Sunken driveways are why Alexander Heights calls us
Paving in Alexander Heights is mostly about fixing what was laid 30 to 40 years ago. The suburb was named in the late 1970s and developed through the 1980s and 1990s with brick and tile homes, and the driveways, porches and patios from that period are now sinking, cracking or simply out of date. IBP Paving is about 2.2 km away in Landsdale. We relay and replace driveways, extend patios, install soakwells and lay new stone and brick paving, all with a lifetime workmanship warranty and over 20 years of experience in Perth's northern sand.
Where a soakwell can and cannot go on an Alexander Heights lot
Many Alexander Heights homes sit on comfortable 1980s lots with room down the side, but some have been extended, or had a shed or carport added, which eats into the clearances a soakwell needs. The City of Wanneroo's stormwater information sheet sets the placement rule we work to.
"As a general guide the setbacks for soakwells should be a minimum of the width of the soakwell away from buildings and boundaries, providing that the width is greater or equal to the depth of the soakwell." The same sheet adds that it is not recommended to install soakwells where there are narrow clearances between buildings and boundaries, as there would not be sufficient drainage area.
Source: City of Wanneroo, Stormwater Runoff Information Sheet (correct as of July 2019).
In practice that means a 1200 mm soakwell wants 1.2 metres clear of the house footing and the fence, which a 1 metre side passage cannot give. We solve it with two smaller units in the front or back garden, connected by a drain run, rather than squeezing one big chamber where the City says it should not be. The obligation behind all this is the owner's statutory duty, cited by the City from common law precedents and the Local Government Act 1995, to confine runoff within the property. Our City of Wanneroo soakwell requirements page has the sizing table and crossover rules.
Bassendean sand, Emu Swamp and the Koondoola bushland
Alexander Heights is on grey Bassendean sand over the Gnangara Mound, which drains fast and makes soakwells effective. The exception sits in the south east, where the suburb runs down towards Emu Swamp and Koondoola Regional Bushland. Ground is lower there and the water table rises in winter, so we keep soakwell bases above it, which sometimes means wider, shallower units than we would use on the higher streets.
The coast is about 11 km away, so salt is not a factor in paver choice. Homes that abut the Koondoola bushland do have a bushfire interface, and there we recommend brick, concrete or stone paving as the non combustible surface against the house on the bushland side.
Relays, soakwell replacement and patio extensions
The work breaks into three jobs that often happen together on the same 1980s house.
- Sunken paving repair and relaying. We lift the dipped section of the driveway, dig out the soft sand, compact a proper base and relay. Clay pavers from this era usually come up clean and go back down.
- Soakwell replacement. Old concrete rings without geofabric fill with sand over 30 years. We replace them with wrapped units sized from the City's table; see soakwell cost and sizing for what that involves.
- Patio extensions. The original rear patio is usually small. Extending it in matching or contrasting pavers, with falls away from the slab and a new soakwell for the extra roof, is the most common upgrade we do in the suburb.
Why the 1990s driveways dipped
Walk the older streets of Alexander Heights and you will see the same pattern: a driveway that is flat at the garage, flat at the kerb, and dished in between. That shape points to the ground, not the pavers. Bassendean sand holds no structure once it is wet, and a thin bedding layer laid straight onto loose sand slowly consolidates under car weight. Where an unwrapped soakwell sits beside the driveway the dip is deeper, because the sand has been washing into the chamber for decades.
The fix is not more sand on top. We take the pavers up, compact the sand in wetted layers, add a crushed limestone base where the driveway carries traffic, replace the soakwell, and relay with a slight crown so water runs off. Relaid that way, the driveway outlasts the house's next owner.
Nearby suburbs
Alexander Heights borders Marangaroo to the west, Landsdale to the north east and Ballajura to the east, with Girrawheen and Koondoola a short way south. All are covered from our Landsdale base; see areas we service.
