Porcelain pavers supplied and laid in Perth
Most Perth pages about porcelain pavers belong to suppliers and tile shops. IBP Paving is the installer: we supply the pavers and lay them, or lay a porcelain range you have already picked, and either way the laying carries our lifetime workmanship warranty. Porcelain sits alongside natural stone in our stone paving work and the wider paving services we have run from Landsdale for over 20 years, fully licensed.
One range we can supply and lay is DesignoPave from WA supplier Freo Stone, and we lay other suppliers' 20 mm outdoor porcelain too. To talk through a job, book a free measure or call 0449 020 336.
What outdoor porcelain pavers are
Outdoor porcelain is a fired, dense paver made to look like natural stone, granite or timber. The timber look comes as long planks. Twenty millimetres is the standard outdoor thickness, much thinner than the 40, 50 and 60 mm concrete pavers in Midland Brick's ranges.
Sizes vary by supplier. DesignoPave comes as 600 x 300 x 20 mm pavers in seven colours and 1200 x 200 x 20 mm timber look planks in two, with matching capping in both sizes. Remastone's porcelain runs 600 x 400, 600 x 600 and 1200 x 200 mm, all 20 mm thick.
The numbers that matter sit on the technical data sheet, not the brochure. Freo Stone's 2025 sheet for DesignoPave lists:
- water absorption of 0.38% or less, which is why it is never sealed
- breaking strength of 11,000 N or more
- a pass on the household chemicals and swimming pool salts test
- resistance to thermal shock, and a Mohs hardness of 7
Source: Freo Stone DesignoPave technical data sheet 2025 and September 2026 price list; Remastone porcelain range; Garden Spec, porcelain pavers Perth.
Porcelain for patios, pools and paths
Patios and alfrescos. Porcelain suits an alfresco, and under a patio roof even the darker colours stay comfortable underfoot. Our patio and alfresco paving page covers falls, roof lines and drainage.
Pool surrounds and coping. Slip resistance is the question around water. DesignoPave is tested P5 on the AS 4586 wet pendulum test, Class C on the barefoot ramp test (DIN 51097) and R11 on the shod ramp test. For comparison, the concrete paver industry's guidance sets P4 as the minimum for external walkways and P5 for ramps. Polished porcelain is the exception and stays out of wet barefoot areas. Every DesignoPave colour also comes as capping, so the coping can match the paving. Fencing and coping detail are on our pool paving and coping page.
Paths and entries. The 1200 x 200 mm timber look planks give a side path or entry the look of boards without the upkeep of real timber.
Driveways. We do not treat 20 mm porcelain as a driveway paver. Freo Stone does not publish a vehicle rating for DesignoPave, and other Perth installers say porcelain under cars must be a vehicle rated product or fully bonded to a designed reinforced slab. The verge crossover is out regardless: City of Wanneroo asks for a minimum 60 mm heavy duty paver and City of Swan for 60 mm solid pavers.
Source: Freo Stone DesignoPave technical data sheet 2025; CMAA and Midland Brick, Surface Requirements for Pavers factsheet; City of Wanneroo and City of Swan crossover specifications.
Porcelain in Perth conditions
Sand. Landsdale and the northern corridor sit on deep, grey, free draining Bassendean sand; further west, Spearwood sand lies over Tamala limestone. Sand moves, and porcelain is less forgiving of that than most paving because its sharp, square edges show any lip between neighbouring pavers. The base matters more than with brick.
Salt. Within about 1 to 2 km of the ocean, salt wind drives efflorescence on paving. Porcelain itself passes the pool salts test, so on coastal jobs in suburbs like Trigg and Sorrento the white powder people see comes from the bedding or the joint, not the paver. Washed, salt free bedding materials help keep it away.
Heat. We have no measured temperature data, only installer experience: dark porcelain gets very hot underfoot in summer sun, while light, matt colours stay manageable. For an exposed pool surround choose a lighter tone; under a patio roof the darker colours are fine.
How IBP lays porcelain
Freo Stone lists four bases for DesignoPave: sand, cracker dust, a concrete slab or adjustable plastic pedestals. We pick one at the measure.
- Sand or cracker dust over a compacted, levelled base. Freo Stone warns that salty cracker dust touching the stone can cause salt attack, so plasterers sand goes on as the final 30 mm.
- Concrete slab, with the porcelain bonded on a full bed of flexible outdoor adhesive. This suits large formats and laying over a sound existing slab.
- Pedestals over an existing slab or a waterproofed balcony, for foot traffic only. Balcony and strata approvals vary, so we check them before quoting.
Whatever the base, we cut on a wet saw to stop chipping, lay to a fall of about 1 in 100 away from the house, and fill joints with a wet to set paving joint powder. Joints are not drainage, so water runs off the surface to garden or a soakwell.
Porcelain paver cost in Perth
We found no published Perth supply and lay range for porcelain pavers, so we will not invent one; porcelain is quoted per job after a measure. As an indicative material price only, Freo Stone's September 2026 price list showed DesignoPave pavers at a sale price of $62 per square metre and the timber look planks at $73, supply only, including GST and subject to change. Laying is on top.
What moves a porcelain quote: the range you choose, the base (a slab bonded job needs a sound slab), removal of the old surface, the size and shape of the area, access, and steps or level changes. Porcelain also asks more of the base than concrete pavers do. Our Perth paving cost guide tracks published ranges for other materials.
Source: Freo Stone price list, September 2026 (supply only); Garden Spec, porcelain pavers Perth. Not IBP's price list.
Porcelain or natural stone
Choose porcelain for a sharp, uniform finish, no sealing and resistance to pool salts and chlorine. Choose limestone for the classic cream Perth look, a surface installers say stays cooler underfoot, and a lower upfront cost, accepting that it gets sealed. Travertine is the natural stone for barefoot pool areas and is also sealed. Granite is the hard wearing choice for driveways and steps. If you like the look of more than one, we can talk them through at the measure.
