Concrete paths and patios in Logan
Updated October 2026
Paths, patios, alfresco slabs and pool surrounds are the jobs that finish a block. They are also the jobs most often left out of a build contract, which is why so many Logan houses sit on bare dirt down the side a year after handover. We connect you with experienced, insured local concreters who do this work. We are a referral service, not a concreting business.
Common jobs
- Side and boundary paths, including the run from the driveway to the clothesline and the bins
- Alfresco and patio slabs under an existing roofline or a new one
- Pool surrounds and coping bedding
- Shed and garden shed aprons
- Front entries, steps and landings
- Air conditioner, rainwater tank and pool pump pads
- Kerbing and mower strips along garden beds
What paths and patios cost
Guide pricing only. Plain concrete typically runs about $75 to $150 per square metre laid, with coloured around $95 to $200 and exposed aggregate around $120 to $220. Small areas are the exception to all of it, because the truck, the crew and the setup cost the same whether the pour is 10 square metres or 60. Most concreters price small jobs against a minimum rather than strictly per metre, so a path on its own is poor value compared with a path poured alongside something else. Get a fast quote for a real number.
Pour it all in one go, especially around Beenleigh and the new estates
This is the single biggest saving available on this kind of work. If you are planning a driveway at Bahrs Scrub, Holmview or Yarrabilba and you also want a side path, a patio slab and a shed apron, getting them all in one pour means one setup, one pump if needed, one delivery run and one crew day. Separately, each of those jobs carries its own minimum. The same applies to an older home at Beenleigh or Waterford where the driveway is coming out anyway: that is the moment to fix the cracked side path too.
Falls, drainage and where the water goes
A patio or path that holds water is a path that grows moss and lifts tiles. The fall is the whole job. On a flat block the fall has to be built in, with the surface running away from the house and toward a lawn, a garden bed or a drainage point. On a benched estate block the ground often already falls somewhere inconvenient, and the slab has to work with it. Ask the concreter where the water is going before they form up, and expect a grated drain where a patio sits hard against a wall or a doorway. Logan City Council owns the stormwater network in the street, the water and sewer mains belong to Logan Water as a business unit of the same council, and your private drains run to the point of connection, so a new drainage point is a question to ask before the pour rather than after.
Finish choices that make sense underfoot
- Broom finish: grippy, cheap, honest. The default for paths.
- Exposed aggregate: good around pools and entries, and handles bare feet better than a smooth finish, which gets hot and slick.
- Coloured: darker tones look good under a roof, lighter tones stay cooler in the open.
- Honed or polished: suits a covered alfresco area, less suited to an open patio where grip matters.
Pools, surrounds and excavation
A pool surround is one of the few path jobs with real depth to it, because the slab has to be set to the coping, drained away from the shell and poured without loading the pool wall. If the job involves significant excavation on a low-lying block, Logan City Council maps acid sulfate soils across the low-lying parts of the city and that overlay is one of the things that gets checked. The council's PD Hub property report lists the overlays on your address. Pool barrier rules are a separate matter and sit with the pool safety system in Queensland, so if the work changes a gate, a fence line or a climbable surface near a barrier, raise it before the job starts.
Approvals and licensing
Most paths and patio slabs on your own land are straightforward, but a slab under a new roofed structure is part of that structure's approval. Those rules are in the Building Regulation 2021, applied by Logan City Council and private building certifiers. In Queensland, building work valued over $3,300 generally requires a QBCC licensed contractor. Before any digging, your concreter should lodge a free Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) enquiry, which matters more on these jobs than on a driveway because side paths run exactly where the services do.
Site factors that move the price
- Access. A wheelbarrow run down the side of a house costs crew hours. If the truck or pump cannot reach, the price reflects it.
- Area and shape. Narrow, cut-up and curved work takes longer per metre than an open rectangle.
- Levels. Steps, landings and retained edges add formwork.
- Demolition. Lifting old pavers, cracked paths or a rotten timber deck is a cost line.
- Services. Pipes and conduits down the side of a house can need hand digging.
- Finish. Decorative finishes carry the same premium here as on a driveway.
Ready to price it? Get a fast quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum size job a concreter will take?
Most will quote a small job but price it against a minimum, because the setup cost is fixed. If you can bundle a path with a driveway or a patio, you will get far better value per square metre.
How thick does a path need to be?
Around 75mm to 100mm with mesh is typical for a foot-traffic path. If a vehicle will ever cross it, including a trailer being reversed down the side, it should be built as a driveway instead.
Can a patio slab go straight onto the ground?
It still needs a prepared and compacted base, falls set for drainage and mesh in the right place. Pouring onto uncompacted fill is the usual reason a patio slab cracks and settles.
Should the patio slab be poured before or after the roof goes up?
Usually the slab first, then the structure, but it depends on the design and on how the posts are fixed. Get the builder and the concreter talking before either books a date.