Oxide is mixed into a natural material by the load, so two loads on one driveway can differ, and any slab dries lighter and blotchier than the wet pour looks. Sun, shade and how much water was on the surface all move it. If you want one flat colour across a large area, concrete is the wrong product — and we would rather say so before you pay for the oxide than after.
Concrete cracks. Every slab does.Fine hairline cracking is normal and does not weaken the slab. Control joints are cut to decide where it happens; fibre mesh reduces how much of it shows. Neither stops it, and nobody in the trade can sell you a slab that will not crack.
A pump mix is made to be pushed through a hose — off the back of the truck it is just a wetter, dearer concrete. The pump itself is hired separately from the concrete, because not every supplier runs one. Reckon on about $500 for a line pump on a small pour — Auckland operators charge around $130 an hour with a two-hour minimum, a $130 setup fee and $12 a cubic metre, GST on top.
Sort it now in a new tab, or come back and book one after you have sent this pour — either way you will not lose what you have set up here.
Sort a pump →You do not touch the pump. The operator drives it to your site, sets it up, runs it for the whole pour and washes it out before leaving. Hiring the machine on its own is a trade arrangement and needs somebody qualified on site — it is not what a homeowner buys.
Line pump or boom. A line pump runs a hose along the ground and over fences: cheapest, and right for nearly all house work. A boom is a folding arm on a truck that reaches over the house, and it needs room for the truck to set up and stabilise. If a boom cannot get near, a line pump usually still can.
What it costs. Around $130 an hour with a two-hour minimum whatever happens, a $130 setup fee, and about $12 a cubic metre that goes through the machine, GST on top. A small residential pour lands near $500. Hours run from when they arrive to when they pack down — if your concrete is late, the clock is still going.
Where the truck stands. They need a spot the truck can sit on, and the hose goes from there to where the concrete lands. Measure that distance before you ring anyone: past about 50 m of hose it costs more, and past 30 m a line pump is doing the work no boom can.
Two things that stop a job dead. Overhead power lines decide whether a boom can be used at all, and washout has to go somewhere — most councils will not have it down a drain. Both are cheaper to sort on the phone than in your driveway.
Order the two separately. The concrete is this page. The pump is its own booking, because not every supplier runs one. Tick the pump mix here so the concrete is made to be pumped, then sort the machine.