Endeavour Hills Concrete

Endeavour Hills was planned from scratch in the 1970s as "a better place to live". It's a hilly, leafy suburb where many homes sit on steep blocks with views across Melbourne's south-east. That terrain makes concreting here a little different: driveways climb, backyards step down, and outdoor areas often need careful levelling. Rowville Concrete arranges driveways, pool surrounds, steps, patios and retaining walls across Endeavour Hills, about 4.3 km south-south-east of Rowville. Quotes are free and obligation-free.

A planned suburb on the hills

The name Endeavour Hills was coined in 1970 to mark the bicentenary of Captain James Cook's arrival at Botany Bay, and the estate officially opened in 1974. Pine Hill and Piney Ridge were also suggested at the time. You can still see the theme in the street names: James Cook Drive, Matthew Flinders Avenue, Thomas Mitchell Drive, Arthur Phillip Drive and more.

Wikipedia describes the suburb as hilly and leafy, with underground utilities, wide roads, footpaths and native trees planted on nature strips. Many houses were built on steep blocks and enjoy distant views, in some cases as far as Port Phillip Bay or the CBD. Homes are mainly low-density single, double and triple level brick houses, on blocks of around a quarter acre, half an acre or more.

Pool surrounds and outdoor living

Endeavour Hills is a family suburb. At the 2021 Census, 87.5% of homes were separate houses and 43.9% had four or more bedrooms. For backyards like these, outdoor concreting is often about summer living (inferred from the housing profile):

• Pool surrounds that are comfortable underfoot, drain away from the pool and offer good grip when wet. Many owners choose exposed aggregate, or honed concrete finished with an anti-slip sealer. Pool surrounds →
• Entertaining areas that connect the living room to the yard. Concrete patios →
• Split-level outdoor spaces on sloping yards, linked with steps and retaining. Steps and stairs →

Planning around a pool: pool surrounds have to work alongside the pool's safety barrier, so coordinate the concreting with your pool builder and fencing contractor. Fence post footings, gate locations and the barrier's non-climbable zone should all be sorted before the concrete goes in. We'll work to the layout your pool builder or fencer provides.

Driveways on steep blocks

A steep driveway needs more thought than a flat one:

• Transitions at the top and bottom so cars don't scrape where the driveway meets the crossover or garage.
• Surface grip: broom, exposed aggregate or anti-slip sealers help on steeper grades.
• Stormwater: water gathers speed down a sloping driveway. A grated drain in front of a low garage, or cut-off drains higher up, protect the house.
• Retaining beside the driveway where the ground falls away on one side. Retaining walls →
• Pumping: some sites need a pump to place concrete where trucks can't safely reach. Concrete pumping →

For older driveways from the estate's early years, replacement may be the best way to fix both the surface and the drainage. Driveway replacement →

Paths around multi-level homes

Wikipedia notes that many Endeavour Hills homes are double or triple level. On sloping blocks, that often means the front door, the garage and the backyard all sit at different heights. Well-planned concrete paths and landings tie them together: a gently graded path where there's room, steps with landings where there isn't, and a level pad at each door. Bins, mowers and wheelbarrows also need a practical route to the street, so we look at everyday movement around the house, not just the look of the front. Paths and footpaths →

City of Casey crossover clearances

Endeavour Hills is in the City of Casey, and Casey's Community Local Law requires a permit to construct, install, remove or alter a vehicle crossing. With native trees on so many nature strips, the clearances in Casey's vehicle crossover guidelines (version 1.0, December 2020) are especially relevant here:

• Street trees: crossings must sit outside the tree's Tree Protection Zone or 3 metres from the tree.
• Drainage pits: 0.75 metres clearance.
• Pram crossings: 2 metres clearance.
• Utilities, streetlights and traffic devices: 1 metre.
• Intersections: 6 metres from the tangent point of the corner.

The standard single crossing is 3.5 metres wide at the boundary, and crossings are built to the Victorian Planning Authority's Engineering Design and Construction Manual and Casey's standard drawings. On an arterial road, Department of Transport approval is also needed. We'll check your frontage against these clearances before designing the driveway. Casey crossover guidelines (PDF) · Vehicle crossovers →

Soil and slope

We haven't found a published source describing Endeavour Hills soils, so we don't make assumptions. Melbourne-wide research shows soil reactivity varies considerably, even within one soil type, so slabs follow a site classification and engineering where required. On steep sites, the bigger practical issues are usually water management and stable cut-and-fill, which we plan into every job.

Around Endeavour Hills

The suburb is bounded by the Monash Freeway and Dandenong Creek to the west, Police Road and Churchill Park Drive to the north, Hallam North Road to the east and Eumemmerring Creek to the south. Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre on Matthew Flinders Avenue and Heatherton Road is the main retail hub, near the leisure centre and library. The Casuarina Forest in James Alexander Reserve, saved from clearing by a local campaign, has lookouts across to Port Phillip Bay. Lysterfield Park, Churchill National Park, the 499-hectare Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve and Churchill Park Golf Club are all close by.