Limestone paving installers, supply and lay
Perth has plenty of limestone yards. IBP Paving is the installer. We take the pallets from the yard, build the bed under them, lay and cut the stone, seal it, and put a lifetime workmanship warranty on the result. Limestone is part of our stone paving in Perth and one of the paving services we have offered for over 20 years from Landsdale.
There are two ways to work with us. Supply and lay: we source the limestone, give you one quote and hold one warranty for the whole job. Lay only: you choose the stone at a showroom and we lay it. Either way the laying is covered, and either way you are dealing with a fully licensed contractor. To start, request a free site measure or call 0449 020 336.
Tamala limestone or reconstituted limestone
Two different products share the name, and a quote should say which one it is priced on.
Natural Tamala limestone is quarried locally from the coastal limestone that runs under Perth's western suburbs. It is sold quarry cut, with a rough face, or diamond cut, with a sawn face. It is denser than the reconstituted product and more varied, with shell fragments, colour drift from cream to tan and texture changes from block to block, which is the point for people who want it.
Reconstituted limestone, also sold as engineered limestone, is crushed limestone and cement cast into uniform pavers and blocks. It is cheaper, more consistent in colour and size, and easier to lay to a tight joint.
Both are cool underfoot, both give the Perth look, and both cut easily. Both are also soft and porous. Soft means edges chip where a paver sits on a hollow bed. Porous means the stone stains and needs sealing. Neither is a reason not to use limestone; they are the reasons the bed and the sealing matter more than they do for concrete.
| Factor | Natural Tamala | Reconstituted |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Cream to tan, shell and texture variation | Uniform cream or grey |
| Density | Denser, varies by block | Consistent, lighter |
| Price | Higher | Lower |
| Uniformity | Varies, needs sorting and wider joints | Calibrated, tight joints |
| Best uses | Feature paving, coping, steps, walls | Patios, paths, pool surrounds, driveways at 50 mm plus |
Perth yards we can source from: Meteor Stone in Landsdale, the same suburb as us, for natural Tamala limestone blocks in Quarry Cut and Diamond Cut, reconstituted blocks in Cream and Grey, cladding, coping and edging. Freo Stone, with a factory in Bibra Lake and a display in Greenwood, for WA made engineered limestone pavers in the ABRL Metro, Coral Luxe, Coral Range and Pave 30 ranges, in colours Ice, Sandstone, Greystone, Charcoal, Abrolhos and Metro. Remastone in Bibra Lake for reconstituted limestone. UrbanStone, with a showroom in Osborne Park and a plant in Jandakot, for limestone pavers and natural limestone blocks. Ranges change, so ask us for current samples.
One thing to watch when comparing quotes: Midland Brick sells concrete pavers in a colour called Limestone, in its Masterpave Classic and Promenade Classic ranges. They are a lookalike, not limestone, and we lay them as brick paving. Our post on limestone versus concrete pavers sets out the difference.
Limestone on Perth sand, coastal salt and bore water
Where you live changes how we lay limestone. The northern corridor, Landsdale included, sits on deep Bassendean sand that drains freely and suits a flexible sand bed. The coastal and near coastal suburbs sit on Spearwood sand over Tamala limestone itself, so in Duncraig, Joondalup, Woodvale, Kingsley and Padbury an excavation can hit caprock, which changes the dig and sometimes the bed.
Salt is the other variable. Within about 1 to 2 km of the ocean, Hillarys, Sorrento, Mullaloo, Ocean Reef, Mindarie and Scarborough are high salt sites, and salt attack on porous paving shows as a white crust and then as spalling, where the surface flakes away. Bore water adds its own staining across the northern suburbs, and pool chemicals and salt water pools attack unsealed limestone from the other side.
Our approach on exposed sites is washed bedding sand, sand swept joints on flexible areas so the paving can breathe, a penetrating sealer once the stone has settled, and a denser reconstituted paver rather than soft natural stone where the exposure is worst. Our Hillarys and Duncraig pages cover the coastal and caprock specifics.
Sealing limestone paving
Yes, limestone needs sealing, and the type of sealer matters as much as whether you do it. We use penetrating (impregnating) sealers, which soak into the stone, keep its natural finish and let it breathe. Film sealers sit on top, can peel, and can turn a cool stone into a slippery one when wet.
Timing is the part most people get wrong. New limestone pushes out efflorescence, a white bloom of salts, over its first 4 to 8 weeks. Sealing over the top traps it. So the order is: lay, sweep joint sand, let the efflorescence work out, wait for 48 hours of dry weather, then seal. Clean limestone with low pressure and a pH neutral cleaner. Never use acid on it; acid dissolves limestone, which is what it is made of.
Reseal every 2 to 3 years around pools and every 3 to 5 years elsewhere. In between, pour a little water on the surface; if it beads, the sealer is working, and if it darkens the stone, it is time. Some suppliers advise against particular sealers on particular lines, so we recommend a sealer per product rather than one for everything. Published Perth guides put sealing as an add on at roughly $5 to $15 per square metre, an indicative range only. We seal as part of the job or later through our paving sealing and cleaning service, and there is a full walkthrough in sealing limestone pavers in Perth.
How IBP lays limestone paving
Which bed we use depends on the stone's thickness and how uniform it is.
Sand bed for reconstituted limestone pavers of 40 mm or more on patios, paths and pool surrounds: compacted sub grade, washed yellow paving sand screeded to a fall of 1:60 to 1:80 away from the house, 2 to 3 mm joints, an edge restraint on every free edge and joint sand swept in. Driveways only at driveway thickness, which means 50 mm plus reconstituted pavers over compacted road base.
Mortar bed over a concrete slab for thin natural slabs, pool coping and steps. Here the rule we are strictest about is full bed contact: a hollow under soft limestone is where the edge chips and the slab cracks, so every piece is bedded solid. Coping goes on the pool bond beam, and the detail is on our pool paving and coping page.
Runoff goes to lawn, garden or a soakwell, because Perth councils require stormwater to be kept on site, and we install the soakwell in the same visit. Limestone jobs often come with matching limestone walls and garden beds, which we build in the same job so the stone and the levels match. We confirm thicknesses, base depths and the slab specification for your site at the measure.
Limestone paving cost in Perth
These are indicative Perth industry ranges from published 2026 cost guides, not IBP's price list.
| Item | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Limestone pavers, supply and lay | $80 to $160 |
| Paving overall, all materials, supply and lay | $63 to $170, typical $105 |
| Sealing as an add on | $5 to $15 |
Source: Perth Pavers 2026 paving cost comparison and sealing guide; whatsthedamage.com.au Perth paving costs. Indicative Perth industry ranges only.
Within the limestone band, reconstituted sits mid range and natural Tamala higher. What moves a quote: natural or reconstituted, thickness, sand or mortar bed, whether a slab is needed, cutting, coping metres, sealing, access and soakwells. Our Perth paving cost guide keeps the bands current.
Limestone or another stone
Travertine is harder, imported, more varied in colour, always mortar laid and dearer; our post on limestone versus travertine compares the two. Granite is the stone for driveways and high wear. Sandstone brings warm tones to low traffic areas. Limestone crazy paving gives the same cream stone an irregular, hand fitted look on paths and feature areas.
"Exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail. Our new stone driveway has added real value to our property. Thank you for such an amazing transformation!" Daniel Maverick
