Paving Cost Per Square Metre in Adelaide — 2026 Guide

The honest answer: paving in Adelaide costs $70 to $250 per square metre supplied and laid, depending on the paver and your site. Anything cheaper is cutting corners on the base layer or using thin pavers that won’t last. Anything more expensive is premium natural stone or complex geometry.

Here’s the real-world breakdown.

Cost by paver type

Concrete pavers — $70–$95 per square metre

The volume material. Available in dozens of finishes (smooth, exposed-aggregate, stone-look, charcoal, sandstone). 50mm thick for residential traffic, 60mm+ for driveways. Cheaper variants at 40mm exist — fine for a low-traffic path, marginal for a driveway.

A reasonable concrete-paver job in Adelaide: $80 per square metre installed. This includes excavation, compacted crushed-rock subbase, screeded sand, paver supply and laying, and a basic edge restraint.

Brick pavers — $80–$110 per square metre

Slightly more than concrete pavers. Traditional look, good colour stability, easy to source replacements decades later. Common around heritage homes.

Bluestone pavers — $130–$180 per square metre

Adelaide’s signature material. Dense, durable, ages well. Heavier than concrete pavers, so requires a stronger base. Cuts cleanly with a wet saw, lays well in patterns.

Travertine pavers — $140–$220 per square metre

Premium material — limestone variety. Cooler underfoot than concrete (good for pool surrounds), porous (needs sealing). Filled or unfilled — filled is smoother and easier to clean; unfilled has more texture.

Natural stone (sandstone, limestone, granite) — $150–$250 per square metre

Premium and varied. Each stone has its own quirks — sandstone is soft and weathers; granite is hard and stable; limestone is mid-density. Pricing depends on stone, thickness, and finish (sawn, tumbled, sandblasted).

Exposed aggregate concrete — $90–$160 per square metre

Not a paver — it’s poured concrete with the surface aggregate exposed. Often used for driveways and large paved areas where individual pavers would slow installation. Pricing reflects coloured pebble blends.

Crazy paving — $130–$220 per square metre

Irregular natural-stone shapes laid in a random pattern with mortar joints. Labour-intensive — a good crazy-paving job is mostly labour, not material. Cheaper variants exist with concrete substitutes.

What’s included in a “supplied and laid” price

A reasonable Adelaide paving quote includes:

• Excavation to subgrade depth (typically 150-200mm)
• Crushed rock subbase, compacted to engineering spec
• Bedding sand, screeded flat
• Pavers supplied and laid
• Cuts at edges
• Joint sand swept in
• Edge restraint (concrete kerb or hidden steel)
• Cross-fall set for drainage

Things that are NOT typically included unless specified:

• Removal of existing concrete or paving
• Stairs or step structures
• Drainage infrastructure (pits, ag-pipe)
• Sealing (varies by paver — bluestone and travertine usually do, concrete pavers usually don’t)

What pushes paving cost up

• Tight access. Wheelbarrow-only access on a big job adds $5–$15 per square metre.
• Curves and complex shapes. Straight runs are cheap; curves require more cuts and slower laying.
• Steep cross-falls or slopes. Compaction and water management get harder.
• Stairs and steps. Each step is a small structural element costing $200–$600.
• Sealing. $5–$15 per square metre extra; some pavers need it, some don’t.

What pushes cost down

• Larger areas. Per-square-metre cost drops on areas over ~50sqm — set-up costs spread further.
• Standard rectangular layouts. Patterns like herringbone or basket-weave cost slightly more in cuts; running bond is fastest.
• Common pavers. Stocked sizes (e.g. 400×400 concrete pavers) lay faster than custom orders.
• Demolition done by others. Removing old concrete or existing pavers, if you handle it separately, saves on the trade’s labour.

What to watch for in a cheap quote

• Thin pavers. 40mm pavers under driveways crack in winters with ground movement.
• No edge restraint. Pavers without restraint walk over time. Edges crumble.
• Sand bedding without crushed-rock subbase. This is the most common failure mode. Pavers settle unevenly within 12-24 months.
• No cross-fall. Water pools, joint sand washes out, weeds colonise.

Real numbers, real site

Imagine a 60sqm courtyard in Burnside, average access, concrete pavers, basic rectangular layout, including demolition of existing concrete:

• Demolition + dispose: $1,800
• Excavation and subbase: $2,400
• Pavers (supplied and laid): $5,400
• Edge restraint: $600
• Total: $10,200 (about $170/sqm including demolition)

Same site in bluestone instead of concrete: add roughly $4,800 for the paver upgrade. Total $15,000.

These are rule-of-thumb numbers. Your site is different. Get a real quote.

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