Paving in Bennett Springs from Landsdale, about 9 km away
If you are searching for paving in Bennett Springs, IBP Paving is based about 9 km west in Landsdale and treats the suburb as part of its normal working area. The jobs we quote here are mostly driveway relays, new or larger alfresco areas, side paths, crossovers and soakwells. Brick, concrete and natural stone pavers are all on offer, and every installation carries a lifetime workmanship warranty backed by over 20 years in the trade.
A suburb that waited ten years for its name
For most of its life this area was simply part of Beechboro, together with the neighbourhood of Orchid Park. Residents campaigned for around a decade before the locality was gazetted as Bennett Springs in April 2011. The name honours Matilda Bennett, wife of John Septimus Roe, and so does Bennett Brook, the watercourse that still runs through the suburb. Growth has continued since the name change: the population went from 4,883 in 2011 to 5,929 at the 2021 census.
Sand, clay and the low ground near Whiteman Park
Bennett Springs is thought to sit close to the line where the grey Bassendean sand of the northern suburbs meets the heavier Guildford Formation of the Swan Valley. Most lots are likely to be sandy at the surface, but clay can turn up within digging depth, and the two behave very differently. Sand compacts well and drains fast. Clay holds water, swells when wet and shrinks in summer, which is what lifts and drops paving over a few seasons.
The flat country towards Whiteman Park and the Bennett Brook line is likely to be where groundwater sits highest. On those blocks we probe before quoting, build a thicker compacted limestone base under driveways, and give every paved surface a clear fall so water never sits against the house. Where clay or a high water table means a soakwell will struggle, we look at grated drains and pipework instead.
How the City of Swan wants roof and paving water handled
Every Bennett Springs lot must deal with its own stormwater. The City of Swan gives owners two routes: pipe it to the City's drainage system, or keep it on site in soakwells or a similar approved retention system. Most homes here use soakwells.
The City's general sizing guide is Volume (m3) = 0.0122 x impervious area (m2), which is about 12.2 litres for each square metre of roof and paving, and it is stated as based on sandy soil of high permeability. The 2022 handbook keeps 0.0122 for R25 or lower density and uses 0.0159 for R30 or higher. Units must be at least 1.8 m from a footing or boundary, and any soakwell under paving needs a trafficable lid that stays accessible.
Source: City of Swan, Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12 (August 2016); City of Swan, Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022).
Two more points matter for paving. Water may not be sent across the crossover or verge onto the road, so driveways need to fall towards a drain or garden rather than the street. And if you are building a new crossover to the City's specification, the City contributes $400 toward the first one in an approved residential area. Our City of Swan soakwell requirements guide covers the full set of rules.
2000s homes reaching their first relay
Much of the housing in Bennett Springs is believed to date from 2000s estates, usually with a paved driveway at the front and a patio at the back. If that is right, twenty or so years on the paving is showing its age in predictable places. Driveways dip in the wheel tracks and around soakwell lids, and edges creep where the original restraint has failed. A lift and relay on a rebuilt base fixes that without buying new pavers, and our sunken paving repair page explains the cause in more detail.
The other common request is more outdoor living space. Extending a patio into a full alfresco area adds roof, and added roof means more water to store. We include the extra soakwell volume in the quote, worked out with the City's formula above.
Around Bennett Springs
Beechboro lies directly to the south, Dayton to the east and Caversham to the south east, with Lockridge and Malaga also close by. All of them are on the areas we service list.
