Concrete kerbs (curbs) are vital for controlling water runoff, defining road edges, and protecting pedestrians and landscaping.
We provide concrete kerb construction in Perth for a variety of applications, from city streets and highway medians to parking lots and residential driveways.
Our skilled team produces kerbs that are strong, smooth in alignment, and built to Australian Standard AS 2876 requirements.
Whether you need new kerbing or repairs and replacements, we ensure a durable result that improves both the function and appearance of your pavement.
Tall, steep-faced kerbs (~150mm height above the road) are designed to prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway. Barrier kerbs are often used in urban streets with pedestrian footpaths, as they offer protection and clear separation. We cast barrier kerbs with precision molds to achieve the standard shape and ensure they have a smooth finish and consistent reveal height.
These have a moderate slope, allowing vehicles to ride up them if necessary without tire damage. Semi-mountable kerbs (sometimes called semi-barrier) are common at median strips or roundabouts where occasional over-riding might occur.
Low-profile kerbs with a gentle slope that vehicles can drive over. Often used for driveway crossovers or in residential areas to avoid the need for continuous driveway aprons. Mountable Type A kerbs, for example, have a slanted face that is friendlier to car tires and allows easier access to verges or driveways. We frequently install mountable kerbing in new subdivisions and car parks.
These are kerbs at pavement edge that are flush with the road surface (0mm upstand) or just slightly above. They mainly act as edge protection and to hold paving in place, but don’t significantly impede wheels. Often seen in driveway crossovers or path edges.
High-visibility kerbs (with white cement or paint for better night-time visibility), kerbs with gutter channels (sometimes called kerb and channel, although MRWA generally avoids combined channel in high-speed areas), and spoon drains (inverted kerbs) for certain drainage situations. We can form any custom profile as needed, including an integrated kerb and footpath where a monolithic pour is required.
Our team uses purpose-made steel or alloy forms for cast-in-situ kerbs, or we can use slip-form kerbing machines for long continuous runs (commonly used in new road construction to extrude kerb concrete efficiently). With slip-forming, we feed concrete into the machine, and it extrudes the kerb shape as it moves along, allowing for rapid construction of hundreds of metres of kerb in a day, with a uniform shape.
Concrete kerbs must withstand weather, vehicle brushes, and an occasional wheel impact, all while maintaining their shape and function. We follow AS 2876 – Concrete kerbs and channels (gutters) – Manually or machine placed, which sets out requirements for kerb dimensions, concrete quality, and construction tolerances. By adhering to this standard and local council specifications, we ensure our kerbs meet the expected durability. According to Main Roads WA, concrete kerbs should be constructed with a dense, high-quality concrete mix and proper consolidation, and indeed, MRWA’s Specification 407 and AS 2876 guide our process.
The concrete used for kerbs is typically 25 MPa or 32 MPa strength, often with a slump around 30-60mm (if extruded) or slightly higher if hand-placed, to ensure it holds shape but can be finished nicely. We sometimes include fibres in kerb concrete for added tensile strength and crack control, especially for extruded kerbs where traditional reinforcement is not used. If the design calls for reinforcement (for example, integrated kerb and drain sections), we place the required rebar or mesh.
During placement, we take care to fully compact the concrete into the kerb form, as voids or honeycombing can greatly reduce durability. Our team uses internal vibrators or hand tampers, depending on the kerb section to ensure thorough consolidation. The alignment is carefully set using string lines or surveying instruments to meet design curvature and grade. We achieve smooth flowing curves or straight lines as required by the plan, so the final appearance is professional and meets council aesthetic standards.
Curing is another aspect we manage. Often, kerbs are exposed and can dry fast due to their relatively small cross-section. We apply curing compound or keep them moist, and we avoid damaging new kerbs by setting up barriers if needed to prevent early vehicle contact.
Kerbs are not just decorative; they serve several functional purposes: guiding stormwater to drains, protecting verges, and providing a physical barrier. We ensure Perth kerb installations function as intended by paying attention to details like kerb openings or transitions. For example, at drainage inlets, we leave “kerb inlets” or gaps as per design to allow water into side entry pits. We form or cut these neatly in the kerb line and finish the concrete so there are no rough edges that could catch debris.
Transitions between different kerb types are handled smoothly. If a road has a barrier kerb that needs to transition to a mountable kerb at a driveway, we create a tapered transition over a short distance in line with standard drawings so drivers don’t hit a sudden change. Main Roads standard drawings provide typical layouts for kerb transitions, and we follow those guidelines, ensuring, for instance, that barrier kerb tapers down to flush at a crossover over an appropriate length to be safe and comfortable for vehicles.
For driveway crossovers in Perth (the section of kerb that is lowered for driveway access), we often replace a section of barrier kerb with a specially profiled kerb (layback) and apron. Councils have specific requirements: e.g., the City of Stirling requires a certain width and slope for residential driveway kerb laybacks. We are familiar with these and make sure the new kerb section blends with the old at the boundaries and has the correct finish.
We also install kerb ramps (pram ramps) at pedestrian crosswalks. These are points where the kerb is dropped to road level, and usually a ramp is constructed for wheelchairs and prams to cross. We coordinate these as needed, including any tactile paving installation as per accessibility standards.
Concrete kerbs, when built correctly, have a long lifespan. Many older Perth suburbs still have original kerbing from decades ago. Our use of quality concrete and adherence to standards like AS 2876 (which specifies proper consolidation and alignment checks at intervals) means our kerbs will resist chipping and stay in line. We minimise joints in kerbs to only those necessary (like expansion joints at intervals or at ends of curves) because each joint is a potential weak point. Often, contraction joints in kerb are formed at the same spacing as adjacent pavement joints or at fixed intervals if extruding (e.g., every 3m we might cut a small shrinkage joint). This controls any cracking, so it’s not visible or harmful.
Because kerbs are at the front line of road wear, from being brushed by tires to enduring rain and occasional minor impacts, they are made slightly sacrificial to protect more vital parts. However, any minor chips or cracks that do occur over the years generally don’t compromise function unless severe. If a section is damaged by, say, a collision, it can be cut out and replaced; our construction techniques ensure that any such patch will tie in well with the existing kerb (using dowels if needed to anchor new to old).
We often apply a strip of bitumen sealer at the road edge of a new kerb if it’s a retrofit, to seal the joint between asphalt and concrete, preventing water ingress, which could undermine either. This little detail helps prolong both the kerb and the road’s life.
