Anti-slip driveway coatings on the Central Coast.

The Central Coast topography means a lot of driveways slope steeply down to the garage or up off the street, especially in the hillier suburbs around Gosford, Woy Woy and the Terrigal headland. Combine a slope with a smooth steel-trowelled finish or a glossy wet-look sealer, then add the humid coastal climate that grows moss and algae on shaded sections, and storm rain off the Tasman, and you have a surface that is genuinely hazardous when wet. We see the same callout constantly: a beautiful sealed driveway that is now too slippery to walk down with the bins.

Slip-rated to Australian Standards.

Slip resistance in Australia is measured against AS 4586 for new surfaces and AS 4663 for existing ones, with the AS 3661 series giving the anti-slip guidance for application. For a driveway, path or pool surround we target a P4 or P5 wet-pendulum classification, the ratings that keep a surface safe underfoot when it is wet. That is the difference between a coating that looks textured and one that is actually tested to perform in the conditions the Central Coast throws at it.

Two ways to add grip.

• Slip additive in the sealer: a fine polymer or aluminium-oxide grit blended through a clear seal, near-invisible, the most popular option for keeping a decorative look while adding grip. ~$10 to $16/m².
• Textured anti-slip coating: a full broadcast or roll-on textured system for the steepest or most slippery driveways and ramps. ~$16 to $24/m².

A worked example.

A 40m² steeply sloped, glossy-sealed concrete driveway in Terrigal that the owners stopped using in the rain: kill and remove the moss on the shaded lower third, lightly abrade the gloss, then a clear reseal with an aluminium-oxide slip additive to a P5 rating. Around $550 to $850, one day on site. The driveway keeps its look but is safe to walk and reverse on in a downpour, and the moss treatment stops it creeping back.