Guildford paving, about 14 km from our Landsdale base
Guildford is about 14 km in a straight line from IBP Paving in Landsdale, at the point where the Helena River meets the Swan. It sits outside our usual run, so we take work in Guildford by arrangement and ask for the job details before anything else: the area, the purpose, any heritage listing on the property and a few photos. Once we have those we can book a visit. We lay clay brick and natural stone, rebuild driveways and crossovers, and design drainage for clay ground, with over 20 years in the trade and a lifetime workmanship warranty.
Red crossovers are the rule here
The City of Swan's crossover specification singles out this suburb: every crossover in the Guildford area is to be built in red asphalt, red concrete or red brick paving.
For a paved crossover we use solid clay or concrete pavers of at least 60 mm, set on 25 mm of bedding sand over 150 mm of compacted limestone or road base, with a concrete beam cast between the road surface and the first row of pavers. The City accepts new materials only, so salvaged bricks from the house cannot go into the crossover even when they would suit the colour. Built to that specification, a first residential crossover attracts a $400 contribution from the City. An existing footpath must not be removed to make way for it.
Source: City of Swan, Specification for the Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (February 2022); Application to Add or Alter Vehicle Crossovers.
Building on the Guildford Formation
Geologists use Guildford as the type area for the Guildford Formation, a sandy clay that drains poorly, overlain in places by river alluvium. Add the low flats where two rivers meet, which are prone to flooding, and the result is ground that holds water rather than passing it through. That shapes our work in two ways. Under the paving, we excavate deeper and lay a thicker compacted base so the clay below cannot pump and rock the pavers when it is wet. On the surface, we set firm falls toward drains so nothing ponds against the house or soaks back into the subgrade. Groundwater across this north eastern corridor is generally limited in yield and can bring salinity, acidity or staining, another reason to keep paving well drained.
Soakwells, groundwater and the drainage contribution area
The City of Swan lets site run-off go either to Council's stormwater system or to approved on site retention such as soakwells. Its D12 guideline excludes individual residential development from its scope, so we treat its figures as a design guide on single houses rather than a hard rule. The guide volume of 0.0122 cubic metres per square metre of impervious area, about 12.2 litres, assumes sandy soil of high permeability, which Guildford clay is not. Capacity falls where groundwater rises above a soakwell's base, and the City requires subsoil drains where the maximum groundwater level is less than 1.2 m below lot levels.
So on most Guildford lots we test infiltration first and often design grated drains and pipework rather than relying on soakwells alone. No stormwater may run over the crossover or verge onto the road, and brick paving is never to be laid over a gully grate. Guildford also falls inside the City's drainage contribution policy area. The City of Swan soakwell requirements page explains each of these rules.
Source: City of Swan, D12 Property Development Design Guidelines (August 2016); Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022).
Paving that respects a heritage town
Founded in 1829, Guildford has more than 200 places on the State Register of Heritage Places, St Matthew's Church of 1836 and the Guildford Railway Station Precinct of 1881 among them, and it is one of three metropolitan towns on the National Trust register. Paving around homes of that age should not shout. We usually suggest clay brick in red or warm tones, in a plain stretcher bond or similar traditional pattern, for front paths and rear courtyards. Where old paving has dropped, we lift and relay it on a proper base and keep as much of the original material as is sound.
Bassendean, Woodbridge and other close suburbs
Guildford neighbours Woodbridge, South Guildford and Caversham, and Bassendean and Eden Hill are close by. See the areas we service page for the rest.
