Woodbridge paving, taken on by arrangement
If you are after paving in Woodbridge, IBP Paving lays brick, stone and concrete driveways, paths and courtyards there and builds the drainage under them. Woodbridge is about 15 km from our base in Landsdale, measured straight across the map, which puts it beyond our everyday northern work. We take jobs there by arrangement: send us the job details first, and we will tell you plainly whether and when we can fit it in. Every job carries our lifetime workmanship warranty and over 20 years of paving experience.
River flats, clay and a former coal dam
Woodbridge runs down to the Swan River, and the ground reflects that. Most of the suburb typically sits on Guildford Formation clay mixed with river alluvium, and on the low flats the water table is usually shallow. The Woodbridge Lakes nearby were once a coal dam.
For paving, that changes the build. Clay does not drain like sand and it swells when wet, so we dig out further, lay a thicker compacted base and grade every surface so water runs off rather than soaking in at the edges. For drainage we lean on grated channels and piped outlets where a soakwell would simply fill and stay full. Our guide to soakwells in clay and high water tables explains the reasoning.
What the City of Swan asks of soakwells here
Woodbridge falls under the City of Swan, which sets its drainage rules through engineering documents rather than a homeowner sheet. Run off from a site is to go either to Council's stormwater system or to on site retention such as soakwells, as approved.
The City's general guide sizes a soakwell at 0.0122 cubic metres for every square metre of impervious area, about 12.2 litres per square metre, and says that figure is based on sandy soil of high permeability. Soakwells must sit at least 1.8 m from a footing or boundary, and any under paving need trafficable lids with access for maintenance. Where groundwater rises above the base, capacity falls and soakwells may not suit, and subsoil drains are required where maximum groundwater is less than 1.2 m below lot level.
On a riverside block that last point matters. We check groundwater depth and soil response early, then design to whichever option the site supports. No stormwater can be sent over the crossover or verge onto the road, and brick paving must not be laid over gully grates. Our City of Swan soakwell requirements page sets out the documents in more detail.
Source: City of Swan, Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12 (August 2016); Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022).
West Midland homes and the jobs they bring
Until 1 March 2001 this area was part of Midland and was often called West Midland. The housing there is likely to be mixed, and so is the work. Older homes tend to need relaying of driveways and paths that have dropped or rocked on the clay. Newer homes more often want a first driveway or a rear courtyard in clay brick pavers, which suit the reactive ground well when laid on a proper base.
Where a driveway meets the street, the City's crossover specification applies: solid concrete or clay pavers at least 60 mm thick over 150 mm of limestone or road base, 25 mm of bedding sand, a concrete beam between road and paving, and new materials only.
Source: City of Swan, Specification for the Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (February 2022).
Woodbridge House and the 1829 grant
The suburb takes its name from Governor Stirling's 1829 land grant on this stretch of the Swan. Woodbridge House, once owned by Charles Harper and now a National Trust museum, still stands on the riverbank. On older lots near the river and the museum, traditional red or tan clay pavers often suit best, in a simple stretcher or herringbone pattern, and we are happy to match an existing path rather than introduce a modern large format look.
Close neighbours along the Swan
Woodbridge sits close to Midland and Viveash, with Guildford, South Guildford and Hazelmere a short distance away. We handle those suburbs on the same by arrangement basis; the areas we service page lists them all.
