Water sits on my paving after rain. Is that fixable?

Usually, and it is almost always a fall problem rather than a paving problem. If the surface has no consistent fall or the low point drains to nowhere, water will sit regardless of what is laid. Fixing it means lifting, rebuilding the base to a fall and giving the water a destination.

Do I need a soakwell under a paved area?

It depends on whether the ground can take the water. Up the hill in Applecross it often can. Down near the foreshore it frequently cannot, and then a soakwell or a drain sized for the paved area is part of the job rather than an extra.

What does paving cost in Applecross?

Supply and lay, priced as one job. Applecross numbers are usually moved by drainage rather than by paving, because a low lying block near the river often needs somewhere for the water to go before the surface goes down.

Why does water sit on my Applecross paving after rain?

Either the fall is wrong or the ground below has stopped taking it, and near the foreshore it is often the second. Ground that holds water cannot soak a surface dry, so the surface has to shed it instead. That is a falls and drainage fix, not a paving fix.

Is a soakwell any use on a block that already holds water?

Much less than people expect. A soakwell works by discharging into ground that can absorb it, and low riverside ground often cannot. On those blocks the honest answer is falls to a drain or to a garden bed that can take it, and we will say so rather than sell you a soakwell that fills up and stays full.

A wide porcelain alfresco area in Applecross with a slot drain along the lower edge and the river through the trees beyond

Paving Applecross

Applecross holds water near the foreshore rather than losing it, so paving falls matter more here than paving patterns. Large blocks, big old trees and low lying sections are the combination we work around.

A drain, a fall or a sized soakwell
Foreshore roots done at base stage
Blocks with room for access down the side

(08) 6186 7478

Get a price for Applecross

A photo of the area and a rough size is enough to price it.

The paving we do in Applecross

Same crew and the same method behind all of it. What changes between these is the base under them, the load they take and how much of the work is cutting.

Wet laid, on a full bed

Every paver goes down on a full bed of wet mortar across its whole underside, over a base compacted to carry what will sit on it. No voids under the middle, nothing to rock, nothing for water to get into and sit in.

It is slower than screeding sand and laying onto it, and it costs more on the day. It is also the only version of this that is still flat in ten years, which is why it is the only version we do.

Every paver, every job, on a full bed of mortar.

Ground that will not drain

South and south east

More clay through the profile, which holds water instead of shedding it, so falls decide everything.

Applecross runs from the river up the hill, and those are two different jobs. Up the slope it behaves like any established central suburb, sand with limestone under it and good drainage.

Down near the foreshore the water table is close and the profile carries more clay through it. Ground that will not soak turns any flat paved area into a shallow pond after a real downpour.

So the fall gets set first and the surface gets designed around it. A minimum fall away from the house, a defined low point, and somewhere for the water to actually go. Everything else on the job is easier than that.

Three things that change a job in Applecross

01
Blocks with room
Applecross blocks are generally large enough for real access down the side, which keeps the labour sensible compared with the tight riverside suburbs across the water.
02
Mature trees near the river
The old gardens along the foreshore carry the same root problem as Nedlands. Roots come up at lift and get dealt with at base stage.
03
Drainage is the design
Where the ground will not take water, the paving needs a drain, a fall to a garden bed, or a soakwell that has been sized for the area. That gets decided before the base is built.

Frequently asked questions about our paving services

Where Applecross sits

Applecross and everything around it. If your street is on the edge of the boundary, it makes no difference to us: ask anyway.

We also pave nearby

Every area we cover

Finished travertine pool surround at a Perth family home with a timber chair and potted plant

Tell us the street in Applecross and send a photo

The suburb tells us the ground and the likely access. The photo tells us the job. Together they are usually enough to talk about a real number rather than a range.

(08) 6186 7478

Paving Applecross

The paving we do in Applecross

Wet laid, on a full bed

Ground that will not drain

Three things that change a job in Applecross

Frequently asked questions about our paving services

Water sits on my paving after rain. Is that fixable?+

Do I need a soakwell under a paved area?+

What does paving cost in Applecross?+

Why does water sit on my Applecross paving after rain?+

Is a soakwell any use on a block that already holds water?+

Where Applecross sits

Tell us the street in Applecross and send a photo