Menora paving, about 13 km south of our Landsdale base
IBP Paving handles paving in Menora for owners who want a sound driveway, a level path to the front door or a quiet courtyard out the back, along with soakwells to suit the City of Stirling's rules. Menora is about 13 km south of our Landsdale base as the crow flies, and it falls within our inner north service area. All work carries a lifetime workmanship warranty, and our team brings over 20 years of paving experience to each site.
Yellow sand under most of the suburb
Most of Menora is likely to sit on yellow Karrakatta sand, part of the Spearwood dunes, with a transition towards the grey Bassendean sand in places, much like neighbouring Mount Lawley and Yokine. That ground should typically drain well, and no major wetland or shallow water table is expected. At roughly 10 km from the coast, salt exposure is unlikely to be a factor in paver choice.
For base preparation the yellow sand is forgiving. We strip the topsoil, compact the sand in layers, add crushed limestone under driveway traffic and screed a bedding layer before the pavers go down. On a corner block or a lot with a long frontage we also check where the downpipes run before deciding how many units to install.
A suburb named after a picture theatre
Menora was carved out of Mount Lawley and named in 1954 after the old Menora theatre within its borders. Seen from above, a section of its streets forms the shape of a menorah. It is a small suburb, with about 2,700 residents in 2021, and the City of Stirling's Heritage Protection Area covers the majority of it, so the character of the streetscape is protected.
Paving for an older household
Menora's population skews older: the median age was 57 in 2021, and 41.2 percent of residents were over 65, a figure linked to the retirement villages in the area. That shapes the work. Paths and entries that were fine thirty years ago now catch a walking frame or a shuffling step, and the brief is usually a level, even surface with no lips. Jobs that suit an older household:
- lifting and relaying front paths that have heaved or dipped
- fixing sunken pavers around soakwell lids and downpipes
- widening an entry so a wheelchair or walker has room to turn
- replacing a tired driveway in clay brick pavers that suit the older homes
We set falls carefully on these jobs. A path needs enough slope to shed rain, but steep cross falls make walking harder, so we aim for the gentlest fall that still drains.
Heritage, crossovers and the City's drainage rules
Inside the Heritage Protection Area, the City requires a development application for demolitions, renovations, extensions and new buildings. Verge paving, concrete and synthetic turf are not permitted there, and any extra crossover is weighed against the Local Planning Scheme and the relevant Local Planning Policies. Character retention guidelines apply to Menora, but we have not seen the adopted text on driveways, so check with the City before changing a driveway or front garden layout. For a new or altered crossover, a Crossover Installation Application comes first. The City pays a subsidy of 50 percent of a standard 3 m grey concrete crossover for the first crossover to a property, claimed within 12 months of completion.
Drainage follows the City's on site criteria. All rain within the lot must be kept there, and the minimum design storm for a standard lot is a 1 in 1 year, 60 minute event, equal to 15 mm across the whole site. Hard surface area times 0.015 gives the cubic metres required: a 150 square metre roof needs 2.25 cubic metres. Runoff from the roof and from paved areas is held separately, and the City encourages permeable paving. See our City of Stirling soakwell requirements guide for the detail.
Sources: City of Stirling, Heritage and development; Verge Treatment Policy; Crossover Policy; On Site Stormwater Drainage Criteria (June 2024).
Other suburbs near Menora
We also work in Mount Lawley and Inglewood, which share Menora's heritage controls, and in Coolbinia, Yokine and Dianella. The complete list is on areas we service.
