Patio and alfresco paving for Perth homes
IBP Paving supplies and lays pavers for alfrescos, patios and outdoor entertaining areas, new or extended, across Perth's northern suburbs from Landsdale. Over 20 years in Perth, fully licensed, and our lifetime workmanship warranty covers the paving we lay. It is part of our brick paving service and one of the most common jobs in our Perth paving work.
The words first, because WA uses them in a particular way. An alfresco is the covered outdoor area under the main roof of the house, usually on a slab the builder poured. A patio is freestanding or under a pergola and is usually paved on a compacted sand bed. We pave both.
Three jobs come up again and again in the northern suburbs: extending a builder's small alfresco out into the yard on the 2000s estates in Landsdale, Darch and Hocking; paving a patio around a new pergola; and relaying a 1990s patio that has sunk. Pavers suit all three because they handle the Perth sun better than decking, and unlike poured concrete they can be lifted and relaid. For a quote, request a free site measure or call 0449 020 336.
Choosing pavers for an alfresco in the Perth sun
Heat is the first filter. Light, porous stone stays coolest underfoot; dark granite and dark concrete get hottest. Midland Brick positions its neutral limestone, cream and charcoal tones for WA sun and heat, and where bare feet are involved we steer clients to light and mid tones. The short list:
- Concrete pavers, the Perth default, with the widest range of sizes and finishes. Large format units make a small area feel bigger. Ranges are on the brick paving page.
- Clay pavers for a warm, colourfast floor that sits well with brick and tile homes.
- Limestone, natural or reconstituted, cool and local, and it needs sealing. See limestone paving.
- Tumbled travertine, the usual barefoot choice, also sealed. See travertine paving.
- Crazy paving as a feature floor for the alfresco. See crazy paving.
Thickness: 40 mm is the residential pedestrian standard. The CMAA Surface Requirements for Pavers factsheet sets a minimum 2 kN breaking load and 40 mm, and Midland Brick specifies 40 mm for paths and patios. If you want the indoor floor to flow outside, choose a paver in a similar tone to the internal tile rather than trying to match it exactly; outdoor units are thicker and textured for grip. Porcelain pavers are not a material we supply.
Source: CMAA and Midland Brick, Surface Requirements for Pavers factsheet, July 2024; Midland Brick paver range notes, 2026.
Drainage and levels: keeping water off the slab
Alfresco paving has to finish level with or just below the internal floor so water cannot run inside, then fall away from the house at 1:60 to 1:80. Both the roof runoff from the alfresco and the surface runoff from the paving must be retained on your lot, because Perth councils require stormwater to be kept on site, and paving cannot drain onto a neighbour's land or the verge.
On an extension the new paving usually needs a grated drain at the low point running to a soakwell. We install the soakwell in the same visit and size the drainage for the paved area as part of the quote.
Sand behaves differently to a slab. Minor settlement in the first year on a sand bed is normal; sinking that keeps going means water is washing the bed out or ants are mining it, and that is a sunken paving repair, not a redo.
How we lay alfresco and patio paving
- Levels first. We set the finished height from the internal floor and the slab edge and agree it with you before anything is cut.
- On sand: compact the natural sand and screed washed yellow paving sand to the fall. Pedestrian areas do not need road base.
- On an existing sound slab: pavers or stone go on a mortar bed if the door thresholds leave the height. A cracked or dropped slab comes out and the area is rebuilt on sand so it can be relaid in future.
- Pattern: stretcher bond or stack bond for large format, herringbone or basketweave for 230 x 115 clay. Patios carry no wheel loads, so the lighter interlock patterns are fine. See stretcher bond and basketweave.
- Edge restraint on every free edge, then joints sanded and the field compacted.
- Steps and the slab edge are bedded on sand cement so they do not move.
Our lifetime workmanship warranty covers the bed, the edges and the joints on paving we lay. "The work was absolutely perfect, clean, precise, and professionally done." Moey Husy
Alfresco paving cost in Perth
These are indicative Perth industry ranges from published 2026 cost guides, not IBP's price list.
| Material | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Concrete pavers | $75 to $110 |
| Clay pavers | $130 to $210 |
| Limestone | $80 to $160 |
| Travertine | $185 to $370 |
| All paving, all materials | $63 to $170, typical $105 |
Source: Perth Pavers 2026 material comparison; whatsthedamage.com.au Perth paving costs. Indicative Perth industry ranges only.
Stone on a mortar bed costs more in labour than brick on sand, and thin units such as 20 mm porcelain cost more to lay than standard pavers. For an alfresco the figure moves with matching the slab level, removing an old patio, the drain and soakwell, and the pattern. If you are searching "how much does an alfresco cost", the roof and slab are the builder's cost; this page prices the paving only. Current bands are in our Perth paving cost guide.
Alfresco, courtyard or pool surround: which page?
Walled or enclosed spaces where drainage and access are the constraint are on courtyard paving. Paving that wraps a pool has slip and barrier rules, covered on pool paving. The path from the alfresco to the side gate is on garden path paving. A sunken or lifted patio is a repair, and once the job is done we can seal and clean it.
Most of our alfresco work is in Landsdale, Darch, Madeley, Hocking, Tapping and Woodvale. See all areas we service.
