Paving Ballajura from across the council boundary
Ballajura sits in the City of Swan, but geographically it is a neighbour: about 4.6 km from IBP Paving's base in Landsdale, straight down the road past Emu Swamp. We lay brick and stone paving for driveways, pool surrounds and alfresco areas, relay sunken paving, and install soakwells designed to the City of Swan's rules rather than the Wanneroo ones that apply a street away. Over 20 years of experience and a lifetime workmanship warranty on every job.
City of Swan soakwells: 12.2 litres for every square metre
Swan does not publish a homeowner soakwell sheet the way Wanneroo and Joondalup do. Its rules sit in engineering documents, and they are more prescriptive. The Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12, give a formula rather than a lookup table.
"As a general guide soak well volumes are based on the formula Volume Required (m3) = 0.0122 x Ac", where Ac is the impervious area in square metres, "based upon sandy soil of high permeability" and sized for a 5 year, 10 minute storm. The City's Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design applies V = 0.0122Ai to lots coded R25 or lower.
Sources: City of Swan, Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12 (August 2016); City of Swan, Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022). D12 is written for development other than individual houses, so we apply it to single homes as a design guide.
Three further D12 rules shape every Ballajura job. Soakwells are to be no closer than 1.8 metres to a footing or property boundary. Any soakwell under paving or concrete must have a trafficable lid and remain accessible. And no stormwater may discharge over the crossover or verge onto the road, with brick paving not to be laid over gully grates. Capacity is reduced where groundwater rises above the base, in which case the City says soakwells may not be suitable, and its handbook requires subsoil drains where the maximum groundwater level is within 1.2 metres of lot level. Our City of Swan soakwell requirements page has the full list.
The Lakes Estate, Emu Swamp and where the water table matters
That groundwater clause is not academic in Ballajura. The suburb was developed in the 1980s around constructed lakes in the Lakes Estate and Lakeshore, and Emu Swamp sits on its western boundary. Lots on the low ground beside the lakes have a water table well above the depth of a standard 1200 mm soakwell in a wet winter. On those blocks we probe before quoting and often use shallower, wider units or more of them, so the base stays dry.
Away from the lakes the ground is classic Bassendean sand: pale grey, leached and fast draining. The first European settler on the land reportedly left because the soil was not fertile enough, which is exactly what makes it good for soakwells and easy to excavate. The coast is about 14 km away, so salt is irrelevant to paver choice. Homes along the Emu Swamp and Koondoola bushland edge have a bushfire interface, and there we recommend non combustible paving such as brick, concrete or limestone right up to the house on that side.
What 1980s Ballajura homes need
Ballajura's housing is mid-life: brick and tile from the 1980s build out, now 35 to 45 years old. Driveways from that period have settled along the wheel paths and are a lift and relay job where the clay pavers are sound. Pool surrounds are the big upgrade here, with dated concrete pavers coming out and limestone or travertine going in. Near the lakes, replacing undersized or waterlogged soakwells is part of almost every paving job, since the City's 1.8 metre setback and trafficable lid rules usually mean the old units were never compliant.
Crossovers and verges under City of Swan rules
The City of Swan allows brick paved crossovers in solid clay or concrete pavers at least 60 mm thick, on 150 mm of limestone or rock base with 25 mm of bedding sand, and requires a concrete beam between the road surface and the paving. Width is 3.0 to 6.0 metres or 40 per cent of the frontage, whichever is less, at least 3.5 metres clear of any verge tree and 0.5 metres from poles and services. Only new materials may be used. Build to the specification and the City contributes $400 towards a first residential crossover.
Verge paving is treated differently from Wanneroo. The City says hardstand treatments other than paths and crossovers are not normally encouraged, and paving requires written permission through an Application to Alter Verge. Where approved, there must be at least one opening of a metre by a metre per frontage for a tree or garden bed, the paving must be clearly delineated from the crossover, and it should fall towards the tree well where possible. Asphalt, concrete and loose aggregate are refused outright. No percentage limit is published.
Sources: City of Swan, Specification for the Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (February 2022); City of Swan, Verge Guidelines; Application to Alter Verge form.
Nearby suburbs
From Ballajura we cover Landsdale to the north, Alexander Heights to the west and Morley to the south, along with Koondoola, Malaga, Noranda and Beechboro in between. The complete list is on areas we service.
