Beechboro paving work, about 10 km from our Landsdale base
IBP Paving handles paving in Beechboro from Landsdale, roughly 10 km to the west. Almost everything we are asked to do in the suburb is renewal work on homes that are now more than 35 years old: relaying sunken driveways, replacing pavers that have cracked or faded beyond saving, rebuilding crossovers and swapping out soakwells that no longer cope. New patios and paths are part of it too. All of it comes with a lifetime workmanship warranty and the judgement of over 20 years laying pavers in Perth.
East, West and Timberlane: Beechboro's 1980s housing
The suburb takes its name from Beechboro Park, the Kent estate of the Brockman family; Henry Brockman subdivided land here in 1892 and named it after the family property. Suburban building came much later. East Beechboro was developed from 1979 to the late 1980s and West Beechboro in the mid to late 1980s, with the Timberlane Estate off Beechboro Road North as a third pocket. The typical home is a brick and tile three bedroom, one bathroom house on a block of 600 to 800 square metres.
Those blocks are generous, and the paving on them has had decades of traffic. Clay brick driveways laid in the 1980s tend to have settled into ruts, and many have been patched more than once. Where the pavers are sound, a relay on a fresh, compacted base gives them another long life. Where they are not, full replacement in a modern clay or concrete paver is the better spend. Mature trees planted when the suburb was new are often behind lifted paths and patios, which we cover on our tree root damage page.
Replacing tired soakwells under old driveways
A soakwell installed in the 1980s may now be serving a house with an extra patio, a carport and a bigger driveway. The City of Swan expects every lot to collect its stormwater and either hold it on site in soakwells or similar approved retention, or pipe it to the City's system.
For sizing, the City's general guide is 0.0122 cubic metres per square metre of impervious area, roughly 12.2 litres for each square metre of roof and paving, on the basis of sandy, highly permeable soil. The 2022 handbook keeps that rate for lots coded R25 or lower. A soakwell must be at least 1.8 m from footings and boundaries, units under paving need trafficable lids that remain accessible for maintenance, and brick paving may not be laid over gully grates.
Source: City of Swan, Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12 (August 2016); Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022).
On a typical Beechboro house with 260 square metres of roof and paving, the guide gives about 3.2 cubic metres. When we relay a driveway we lift the old lid, check the unit, and if it is undersized or broken we replace it before the new base goes down. More detail is on our soakwells page and the City of Swan rules guide.
Rebuilding a crossover to the City's specification
A worn crossover is a common part of a Beechboro driveway job. The City requires solid clay or concrete pavers of 60 mm or more, laid on 150 mm of limestone or rock base with 25 mm of sand bedding, with a concrete beam between the road and the first course, and the crossover must be built from new materials. An existing footpath must not be taken out, and the crossover must stay 0.5 m clear of light poles or services and 3.5 m clear of verge trees. The City also says a street tree will not be removed only because it sits near a crossover unless there is no alternative, and residents may not prune or remove street trees themselves.
Source: City of Swan, Specification for the Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (February 2022); Application to Add or Alter Vehicle Crossovers; Street trees and verges.
Grey sand and the low eastern side
Beechboro is likely to be mostly Bassendean sand, the pale grey sand that covers much of Perth's north. It drains quickly and compacts well under a limestone base, which suits both paving and soakwells. The exception is the eastern edge, where the land falls towards the Swan River flats and lots tend to be lower. Those blocks can be damper through winter, so we check the depth to water before choosing soakwell sizes there. The coast is roughly 16 km away, so salt exposure is unlikely to be a concern for paver selection.
Neighbouring suburbs
Bennett Springs was once part of Beechboro and borders it to the north. Noranda, Morley and Ballajura are close by, as are Lockridge and Malaga. See areas we service for the full list.
