There is no single square-metre rate for paving in Perth, and a rate quoted without its scope attached cannot be compared to another one. Well Laid Paving Perth does not publish a rate — Marc Radaic measures every job on site. What can be published is the structure: the eight lines a paving quote has to contain, the six variables that move the total, and the council charges that sit outside it. That structure covers all of the paving services we offer.
Is paving priced per square metre in Perth?
Area is the base unit, but the rate is an output, not an input: it is the total divided by the square metres, so it moves with everything else on the job. A 20 m² courtyard in Morley carries the same set-up, brick saw and crew as a 60 m² driveway in Yokine, spread across a third of the area. Small, cut-up areas always price higher per square metre.
Cutting does the same. Well Laid Paving Perth prices pavers at the measured area plus 10% for wastage, because offcuts do not go back on the pallet, and the City of Stirling’s technical specification (revised 6 January 2023) will not accept a closure unit smaller than 25% of a full paver. A circular pattern in a Morley back yard eats more brick than a rectangle of the same area.
The eight lines a Perth paving quote has to contain
A Well Laid Paving Perth quote runs to eight priced lines, and any Perth quote worth comparing carries the same eight: excavation and disposal, base, bedding sand, pavers, laying, cutting in, compaction and joint sand, and the cemented edge. Each has a council specification behind it, stated in millimetres — which is what makes the line checkable rather than a heading.
| Line | What it covers | Published specification |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation and disposal | The dig, and carting the spoil away | Stirling’s crossover guidelines (revision 6 January 2023) and Wanneroo’s brick paved residential crossover sheet (correct as of July 2025) both make removing spoil the owner’s responsibility |
| Base | Compacted limestone or road base under the whole area | Stirling (revised 6 January 2023): 100 mm base course over sub-grade compacted to at least seven blows per 300 mm on a Perth penetrometer. Wanneroo (July 2025): minimum 100 mm crushed limestone or rock base |
| Bedding sand | The screeded layer the pavers sit on | Wanneroo (July 2025): 20–40 mm pre-compacted, well graded, passing a 5 mm sieve, non-plastic — bricklayer’s sand and single-sized dune sands excluded. Stirling (revised 6 January 2023): 4.75 mm sieve, 30 mm compacted |
| Pavers | The units, plus 10% for cutting wastage | The Concrete Masonry Association of Australia’s Guide to Specifying (MA57, December 2010) sets 40 mm minimum for a residential driveway carrying light vehicles, reproducing Table 2.8 of AS/NZS 4455.2. Wanneroo (July 2025) requires 60 mm heavy duty on a crossover; we lay 60 mm throughout |
| Laying | Set-out and laying to pattern off a string line | Midland Brick’s Crossover Guide (version DEC23) recommends herringbone at 45° or 90° where cars turn and brake |
| Cutting in | Every cut against a wall, post, pit or curve | Stirling (revised 6 January 2023): no closure unit smaller than 25% of a full paver |
| Compaction and joint sand | Plate passes, and the sand swept into the joints | Wanneroo (July 2025): not less than three passes of a vibrating plate covering 12 units at a time, over minimum 12 mm plywood; joint sand finer than the bedding sand, maximum particle size 2 mm |
| Cemented edge | Concrete haunching around the full perimeter | Wanneroo (July 2025): a restraining barrier 250 mm wide and a minimum 80 mm deep around the full perimeter. Stirling (revised 6 January 2023): 25 MPa concrete with no cold joints |
Two of the eight are where Perth quotes quietly diverge. Excavation and disposal is real work a thin quote leaves out and later varies. The cemented edge is invisible once the job is finished, and it is the failure Marc Radaic is called out to most often — without enough haunching the outer course creeps outward under vehicle load until the joints open and the sand washes out: brick driveway paving in Perth.
What makes one paving quote dearer than another for the same area?
Six things, and Marc Radaic measures all six on a Perth block before quoting: area and shape, access, removal of the existing surface, level changes, the crossover, and the paver chosen. Access moves the number furthest — a shared drive at the six-unit complex in Nollamara is not a single house drive in Yokine, and a sloping block is different again.
- Area and shape. Set-up, cutting and the 10% wastage allowance do not scale down, so a small courtyard prices higher per square metre than an open drive.
- Access. Whether a bobcat and truck reach the work, or every barrow load goes through a side gate.
- Removal of the existing surface. Lawn, sand, old paving and concrete are four different digs, each with its own tipping. On the crossover it is not optional: Stirling (revised 6 January 2023) makes the owner responsible for all spoil taken offsite.
- Level changes. Steps, retaining and falls across a yard are separate work — E Robb’s Cottesloe testimonial names the slope of her yard as the challenge.
- The crossover. Council land, its own specification, its own permit: the City of Wanneroo (July 2025) requires a minimum 60 mm heavy duty paver over at least 100 mm of crushed limestone.
- The paver. Stirling’s technical specification (revised 6 January 2023) holds clay units to AS/NZS 4455 and AS/NZS 4456, and concrete units to the Concrete Masonry Association of Australia’s MA20 specification.
Does what’s under the ground change the price?
Yes, and it is the variable a homeowner cannot see. Through Karrinyup, Scarborough, Innaloo, Gwelup, Duncraig, Floreat, City Beach and Cottesloe — Well Laid Paving Perth’s densest cluster of jobs — limestone sits close to the surface in places, and hitting it changes the dig, the tools and the depth achievable. A contractor who has never hit it under-quotes, then varies the price.
Inland through Morley, Bassendean, Gosnells and Forrestfield the ground is deep leached sand: easy to dig, low bearing, so compaction decides whether the job is flat in two summers — Stirling’s technical specification (revised 6 January 2023) sets the yardstick at seven blows per 300 mm on a Perth penetrometer. Near the Swan — Guildford, Maylands, the Swan Valley — it is alluvial clay that holds water and moves seasonally: what’s under your paving in this part of Perth.
Which charges sit outside a paving quote?
Council charges, drainage, retaining work and relocating services. None belong inside a paving rate, and a Perth quote that appears to swallow them usually has not read the council’s requirements. Well Laid Paving Perth prices them as separate lines or names them as exclusions.
The crossover carries its own. The City of Wanneroo’s crossover information sheet (correct as of July 2025) requires a Street and Verge Bond Permit at building permit stage, with a non-refundable administration fee, plus a bond on construction projects valued over $20,000. Application fees are set council by council and change annually: what your council requires for a crossover.
Some of it comes back. Stirling’s crossover guidelines (revision 6 January 2023) and Wanneroo’s sheet (July 2025) both provide for a council contribution towards an approved first crossover, and Wanneroo requires the claim in writing within six months of construction with proof of payment. Build without a permit and there is nothing to claim — Stirling states retrospective approval is not guaranteed.
Drainage is the exclusion people miss. The City of Stirling’s On Site Stormwater Drainage Criteria (June 2024), written for owners developing or subdividing, requires all rainfall falling within lot boundaries to be contained on site, with roof runoff infiltrated separately from paving runoff — so a large new paved area can need soakwells of its own.
How do you compare two paving quotes honestly?
Put both quotes on the same scope, then compare the specification in millimetres rather than the headline rate. Ask each Perth contractor to state six numbers in writing: paver thickness, base depth, bedding sand depth and grading, edge restraint width and depth, joint gap, and compaction passes. A quote that will not state them is pricing a different job.
Those numbers have published benchmarks, which makes the comparison objective rather than a matter of trust. A minimum 60 mm heavy duty paver over a minimum 100 mm crushed limestone base, 20–40 mm of pre-compacted bedding sand through a 5 mm sieve, a perimeter restraint 250 mm wide and at least 80 mm deep, and 2–4 mm joints are all City of Wanneroo requirements (correct as of July 2025). Well Laid Paving Perth lays to a 2–3 mm joint, inside that range.
Then check what kind of document you are holding. Consumer Protection WA’s estimates and quotes guidance (last updated 18 November 2024) draws the line: a quote is a fixed price that cannot be changed once you accept it; an estimate is an educated guess that can move. Its hiring tradespeople guidance (last updated 14 April 2026) tells WA consumers to get at least three quotes in writing before agreeing to the work.
On time to give the quote and on time and budget for the job. Can’t ask for anything more.
— K & J Badge, Wembley
Six more: what our Perth clients say.
Does artificial grass price the same way?
No. The lines are different — preparation, base, turf, silica sand infill, joining tape, galvanised pins, edges and rubbish removal — and Well Laid Paving Perth publishes no square-metre rate for turf either, because two Perth back yards of the same size can need completely different preparation depending on what is on the ground.
Five things move it: area, and how much of it is cut shapes, since offcuts do not go back on the roll; what is there now and whether it is carted away; barrow access through the side gate; the pile height and grade of the turf, which moves material cost most; and whether paving goes in on the same job — one set-out, one crew. How it goes down: artificial grass installation in Perth.
Get a paving quote in Perth
Marc Radaic measures and quotes across the Perth metropolitan area, Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 5:00pm, and prices every job line by line so you can hold it against anyone else’s. Call 0448 440 229 or get a free paving quote — tell us the suburb, the rough area, and what is on the ground now. See all our paving services.