Paving in Bull Creek, taken by arrangement
Bull Creek is about 29 km south of IBP Paving's base in Landsdale. We take paving work here by arrangement, and before anything is booked we ask for the job details: photos of the area, approximate sizes and a note on what you want, whether that is a new brick driveway, a relay, a path or a soakwell. That lets us give you a straight answer on whether we can do it and when. Jobs we take on get the same care as those near home, from a team with over 20 years of experience, and carry a lifetime workmanship warranty.
Bull Creek Drive is home to the Aviation Heritage Museum, run by the RAAF Association of WA.
Gabbiljee, the watery place
The suburb lies south of Bull Creek itself, which flows into the Canning River. The area was known as Gabbiljee, meaning watery place, and its wetlands were a source of water through summer. That history still shows in the ground. Most of Bull Creek is likely to sit on sand near the boundary of the Spearwood and Bassendean units, yellow to grey and free draining, which suits soakwells and gives a good compacted base. The lower land along the creek is different: the water table tends to be shallower there, and lots on that ground can stay damp in winter.
On creek side lots we test before we design. If groundwater is close, we keep soakwells shallow and wide, raise the paving base with compacted crushed limestone, and add grated drains and falls that move water off the paving and away from the house. The coast is around 10 km west, far enough that salt is unlikely to be a factor in choosing pavers.
Established streets and ageing paving
Bull Creek's name was adopted in 1968, and its parks were set aside by Hooker and Rex Estates as the land was subdivided. The homes that followed are likely to be decades old, and the paving around them is probably at mid life or older. The jobs we expect here are relays of driveways that have settled into ruts, sunken areas around soakwell lids, inspection points and downpipes, and paths pushed up by roots from mature street and garden trees, where we cut back the offending roots on private land and rebuild the base before relaying. Owners may also want a wider, flatter garden path down the side of the house, or a paved patio where an old lawn has given up, and each extra square metre of hard surface gets its soakwell capacity worked out as part of the quote.
Melville's crossover and verge conditions
Bull Creek is in the City of Melville. Any crossover work needs the City's approval, and construction has to wait for it; the City charges no application or inspection fee but asks for at least 10 business days. A crossover must be between 3 m and 6 m wide, and no more than 4.5 m on a frontage of 12.5 m or less. Brick paved crossovers still need a concrete apron, and a fixed $495 subsidy is paid for a first crossover or for replacing bitumen with concrete or brick.
On the verge, Melville permits pavers but not in situ concrete or asphalt, other than a crossover or City footpath. Paving must be trafficable, sit at least 2 m from any street tree and avoid any damage to tree roots; permeable paving is recommended, loose gravel and pebbles are not permitted, and the City encourages owners to keep hard surface to half the verge including the crossover. Building materials must stay 2.0 m clear of a trunk, and a verge bond applies to work over $20,000.
Source: City of Melville, Crossovers web page; Verge Treatment Policy CP-086 (July 2024); Verges web page.
We check the City's current stormwater requirement for each lot when we quote. The Perth soakwell requirements page explains how we size soakwells across councils.
Around Bull Creek
Willetton is to the east, Rossmoyne across the creek and Booragoon a short way north west. Bateman, Leeming, Brentwood and Murdoch have no pages of their own on this site, and we quote them on the same terms. See areas we service for every suburb.
