Concreters in Mayfield, 2304
Mayfield was subdivided in 1888 and named for the developer’s daughter. For a generation it was the address for Newcastle’s wealthy, whose villas still stand along Crebert Street and the ridge. Then the steelworks opened in 1915, the villa grounds were cut up for workers’ housing, and Lysaghts built about a hundred homes around Avon, Usk and Vine streets for its mill hands. The result, six kilometres north west of the CBD with Maitland Road as its high street and Hanbury Street crossing it, is one of the most varied housing mixes in the city on some of its tightest lots.
Ground
The original landscape was a ridge looking over swampy flats beside the Hunter, later reclaimed and filled. Jobs therefore divide between sloping ridge blocks and flat low ones, and each is assessed on what is actually found underfoot. Unlike suburbs further west, most of Mayfield lies outside any mine subsidence district.
The work Mayfield produces
Older streets here are narrow, so are the frontages, and a good deal of the concrete is as old as the houses. Removal and replacement of cracked driveways leads the list, followed by side paths that make a tight passage usable, and rear courtyards paved as a patio when a cottage is renovated. Former villa grounds are still being divided for units and townhouses, which brings shared driveways and visitor bays. A rear-lane garage slab is the other regular.
Finishes
Renovated cottages and Federation houses carry exposed aggregate well in warmer stone, and coloured concrete in a muted tone suits a small courtyard. Plain broom finish remains right for shared and service areas, and it is what council expects on the crossing.
Mayfield rates
Published guide prices, each per square metre laid: driveways from $95 for plain to $185 for premium exposed finishes, exposed aggregate $130 to $185, paths $90 to $130, patios and courtyards $100 to $180, garage and shed slabs $110 to $150, and about $35 added for taking out old concrete. Pump hire on a landlocked back yard is the most common extra in Mayfield. Bracket the job in the calculator, check the cost guide, and keep the Section 138 guide and specification to hand for the quote.
Council and the crossing
Mayfield sits in the City of Newcastle area. What that council asks of a driveway crossing is set out on the areas page and, step by step, in the Section 138 guide.