Koondoola paving from a base about 4 km north
If you are looking for paving in Koondoola, IBP Paving works from Landsdale, about 4 km to the north, which puts the suburb close to the centre of our usual area. We replace and relay driveways, lay alfresco and courtyard paving, put in garden paths and install or upgrade soakwells across Koondoola's 1970s streets. The team has over 20 years in Perth paving, and every job carries a lifetime workmanship warranty.
Grey sand, old fill and what sits under a driveway
Most of Koondoola is likely to be the grey Bassendean sand that runs through this part of the northern corridor. It compacts well and takes water quickly, which is good news for both pavers and soakwells. The local twist is history: before the 1970s a large part of the suburb was a regional landfill. That means fill or variable ground is likely in places, and the ground can change from one corner of a block to the next, firm in one spot and loose in another.
So we dig before we price. Test holes along the wheel tracks and at each proposed soakwell show how deep the clean sand goes and whether buried material will slow drainage. Where pockets are soft we take the excavation down further, backfill with crushed limestone and compact in thin layers, so the finished surface does not settle unevenly after its first wet season. The suburb sits on the Gnangara Mound, and the water table is usually several metres below the surface, although lots near Emu Swamp on the Ballajura boundary are worth a closer look after rain.
The City of Wanneroo's stormwater and crossover rules
Koondoola is in the City of Wanneroo. Its stormwater information sheet puts the job on the owner: runoff from the roof and paved areas has to stay within the property, spread by soakwells, spoon drains or something similar.
The sheet suggests one downpipe for roughly every 15 square metres of roof, spaced no more than 12 metres apart. Its sizing guide lists a 900 by 900 mm concrete soakwell as holding 580 litres and draining about 47 square metres, and a 1200 by 1200 mm unit as holding 1300 litres and draining about 111 square metres, in normal rainfall. It warns that clay or limestone can cause overflow, and it asks for soakwells to be set back from buildings and boundaries by at least their own width.
Source: City of Wanneroo, Information Sheet, Stormwater Runoff (correct as of July 2019).
Original soakwells on Koondoola homes are often undersized for today's roof and paving, so we check them whenever a driveway comes up. If the crossover is being redone too, the City's residential sheet wants heavy duty pavers of at least 60 mm on a 20 to 40 mm sand bed, over no less than 100 mm of crushed limestone or rock, between 3.0 and 6.0 metres wide at the property line and falling 2 percent across the verge. The full detail is on our City of Wanneroo soakwell requirements page.
Source: City of Wanneroo, Information Sheet, Crossover Brick Paved, Residential (correct as of July 2025).
Homes from the Koondoola Plaza years
Koondoola Primary School opened in 1975 and Koondoola Plaza in 1978, and much of the housing probably went up in the same decade. Close to fifty years later the paving laid with those houses has had a long innings. Early pavers were thin and many have cracked, edges have spread where there was no proper restraint, and driveways were often laid on sand that was barely compacted. Here a full paving replacement is usually better value than patching, with a new driveway on a limestone base and 60 mm pavers.
Out the back, owners are roofing over old patios and paving the space beneath as alfresco areas, and swapping cracked concrete paths for brick paving to match the front. Where a driveway has dipped but the pavers are still whole, a lift and relay on a rebuilt base keeps the original look for less. Any new roof means more water, so the quote includes soakwell capacity to suit.
Paving beside the bushland preserve
Koondoola has a large bushland preserve, and Waddington Primary School overlooks it. The bush is part of the suburb's character, and it has burned: major fires went through the preserve in 2012 and again in 2021. For homes that face it, we suggest keeping the ground next to the house hard and non combustible. Clay and concrete pavers and limestone will not catch, so a paved strip along the walls and a paved yard near the rear fence are a better choice than bark mulch or timber decking close to the building. Check your own lot on the DFES bushfire prone map if you are planning a larger outdoor area.
Girrawheen, Ballajura and the suburbs next door
Koondoola sits among Girrawheen, Alexander Heights, Ballajura, Marangaroo and Balga, and we work across all of them from Landsdale. See areas we service for the full list.
