Crazy paving installers, supply and lay
Perth stone yards sell the flagstone. IBP Paving is the installer who turns a pallet of random pieces into a path or an alfresco that looks like it grew there. Crazy paving is part of our stone paving in Perth and the paving services we have run from Landsdale for over 20 years, fully licensed, with a lifetime workmanship warranty on the bed and the laying.
Supply and lay: we source the stone, give one quote and hold one warranty for the whole job. Lay only: you choose the flagstone at a showroom and we fit it. Either way, request a free site measure or call 0449 020 336 to begin.
What crazy paving is and which stone to use
Crazy paving is random shaped pieces of flagstone, usually travertine, limestone or bluestone, fitted edge to edge by hand on a mortar bed over concrete, with the gaps grouted. No two pieces are the same and no two jobs come out alike, which is the appeal.
It is often confused with French pattern travertine, which looks random from a distance but is a fixed module of four cut sizes that repeats. French pattern takes far less fitting time; crazy paving is fitted piece by piece. If you want the random look with less labour, see our travertine paving page.
The stones we lay as crazy pave, with Perth yards we can source from: travertine flagstone from importers such as Freo Stone (Bibra Lake factory, Greenwood display), Parto Stone in Osborne Park and Granite and Stone Gallery in Malaga; bluestone from Freo Stone's Ocean Bluestone range; and cream limestone for the local Perth look, covered on our limestone paving page. Ranges change, so ask us for current samples.
| Stone | Colour | Heat | Sealing | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travertine | Ivory, silver, classic cream | Coolest when light and tumbled | Yes, penetrating, per supplier advice | Pool surrounds, alfrescos |
| Limestone | Cream | Cool | Yes, penetrating | Paths, feature areas, the Perth look |
| Bluestone | Blue grey to charcoal | Holds more heat | Yes, penetrating | Contrast paths and borders, shaded areas |
Where crazy paving suits
Garden paths first, because a winding path is where a straight paver grid looks wrong and crazy paving looks right. Then alfrescos and feature areas, pool surrounds and steps, and the edges of native and Mediterranean gardens where the paving has to meet planting on a curve.
The Perth homes it suits are the rebuild era coastal suburbs, Scarborough, Sorrento and North Beach, where new houses sit on old blocks with established gardens, and the 1970s suburbs with mature trees such as Duncraig and Greenwood. The application pages have the detail: garden path paving, patio and alfresco paving and pool paving and coping.
Crazy paving in Perth conditions
Perth's sand drains freely and is the reason flexible brick paving works here, but crazy paving gets none of that benefit. Irregular pieces cannot interlock, so crazy paving always goes on a rigid mortar bed over a reinforced slab, never on sand.
Heat and slip follow the stone. For barefoot areas pick light tumbled travertine or limestone, and near water keep to a textured face; the CMAA and Midland Brick surface requirements factsheet gives a P4 minimum slip rating for external walkways. Coastal salt within 1 to 2 km of the ocean, in Hillarys, Sorrento, Mullaloo, Ocean Reef, Mindarie and Scarborough, attacks porous stone and grout alike, and pool chemicals do the same, so coastal and pool crazy paving is always sealed.
Mortar laid areas shed water fast. That makes the falls, the strip drains at door thresholds and the soakwell sizing matter more than they do under sand laid paving, and we design the soakwells and stormwater drainage into the quote. See our Hillarys and Scarborough pages for the coastal specifics.
Source: CMAA and Midland Brick, Surface Requirements for Pavers factsheet, July 2024.
How IBP lays crazy paving
This is the part most crazy paving pages skip, and it is the part that decides whether the surface is still tight in ten years.
- Slab. A reinforced concrete slab laid to fall, or a sound existing alfresco slab if the levels and door thresholds allow the extra height.
- Dry lay. The pieces are sorted and fitted loose on the slab before any mortar goes down, so the joints stay consistent and the large pieces anchor the field. This is where the look is made.
- Mortar bed. A sand cement bed or flexible adhesive, with every piece pressed into full contact. Hollows under thin stone are what crack it later.
- Cutting. Edges are trimmed to meet borders, walls and coping. Wide joints are the mark of poor fitting; the pieces should read as a fitted surface, not stones floating in grout.
- Grouting. Sand cement or flexible grout, cleaned off the face before it stains porous stone.
- Sealing. Once the stone and grout have dried and any efflorescence has worked out, after at least 48 hours of dry weather, a penetrating sealer goes on. Some suppliers warn against sealing particular lines with particular products, so the sealer is matched to the stone.
Later resealing and cleaning is through our paving sealing and cleaning service. Slab thickness, reinforcement, bed type and grout are confirmed for your site at the measure.
Crazy paving cost in Perth
Honest answer first: the research behind this page found no published Perth supply and lay rate for crazy paving, and it is the most labour intensive paving we lay, because every piece is hand fitted on mortar. So we quote it per job after measuring, rather than publish a square metre figure we cannot stand behind.
For context only, as indicative Perth industry ranges and not IBP's price list: regular travertine pavers run about $185 to $370 per square metre supplied and laid in published 2026 Perth guides, and limestone pavers $80 to $160. Crazy pave in the same stone costs more per square metre than the regular pavers because of the fitting and grouting time. The drivers are the stone, whether a slab exists or must be poured, the shape of the area, joint width and grout, steps and coping, sealing and access. Our Perth paving cost guide keeps the published bands current.
Source: Perth Pavers 2026 paving cost comparison. Indicative Perth industry ranges only.
Crazy paving or regular stone pavers
Crazy pave for an organic look, curves and garden edges. French pattern travertine for a random look with less labour. Cut limestone or granite pavers for straight edged alfrescos and driveways. Sandstone for warm tones. One thing crazy paving is not, in our range, is a driveway surface.
"Highly Recommended! IBP recently completed all the paving at my property, and I couldn't be happier with the results. The work was absolutely perfect, clean, precise, and professionally done." Moey Husy
