Como paving, about 21 km from our base
Como is about 21 km south of IBP Paving in Landsdale, next to South Perth on the south side of the river. Jobs here are taken by arrangement. We ask for the details first, such as the area, the existing surface, access and a few photos, and then confirm whether we can book it in. The work is what we do across the north: brick and stone paving, driveway replacement, courtyards and soakwells, with a lifetime workmanship warranty and over 20 years of experience behind it.
A precinct where soakwells come first
The City of South Perth sets its stormwater rules by drainage precinct, eight in all, and Como sits in the group it names Como, Manning and South Perth. In that group new buildings should preferably use soakwells. A private connection to the drainage system is accepted only where a high water table makes soakwells unfeasible. Any project needs stormwater drainage approval, lodged with a drainage plan and, where the City asks, an engineering statement.
For Type 1 residential buildings or minor additions, the soakwell volume is not less than 0.02 times the impervious area serviced, unless otherwise demonstrated. Impervious area means everything except a well mulched, well maintained garden bed. The base must be more than 500 mm above the historical maximum groundwater level given in the Perth Groundwater Atlas. A soakwell may be no deeper than twice its diameter, with 2.4 metres the limit, must never be nearer to a foundation than one and a half times its depth, and needs a trafficable lid in any trafficable area.
Source: City of South Perth, Stormwater Drainage for Proposed Buildings Design Guidelines (Policy M354) and Lodge a Stormwater Application (April 2026).
Put into numbers, a home with 160 square metres of roof and a 60 square metre driveway has 220 square metres to drain and needs at least 4.4 cubic metres of storage. A unit 1.2 metres deep must then stand 1.8 metres off the footings, which on a narrow block often decides where the soakwells go before we decide anything about the paving. Our soakwell cost and sizing page turns volumes into units, and Perth soakwell requirements compares the City with its neighbours.
The 1905 Como Estate and what came after
Como takes its name from the Como Estate, subdivided in 1905 from land that Edmund Hugh Comer bought in 1891. Later housing eras are not well recorded, but Como streets are likely to mix older homes with rebuilds and townhouses, with infill probably most noticeable near the Canning Bridge station.
The paving follows that pattern. Older homes most often need paving replacement where a driveway or path has worn out, or a rear courtyard that suits the house. For a new driveway that will see daily turning traffic, a herringbone pattern locks together well. Redeveloped blocks and strata sites need shared driveways and common paths, quoted through our commercial and strata service, and every new hard surface comes with soakwells sized to the rule above.
Checking the ground before we dig
Most of Como is likely to sit on sand near the boundary between the Spearwood and Bassendean dune systems, and on that sand the water table is generally several metres down. That is good news for soakwells and fits the City's preference for them here. The 500 mm clearance rule still means we look up the groundwater level for the lot before settling a depth, and on any low corner we choose a wider, shallower unit rather than a deep one. For the paving itself, the sand compacts into a firm subgrade, and we add a crushed limestone base wherever a car will drive. Como is roughly 11 km from the ocean, so salt is unlikely to be a factor in paver choice.
Verge approvals and the City's street trees
Paving or any other hardstand on a Como verge must be applied for in writing and approved by the City before work starts. The City's verge policy is P210, and the inspection, administration and approval fee is $201 including GST. Synthetic turf is not allowed on the verge, and neither are inorganic mulches like gravel or crushed rock. Every street tree on a verge is the City's responsibility, and its guidelines ask that trees and roots be protected during verge works, so we leave room around the trunk and avoid cutting roots when we set out a verge path or crossover edge.
Source: City of South Perth, Verges web page and Street Verge Landscape Guidelines; Trees and Verges page.
Manning, Karawara and the suburbs around Como
We take enquiries from Manning, Karawara, Salter Point and Kensington on the same basis as Como. Neighbouring suburbs with their own pages are South Perth, Victoria Park and East Victoria Park, with Applecross over Canning Bridge and Shelley further south east. See areas we service for the complete list.
