How to Hire a Concreter in New Zealand

How to Hire a Concreter in New Zealand

Concrete is the one trade where you can see the failure. A driveway that pools water in the wrong corner, a slab that sits out of level, mesh poking through the surface — none of it hides behind a coat of paint. That is also what makes the hiring decision easier than most. The questions that separate a professional concreter from a cheap one have measurable answers.

Here is the part that surprises people. Concreting is not simply an unlicensed trade. It depends entirely on what the concrete is doing. A garden path, a shed floor or a driveway is an open market with no licence required. A concrete slab-on-ground forming part of a consented home's primary structure is restricted building work, and it must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner in the correct class.

Same trade, same truck, same trowel. Completely different legal position. Knowing which situation you are in before you sign anything is the single most useful thing in this guide.

How We Researched This Guide

We started with the Building Act 2004, because that is where the licence question is actually settled. Schedule 1 sets out what is exempt, and section 88(1) creates the Record of Work obligation that protects a homeowner later. The definition of restricted building work and the detail of the Foundations licence class come from Building Performance and the Licensed Building Practitioners register at lbp.govt.nz.

The most useful thing we found was a Building Practitioners Board determination, Andrew Williams [2024] BPB CB26434. A subcontractor was engaged to build a suspended concrete floor slab on a new home. The levels came out of tolerance, reinforcing mesh was left exposed, and levelling compound was needed to fix it. He had further subcontracted some of the work, but because he was the only LBP involved, the Board held him responsible for the quality and compliance. That case is why this guide tells you to get the supervising LBP's name in writing.

The consumer law framework throughout comes from the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, set out in full on legislation.govt.nz.

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The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

If you read nothing else, read this.

• Ask whether the work is restricted building work. If it is, you need an LBP in the Foundations class, and an LBP in the wrong class is effectively unlicensed for that job.
• Get the supervising LBP's name in writing. On a slab, the licence holder carries the responsibility even for work someone else physically did.
• Expect a Record of Work. It is a statutory requirement under section 88(1) of the Building Act 2004, not a favour.
• Ask for the level and flatness tolerances in writing, and how they will be measured. A slab out of level is a compliance failure, not a cosmetic complaint.
• Ask what bearing capacity is being assumed for the sub-base, and how it was assessed.
• Never pay a large deposit to someone with no verifiable credentials, no written contract and no fixed address.

What the Licence Question Actually Turns On

Restricted building work versus everything else

Restricted building work is residential design, construction or alteration work that is critical to making a home structurally sound and weathertight. It includes anything that alters the primary structure — work that contributes to the resistance of vertical and horizontal loads. A concrete slab-on-ground forming part of a consented home's primary structure falls squarely inside that definition.

So does a good deal of the concrete you might not think of as structural. The restricted work list includes foundations and subfloor framing: piles and their braces, foundation walls, jack studs, bearers and stringers. It includes floors: slabs, joists and composite flooring systems. It includes damp-proofing for slab-on-ground, sub-floor or suspended floors.

What falls outside is the work most homeowners actually book. A driveway, a garden path, a patio, a shed slab, a non-structural pad. There is no licence required for any of those, and nobody should tell you otherwise. The honest position is that concreting is two different markets wearing the same hi-vis.

What the Foundations class covers

The Foundations licence class covers practitioners constructing foundations for Category 1 or 2 buildings. That means concrete foundation walls and concrete slab-on-ground, plus concrete or timber pile foundations. The class requires competency in the regulatory environment, current foundation trade practice, planning for foundation work, and carrying out foundation work.

The referenced standards include Building Code clauses B1 Structure and B2 Durability, NZS 3604 for timber framed buildings not requiring specific engineering design, and NZS 4229 for concrete masonry buildings. The practical tasks are specific: excavate and prepare for footings and slab-on-ground taking into account position, size, line, level and depth; assess that the bearing capacity of the soil is adequate; place graded hardfill; apply damp proofing; construct formwork; prepare for the pour; then receive, place, finish and cure the concrete.

What to Ask, and What the Answers Should Look Like

The questions that matter on a structural slab

Ask whether the work is restricted building work, and if so, ask for the LBP number and licence class. Then check it on the public register, which shows whether a person is licensed, their licence class, their area of practice, their licence history, and whether they have been disciplined in the last three years. Checking is free and takes minutes.

Ask who will supervise the pour, and whether there will be a Record of Work. Ask whether the slab will be inspected before the pour and who books that inspection. Ask what the tolerances for level and flatness are, and how they will be measured. Ask how the sub-base is prepared, compacted and tested, and what bearing capacity is being assumed. Ask for the concrete specification and who is responsible for testing it.

Then ask about curing — how, and for how long before anything is built on top. Finally, ask whether there is written provision for putting things right if the levels come out of tolerance. That last question is the one that tells you whether you are dealing with a professional.

Comparing quotes properly

Price is the wrong thing to compare on its own. Two quotes for the same number are not comparable if one excludes materials, disposal, permits or GST. The right comparison is price against scope against credentials against timeframe.

Ask for a written quote, not an estimate. A quote is a fixed price for defined work. An estimate is an approximation and can legitimately be exceeded, and the difference between the two is one of the most common sources of dispute in any trade. The quote should identify what is excluded, who supplies materials, the timeframe and start date, the payment schedule, whether GST is included, and what happens if extra work is discovered.

Deposits, insurance and the owner-builder option

Questions You Might Have

Do I need a Licensed Building Practitioner for a driveway?

No. A driveway is not restricted building work, so there is no licence requirement. That does not mean no checks — ask for evidence of insurance, two or three recent local jobs you can actually contact, and a written quote that separates labour, materials and exclusions.

What happens if the slab is poured out of level?

It is a Building Code compliance failure, not a cosmetic complaint, and it has to be remedied. In the Williams determination, floor levels were out of tolerance and mesh was exposed, and the supervising LBP was held responsible for the quality and compliance of the work even though he had subcontracted some of it.

What is a Record of Work, and do I need one?

It is a document an LBP must provide to you and to the territorial authority on completion of restricted building work, unless there is good reason not to. Section 88(1) of the Building Act 2004 creates the requirement. Ask for it in writing before work starts, and keep it — it protects you at sale, at insurance time and at lending time.

The quote did not include ground preparation. Is that normal?

Exclusions are normal, but they should be stated. Excavation, compacting and a hardfill base are commonly listed separately because the amount needed is not known until the ground is opened up. Ask what is excluded before you compare quotes, and agree the variation process in writing.

What if the work is defective and the concreter will not fix it?

Give them the chance to fix it first, in writing. If they refuse or do not succeed within a reasonable time, you can have it remedied elsewhere and recover reasonable costs, or cancel the contract. The Disputes Tribunal handles claims up to $60,000, and the application fee for a claim between $30,001 and $60,000 is $496.

What Matters Most

The concreting industry is not one market. It is a licensed structural trade and an unregulated finishing trade running side by side, and the homeowner is the only person in the transaction who has to know which one they are buying. Get that wrong and the licence question never gets asked at all.

For structural work, the licence holder is legally on the hook for the result, even for work someone else physically did. That is why you ask for the supervising LBP's name, check it on the register, and expect a Record of Work. For a driveway, none of that applies — but the written quote, the insurance evidence and the references still do.

Concrete is unforgiving. It sets, and then you live with it. The questions cost nothing to ask before the pour and are close to impossible to ask afterwards.