Paving Contractors In Melbourne
At New Era Landscapes, we lay paving across Melbourne's south east. Bluestone, granite, travertine, brick and porcelain, on a base built for whatever ends up on top of it.
New Era Landscapes does paving in Melbourne as part of the landscaping we've been doing for years. Courtyards, driveways, pool surrounds, alfresco areas, side paths and front entries, in stone, brick, concrete or porcelain. Quotes are free and measured on site.
Most of our paving arrives attached to something else. A new area has to meet your door at the right height, drain away from the house, and finish level with the lawn or the deck you already have.
Because the same crew digs the base, lays the stone and builds whatever runs up to it, those levels are one person's problem rather than three people's opinions. You can see the finished jobs on Instagram.
Base and drainage
What Makes Paving Last In Melbourne?
What's underneath it. Paving doesn't hold itself up, so the excavation, the compacted base and the bedding layer decide whether you still have a flat surface in ten years. The stone on top only decides how it looks.
Melbourne makes that harder than it sounds. We get rain in every month of the year and clay soil through a lot of the south east, and clay swells when it's wet and shrinks when it's dry. Ground that moves under paving takes the paving with it.
So we dig deeper than the stone needs, compact in layers, and set a fall that takes water away from the house rather than into it. Where water has nowhere to go, an agricultural drain goes in under the base before anything is laid.
You can't see any of it in a photo, which is exactly why it's the part worth asking every quote about.
The work
Our Paving Services
You don't need to arrive knowing which stone you want. Tell us where you want the paving and what walks or drives on it, and we'll tell you what suits.
Natural stone paving
Stone is what most people picture when they picture paving, and it's most of what we lay. It weathers rather than wears out, and because every piece is cut from rock, you never get two areas that look identical.
Here's what our natural stone paving covers.
- Bluestone in sawn, flamed or tumbled finishes
- Crazy paving, where the stone keeps its natural shape
- Granite pavers and cobblestone setts
- Travertine and limestone for pool surrounds and terraces
- Stepping stones set into lawn, pebble or groundcover
- Matching steps, treads and capping cut from the same stone
Brick, concrete and porcelain paving
Not every area wants stone. Brick paving suits a period house and a curve better than anything else, concrete pavers carry weight for less, and porcelain gives you one flat colour you never have to think about again.
Here's what the rest of our paving covers.
- Brick paving in new or recycled brick, laid in herringbone, basketweave or running bond
- Concrete pavers and large-format slabs
- Porcelain pavers, indoors and out on the same level
- Permeable paving where the ground has to keep taking water
- Repairs and relays, including lifted, sunken or drummy sections
- Edge restraints, garden edging and mowing strips
A site visit is the right place to start. It lets us see the levels, the drainage and how machinery gets in before anything is priced.
We walk the area with you, take the levels off your door threshold, and talk through which stone suits the house, how much upkeep you want to do and what each one costs.
The stone
Paving Materials We Lay
Six materials cover nearly every job we're asked for. Which one you want depends on where it goes and what happens on it, not on which one is nicest.
Most of what we lay is bluestone. Bluestone paving in Melbourne is close to a default for a reason: it's quarried in Victoria, it's hard enough for a driveway, and it sits happily against a weatherboard cottage or a rendered new build. Sawn gives you a crisp modern edge, tumbled gives you something older looking, and crazy paving keeps the stone in its natural shape.
Travertine paving in Melbourne turns up mostly around pools, and that's the right place for it. It stays cool in the sun and it's kind underfoot. It's also softer and more absorbent than bluestone, so it wants sealing, and we'd talk you out of it under a car.
| Material | How it looks | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bluestone | Charcoal grey, cool underfoot, goes almost black when it rains. | Victoria's own stone, and the reason half of Melbourne's footpaths look the way they do. Pick sawn if you want a crisp modern edge, tumbled if you want something softer. Dense enough to park on. |
| Granite | Speckled greys and warm silvers, with more light in it than bluestone. | The hardest thing we lay. Granite setts will outlive the house, which is why you see them on driveways and courtyards that take traffic. |
| Travertine | Cream and honey, with the pitted texture the stone forms with. | Stays cool in summer sun, so you'll see it around most pools. It's softer than bluestone and it drinks, so it wants sealing, and we'd talk you out of it under a car. |
| Brick | Red, brown or recycled, in whatever bond you choose. | The only paving that bends around a curve without cutting. Next to a Federation house, recycled brick looks like it was always there. Small units mean more labour, so you pay more for the laying than for the brick. |
| Porcelain | One flat colour, board to board, with no variation at all. | Frost proof, stain proof and dimensionally perfect, which is what lets your kitchen floor run straight out to a terrace on one level. Nothing about it is forgiving, so you only want it over a base you trust. |
| Concrete pavers | Made to imitate stone, in large formats and colours that stay consistent. | The budget option and an honest one. They carry weight, they lay fast, and you get a colour that softens over the first few years rather than staying showroom fresh. |
The process
How We Lay Paving
Every job runs in the same order, whether you want a side path or a whole courtyard. Most of it happens before a single paver comes off the pallet.
- Levels and set-out. We take the levels off your door threshold and the ground as it is, then mark the area out so you can stand in it before we dig.
- Excavation. Everything soft comes out, down to ground that will hold. We dig a driveway deeper than a path, because your car asks more of the base than you do.
- Drainage. We put agricultural drain and pits in wherever water needs somewhere to go, before the base covers them for good.
- Base and compaction. We bring crushed rock in and compact it in layers, to the fall you'll walk on.
- Laying and cutting. The stone goes down off the set-out, and we cut on site so the pattern lands where you want it at the edges.
- Jointing and clean. We fill the joints, restrain the edges, wash the whole area down and hand it back to you.
Recent work
Recent Paving Jobs Around Melbourne
Recent jobs include a front and back yard in Brighton and a whole backyard in Blackburn. We've also worked in Beaumaris, Mordialloc, Cheltenham and Aspendale Gardens. We keep our customers' details private, so the photos do the talking.
Bluestone steppers set into black pebble down a side path.
A flagstone travertine pool surround, with steps up to a rendered terrace.
Pale stone paving through a curved, sunken seating area.
Why New Era
Choosing New Era Landscapes For Your Paving
We bring over 10 years of experience in landscaping and turf work across Melbourne, and paving has been part of nearly every job in it.
That's the practical difference between us and most paving contractors in Melbourne. The excavation, the drainage, the retaining wall at the back of the area, the steps down off it and the lawn that meets its edge are all done by our own crew, on the same quote. Nobody turns up to lay stone on a base somebody else got wrong.
Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, with no obligation to go ahead. You'll see the excavation, the base and the paving as separate lines, which is what lets you compare us to anyone else honestly.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does paving cost in Melbourne?
The stone is the part people ask about and it's rarely what moves the number most. The base under it does: how much has to come out, whether the ground drains, and whether a machine can get to it. Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, so you can see the excavation, the base and the paving priced separately.
Do I need a permit to pave my backyard?
Usually not. Paving laid at ground level is generally exempt from a building permit in Victoria. What can pull one in is the ground around it: a raised terrace, or a paved area that needs a wall to hold it up. We'll tell you which side of that line your job sits on before you commit to anything.
Source: Building Regulations 2018 (Vic).
How do I compare paving companies in Melbourne fairly?
Ask each one what goes under the stone and how deep, because that's where the difference between quotes usually hides. Then ask who cuts the stone and who lays it. A quote that prices excavation, base, bedding and paving as separate lines can be compared to another one. A single number can't.
Why does paving sink or move?
Almost always the base, not the stone. Paving sits on what's under it, so ground that was never compacted, a base too shallow for what drives over it, or water with nowhere to go will all show up as a dip or a rocking paver within a season or two. Relaying the same stone on a proper base fixes it.
How long does a paving job take?
Most domestic areas are several days to a couple of weeks on site. The paving itself is the quick part. What stretches it is the excavation, getting the base compacted properly, and rain, because you can't lay onto a base that's turned to mud.
Areas We Serve Across Melbourne
We're based in Melbourne's south east and we do Melbourne paving right across the city. There's no shopfront to visit, so we come to you and quote in the yard.
You'll find us regularly in Brighton, Berwick, Frankston, Cranbourne, Glen Waverley, Cheltenham, Narre Warren, Pakenham, Dandenong, Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Mentone, Mordialloc, Hampton.
Not on that list? Call and ask. We cover most of Melbourne, and you'll get a straight answer either way. Paving is often part of a bigger job, so it's worth reading what our landscaping covers as well.
Written by Jono O'Brien, who runs New Era Landscapes and has been in landscaping and turf renovation for over ten years. You can talk to him directly about your yard.
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