Road Base
Crushed gravel and fines that lock together.
Road Base is a compactable blend of crushed gravel and fines, spread under driveways, paving and slabs to give load-bearing support. The fines are what let it lock together, and locking together is the whole job of a base.
Or call the yard on (08) 9434 2290
Real stock, not a swatch. Blended products vary a little batch to batch, so treat these as a guide rather than an exact colour match.
Road Base details
Road Base at a glance
- Product type
- Compactable base
- Composition
- Crushed gravel and fines
- Compacts
- Yes, hard
- Primary use
- Under driveways, paving and slabs
- Drains
- No — the fines close it up
- Sold as
- Loose by the cubic metre, bulka bag, trailer load
What Road Base suits
What can you use Road Base for?
Under driveways
The layer that carries the vehicle. Everything about a driveway that fails — sinking, cracking, movement — usually traces back to the base rather than the surface.
Under paving
Compacted and screeded, with a bedding layer over it. Paving is only ever as good as what it sits on.
Under slabs
A prepared base under a shed floor or a pad, so the slab has something even to sit on.
Hardstand areas
Anywhere vehicles park, turn or are stored, where you want a surface that holds up without being sealed.
How much Road Base
How much Road Base do you need?
Length by width by depth, all in metres, gives you cubic metres. For a bed 4m by 1.2m filled to 75mm, that is 4 × 1.2 × 0.075 = 0.36 m³.
It is an estimate. Uneven ground and how firmly the mix settles both change what you actually use, so round up rather than down. We have not published a recommended depth for this product — describe the bed at the counter and someone who works with it every day will tell you.
Whatever you work out here lands in the enquiry form below, already written down.
That is about one trailer load. Order a touch over rather than under — a second trip costs more than the extra scoop.
Why Road Base
Why choose Road Base?
It locks together
The graded blend of coarse and fine is designed to interlock under compaction. That is engineering rather than marketing, and it is why a clean stone cannot substitute.
It stops things sinking
Spreading the load is the point. Without a base, a wheel load concentrates in one place and Perth sand gives way under it.
Consistent and easy to spread
A consistent mix compacts evenly. Over the area of a driveway that consistency is what you are paying for.
It suits most jobs
Where limestone is the local default and the recycled option is the budget one, road base is the straightforward middle.
Getting Road Base home
How to get Road Base
Collect from the yard
Open seven days at 222 Barrington St, Bibra Lake. The loader puts it straight into your trailer or ute, and someone will tell you whether what you have brought will carry the load.
Borrow one of our trailers free for two hours to get your load home. No charge, no bond.
Have it delivered
Across Perth's southern suburbs, seven days. For a quote we need the address, how much you need, and anything awkward about access — tight driveways, low branches and side access all change which truck we send. Confirm the current cost when you order.
Formats
- Loose, by the cubic metre
- Bulka bag, roughly a cubic metre each
- Trailer load, including our free two hour trailer
Using Road Base
How to use Road Base
Work out the compacted volume
Length by width by depth, all in metres. Order over, because material loses volume when it compacts and the loose load looks bigger than the finished layer.
Prepare the ground first
Strip the topsoil and any organic material. A base compacted over soft or organic ground compacts the softness with it, and it will keep settling.
Spread and compact in layers
Layer by layer rather than one thick lift. A thick lift goes hard on top and stays loose underneath, and you find out when the surface cracks.
Damp it down as you go
Slightly damp compacts properly. Bone dry material never quite locks up no matter how many passes you make.
When to choose something else
When it is the wrong product
- It does not drain. The fines that make it work are the fines that hold water, so anywhere water has to get away wants Blue Metal instead.
- It is a base, not a surface. Left exposed it will erode and rut — it wants paving, concrete or at least a sealed finish over it.
- Compacting over soft ground compacts the soft ground too. If the subgrade is poor, that is the problem to fix, and more base is not the fix.
- It is not a decorative material. If the layer is going to be seen, red road gravel or a cream eco-fine reads far better.
Customer reviews
What people say
Road Base questions
Road Base FAQs
Goes with Road Base
Other products you may need
The other compactable bases
Same job, different material and budget.
The fine layer that goes on top
For screeding under pavers or artificial turf.
Guides for road base
Planning your project
Road Base quote
Need Road Base for your project?
Send us the quantity you need, your suburb, and whether you would like to collect it or have it delivered. If you are not sure how much, put your measurements into the calculator above and we will check it for you.
Or ring the yard on (08) 9434 2290
222 Barrington St, Bibra Lake WA 6163 · Open 7 days
Use the calculator above and the amount lands in the message for you.