, which matters most where a second trip out is half a day gone.
Excavation and site preparationPool surrounds and outdoor areas
Concrete around new and existing pools, and the large outdoor areas bush blocks have room for.
Pool surroundsDecorative and exposed aggregate
Coloured and exposed aggregate finishes for entries, courtyards and the run up to the house.
Decorative concrete
Driveway approvals in Colo
A new driveway almost always includes the crossing between the road and your boundary. In Colo that part sits on council land, and on roads with no kerb and gutter the specification changes accordingly.
Lodge the agreement form first
Before any construction work starts, the owner or contractor has to complete and submit Hawkesbury City Council’s Agreement Form for Driveways with the required fee. Council also requires all contractors to carry public risk insurance with a minimum cover of $20 million and to show evidence of it before commencing.
Built to spec, and inspected
A minimum 100 mm of 25 MPa concrete with a single layer of SL72 mesh for residential, or 150 mm with two layers for heavy duty. Where a road has no kerb and gutter, the gutter invert sits at least 2.2 metres back from the edge of the bitumen seal with a heavy duty layback. Council inspects once, with the formwork and steel in place, on 24 hours notice.
Source: Hawkesbury City Council, Driveway Specifications — construction of driveway crossings
If your land is flood affected
On the most hazardous flood-affected land, council’s controls say importation of fill and excavation are not permitted, other than a balance of cut and fill to create a level building platform or driveway access — and that cut and fill must not exceed one metre of cut or one metre of fill.
Source: Hawkesbury City Council, Schedule of Flood Related Development Controls
Call for a free quote
Tell us about the driveway, shed slab or hardstand, and we’ll talk you through what the job involves.
Our customer reviews
Google reviews from customers across the Hawkesbury and the Colo valley.
Nearby suburbs
We work up the Colo valley and north along Putty Road.
- KurrajongConcreters Kurrajong
- PuttyConcreters Putty
- GlossodiaConcreters Glossodia
- St AlbansConcreters St Albans
See the whole Colo and north area, our rural and acreage concreting, or every service area.
Local FAQs
Anything else, call 0468 491 882.
Do you do concreting in Colo?
Yes. We build driveways and crossings, shed slabs, hardstand, retaining walls, pool surrounds and outdoor areas for properties in Colo and the surrounding district, including Upper Colo, Central Colo, Colo Heights and Wheeny Creek.
Do you work as far out as Colo Heights?
Yes. We work along the Putty Road through Colo, Central and Upper Colo and up to Colo Heights. The quote includes travel and truck logistics so there are no surprises later.
Do you also cover Upper Colo, Central Colo, Colo Heights and Wheeny Creek?
Yes. We treat Upper Colo, Central Colo, Colo Heights and Wheeny Creek as part of the Colo area and work across all of them with the same crew, the same site preparation and the same free on-site quote.
Do I need council approval for a driveway crossing in Colo?
Yes. Colo is in the Hawkesbury local government area. Before any work starts on the crossing between the road and your boundary, the owner or contractor has to lodge Hawkesbury City Council’s Agreement Form for Driveways with the required fee. Council also requires the contractor to carry public risk insurance with a minimum cover of $20 million and to show evidence of it before starting.
What does Hawkesbury council require a driveway crossing to be built to?
A minimum compressive strength of 25 MPa at 28 days in accordance with AS 3600, and for a residential crossing a minimum 100 mm of concrete with a single layer of SL72 mesh. None of the roads out here have kerb and gutter, so the clause that applies is the one requiring the gutter invert to sit at least 2.2 metres back from the edge of the bitumen seal, with a heavy duty layback. Council inspects once, with the formwork and steel in place, on 24 hours notice.
Can I bring in fill to raise a slab or pad in Colo?
Only within limits, and only if your land is flood affected in the first place. On the most hazardous flood-affected land, council’s controls say importation of fill and excavation are not permitted other than a balance of cut and fill to create a level building platform or driveway access, and that cut and fill must not exceed one metre of cut or one metre of fill. Council’s Flood Advice gives the Flood Planning Level for your property in metres AHD.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Colo?
It depends on the length, how much excavation and base preparation the ground needs, whether an old surface comes out, the crossing at the road, and the finish. Out here it also depends on the run in, because distance and access change how a pour has to be staged. The accurate number comes from seeing the site, and quotes are free.
What’s underneath a Colo driveway or slab?
The base is what the finished job stands on, and council sets a minimum for the crossing at the road. Beyond that, a site classification under AS 2870 comes from a geotechnical soil test on your block, not from a suburb map. On acreage the base is usually where the time goes.
Do you actually come out to Colo?
Yes, and we price it as a proper day rather than squeezing it between town jobs. That is the honest way to quote work out here, and it is why we would rather take on a full driveway, shed slab or hardstand than a small repair that cannot justify the trip.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Southo Concrete holds NSW contractor licence 398552C and a general construction induction white card, and carries $20 million public and product liability cover plus workers insurance. Certificates of currency are available on request, along with SWMS where a site needs them, and we can complete site inductions as required.
How long will the concrete last, and will it crack?
We use high-quality materials and proven construction methods to help ensure our work lasts for 25 years or more. We also use appropriate materials and techniques to control cracking in our slabs, helping to keep it very limited, if not eliminate it altogether. Please note that cracking can be affected by factors outside our control, including ground movement, weather and site conditions.
Do you do small concrete repairs in Colo?
No. We take on complete jobs — driveways, shed slabs, hardstand, retaining walls, pool surrounds and outdoor areas — where we control the work from excavation through to finish. We don’t do small patch-up repairs.
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Accuracy note
Local information on this page — council requirements and site conditions — is taken from public sources including Hawkesbury City Council’s driveway specification and its Schedule of Flood Related Development Controls, the NSW Electoral Commission’s council locality listings, and Australian Standards AS 1379, AS 2870 and AS 3600, and was checked on . Rules and mapping change. If anything here is inaccurate or out of date, please email southoconcrete2@outlook.com and we’ll correct it. Nothing on this page is advice for a specific property.
