House Slabs on the Tablelands: What to Sort Before Your Slab Goes Down

Short answer: have engineered plans, a clear site and your trades lined up before you book the pour, and book early if you want it down before the wet. On the Tablelands the soil moves and the weather sets the calendar, so the slab is the one part of the build that rewards sorting things out early.

The slab is the part everything else sits on

Every other trade on a new home works off the slab. The frame goes up on it, the plumber has already run pipes under it, and the inspector has to sign it off before anything else can happen. If the slab is late, the whole build is late. If it is wrong, it is the most expensive thing on site to fix.

That is why we treat house slabs differently from a quick pour. They are engineered to your plans, poured to spec and ready for the inspector, and the work is coordinated with your trades and your concrete supplier so the slab goes down when it is meant to.

Before you ring: the paperwork

The fastest quotes come from people who have a few things ready.

• Engineered plans. A house slab is poured to the engineer's design, not to a rule of thumb. Send them through with your enquiry.
• Your builder or owner-builder details. Who is running the job, and who we should be talking to about dates.
• Council and approvals. Tablelands Regional Council has its own requirements. Shane deals with them every week, so if you are not sure where you stand, ask.
• Your rough timeline. When the frame is booked, when the plumber is coming, and any date the build has to hit.

Send us the plans, or just tell us the size, and we will get back to you within 48 hours.

On the block: getting the site ready

Paperwork is half of it. The other half is the ground.

• Access. A concrete truck, and often a pump, needs to get close. Think about gates, fences, soft ground and anything overhead.
• Under-slab work. Plumbing and any services that run under the slab need to be in and checked before we pour. Once the concrete is down, they are under it for good.
• A firm base. Tablelands soils move, and the red soil around Malanda behaves differently from the lighter ground out towards Walkamin. The prep under a slab matters as much as the concrete on top.
• Drainage. Where the water goes in a big storm is part of the plan, not an afterthought. Our slabs are specced for wet-season drainage and dry-season expansion.

What a proper house slab job includes

When we quote a house slab, here is what the job covers, from quote to cured slab:

• a free on-site visit and quote
• set-out and formwork
• reinforcement, mesh or rebar, to spec
• the correct concrete mix for the job
• vibration and proper finishing
• control joints cut at the right time
• cure and clean-up
• coordination with your builder if needed

You also get a start date in writing and a clean site when we leave. If a quote you are comparing does not mention most of that list, it is worth asking what is left out.

Builders and owner-builders: what changes

For builders, the big things are reliable scheduling and a slab that is on spec every time, so the inspection goes through and the frame crew is not standing around. We are easy to coordinate with and we keep the comms clear.

For owner-builders, the slab is often the first big trade you book, and the one with the least room for a second go. We will walk you through what needs to be in place before pour day, and we will coordinate with your plumber and supplier so you are not juggling three phones on the morning.

The weather sets the calendar

Up here the wet season decides a lot. We have poured through Tully troughs and hot January afternoons, and we know what concrete does up here because we pour it here, week in, week out. The dry season books out fast, and wet-season pours need realistic scheduling around the weather. Some jobs need to go down at first light, and we do early starts and night pours when the job calls for it.

If you want your slab down before the wet, the time to get it quoted is now, while the ground is dry and there is still room in the calendar. If you are building through the wet, we will plan the pour around the forecast rather than hoping for the best.

Ready when you are

We pour house slabs, shed slabs, driveways and decorative concrete across the Atherton Tablelands, from Malanda to Atherton, Yungaburra, Tolga, Herberton, Millaa Millaa and Ravenshoe. Crest is Malanda-based, not driving up from Cairns, so we know the ground you are building on. If you have plans in hand, send them through and we will come out for a look.

Frequently asked questions