Paving Darlington by arrangement
Darlington is about 23 km from IBP Paving's Landsdale base in a straight line, up on the scarp east of Greenmount. We take on Darlington jobs by arrangement and ask for the details first: where the property is, how big the area is and a few photos that show the slope. From that we can tell you whether the job fits and plan a visit. The work we do here is mostly driveways on falling ground, retaining, stone and clay paving, and drainage, all with a lifetime workmanship warranty and over 20 years behind it.
A winery locality turned hills suburb
Darlington began in the late 1800s as an unplanned locality of wineries and orchards rather than a laid out town. By the late 20th century those holdings had been broken up and subdivided, so many lots are large and sloping. The paving jobs follow from that: a driveway that has to climb or drop from the road at a grade a car can manage, retaining walls to win a flat parking pad or entertaining area, and steps and paths that link levels. Whether a wall needs approval depends on its height and position, and our retaining wall approval guide explains how to check.
On slopes we lean toward natural stone and textured clay pavers that keep their grip when wet, set on a well compacted base with edge restraints that cannot slide downhill.
Granite, laterite and Nyaania Creek
The suburb is on the escarpment of the Darling Fault, and the ground is likely to be granite and laterite rather than sand. Old quarries on the southern slope of Greenmount Hill suggest how close the rock sits. For paving, that means excavation can hit rock, and we price rock breaking where a test dig shows it. It also means a soakwell is often not practical as the only way to deal with roof and paving water, because there is little room for water to soak away. We usually design a mix of grated drains, spreaders and shallow units, with the drainage laid out before the paving goes down.
Nyaania Creek runs through the middle of Darlington, north of the Helena River, and lots near it can collect runoff from uphill, so we pay attention to falls there. Groundwater on the scarp is limited and the coast is around 30 km away, so salt is not a factor.
Darlington's hills setting means much of it is likely to be bushfire prone; confirm your address on the DFES map. Near the house we recommend non combustible paving such as stone, clay or concrete pavers instead of bark, mulch or timber.
The heritage trail and the festival
The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail, which people here call the bridle trail, follows the line of the old Mundaring Loop railway through the middle of town. It is a useful landmark when you describe where a property sits on the hill. The town also hosts the Darlington Arts Festival, which has run for more than 40 years.
Shire of Mundaring rules for the verge and crossover
Darlington's council is the Shire of Mundaring. Its verge and tree rules matter on hills streets where some verges are bush.
Bush verges must be protected, and any verge improvement needs a sketch plan and Shire approval before work begins. Trees on the verge are on Crown land and managed by the Shire, and a resident may take out a non indigenous verge tree only after the Shire issues a letter of authorisation. A crossover, new or modified, needs Shire approval and an application fee, and is built to the Shire's specification in concrete, asphalt or brick paving. For brick, that means new solid clay bricks of at least 60 mm in herringbone over 30 mm of bedding sand, never second hand or reject bricks, at a grade of no less than 2 percent. A first crossover built to standard can earn a dollar for dollar contribution up to the Shire's annual cap, with additional help where culverts are needed.
Source: Shire of Mundaring, Verge Maintenance and Verge Trees web pages; Crossover Requirements and Specifications for Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (Brick Paved) web pages.
For how councils across Perth deal with soakwells, see our Perth soakwell requirements page.
Around Darlington
Greenmount lies to the north west, Helena Valley below to the south west and Koongamia beyond Greenmount, with Glen Forrest further up the hill. All are covered by arrangement; the areas we service page has the full list.
