Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - A question about price

I am having a house built and I was thinking about upgrading the driveway and sidewalk to an exposed aggregate , the driveway is 900 sq ft and the sidewalk is at most 270 sq ft , now my builder tells me that the upgrade is going to be $5200.00 dollars , this seems absolutely insane , can anyone confirm this ? I am in Edmonton ,Alberta ,Canada ,if that matters .

Is that the upgrade cost above a plain concrete or total? U.S. or Canadian $s?

Dick

Living in a warm climate for most of my life (a short period of time In Fairbanks AK, excluded), I would question the wisdom of exposed aggregate for any concrete in a severe freeze-thaw location.

Back when I did a lot of exposed agg, I charged quite a bit for it too. It's a LOT more work than plain broomed concrete, and there is a bit more material cost as well. I sell my decorative (stamped, etc.) concrete for more than double the cost of plain, so that price sounds very possible.
As to the climate, I don't think it is an issue. Structurally, exposed agg is exactly the same as any other concrete. It's just that the top layer of paste is gone, and that's usually where the problems with cold-weather concrete happen anyway. It would be far more difficult to see a popout or any scaling if there were no paste, and therefore no large area of gray where a defect would be easily visible.

Pecos