Maida Vale paving from our Landsdale base
Maida Vale is about 23 km from Landsdale in a straight line, on the foothills below Kalamunda. IBP Paving takes on work here by arrangement. Send us the job details first, meaning the address, the rough area and some photos, and we will tell you whether it suits and when we can come out to measure. We build driveways and crossovers, pave alfresco areas and paths in clay, concrete and natural stone, and sort out drainage, backed by over 20 years in the trade and a lifetime workmanship warranty.
From Orangedale orchard to Crystal Brook
The area was first settled in 1873 as the Orangedale orchard and took the name Maida Vale in 1910. It is still not fully built up, and further expansion is planned in the Crystal Brook estate. That mix means two kinds of enquiry. Older homes on large lots want long driveways replaced or extended or widened for extra parking. New builds want everything at once: a driveway, a crossover, an alfresco and the drainage to go with them.
On sloping blocks the paving and the levels go together. A drive that climbs from the street may need a retaining wall beside it, and a level alfresco cut into a rise needs somewhere for the water to go.
Ridge Hill foothill ground
Maida Vale sits in the Ridge Hill area at the foot of the scarp. Most of the suburb is likely to be gravelly and sandy soil, with heavier duplex ground, sand sitting over clay, more common close to creeks and drainage lines. The gravelly soil compacts well and makes a good bed for a driveway base. Duplex patches are the ones to watch, because water can perch on the clay and soften the base from below. We probe the full length of a driveway before we price it, dig out soft ground and replace it with compacted crushed rock.
Groundwater in the foothills is generally limited, and the coast is around 26 km away, so salt has no bearing on paver choice. The suburb keeps areas of natural bushland, and parts of it may be in bushfire prone mapping. Check your address on the DFES map; near the house we suggest clay or concrete pavers and stone rather than mulch or timber.
Retention or detention: the City of Kalamunda's approach
The City of Kalamunda's stormwater guidelines treat the hills differently from the sandy foothill areas. Where the soil is unsuitable for retention, as on the hills, the City expects on site detention with a restricted discharge instead of soakwells that hold everything. Where a soakwell is used, its base needs an infiltration rate of 1.0 to 5 metres per day and 500 mm of clearance above the maximum groundwater level. So on a Maida Vale lot the first question is what the ground does in a test, and the answer decides between soakwells and a detention and drainage design.
Crossovers: no work may start until the City approves a Crossover Application, and the site plan must show at least 3 m between any existing tree and the crossover. The sealed surface may be asphalt, concrete, new or cleaned recycled bricks or block paving, or two coat chip seal, and brick crossovers need a concrete beam between the road seal and the paving. A residential crossover is at least 3 m wide, widening to 6 m at the road edge with two 1.5 m wings, and at most 6.0 m on frontages wider than 12.5 m. The City contributes the lesser of half the cost or $498 (2024/25) toward a first residential crossover, claimed within six months.
Verge and trees: paving, gravel and synthetic turf may cover no more than half the verge, with no loose pea gravel. LPP 33 requires a crossover to be set back 1.5 m from a verge street tree, with excavation near the tree no deeper than 150 mm below natural ground, and permeable paving or decking may take up no more than 20 percent of an R-Code deep soil area.
Source: City of Kalamunda, Stormwater Design Guidelines for Infill Small Subdivision and Property Development (Ver 3.2); Crossover Guideline (Ver 3.2); Verge Landscaping Conditions for Residential Property (v1.0); Local Planning Policy 33 Tree Retention.
Our Perth soakwell requirements page explains how councils across Perth approach soakwells.
The six ways corner
The traffic lights where Kalamunda Road, Hawtin Road and Gooseberry Hill Road meet are known as the six ways, because the spot was once a junction of six roads. It makes a simple reference point when you send us your job details and directions.
Neighbouring suburbs
Maida Vale is close to High Wycombe and Forrestfield on the foothills, Gooseberry Hill and Kalamunda up the scarp, and Helena Valley to the north. We take work in each of them on the same terms; the areas we service page lists the rest.
