PT · P-02 · Patios
Concrete patios
Patios off the back door, fire pit and grill pads, hot tub pads and steps down from a deck. Sloped away from the house and finished the way you want.
- Thickness
- 4 in. Hot tub pads 6 in with rebar.
- Base
- 4 to 6 in of 21AA crushed gravel, compacted
- Mix
- 4,000 psi, air-entrained, fiber in the batch
- Price
- from $8 per sq ft
Scope
What we pour
A patio is the easiest place to get concrete wrong, because it sits right against the house. Ours slope away from your foundation, leave a proper expansion joint at the wall, and line their joints up with doors and posts so the pattern looks drawn, not random. Then we talk finish: plain broom, color, exposed stone or stamped.
- 01 New patios off sliding doors and back steps
- 02 Fire pit, grill and outdoor kitchen pads
- 03 Hot tub pads, 6 in thick with a rebar grid
- 04 Steps and landings down from a deck or door
- 05 Replacing a sunken or cracked patio that drains toward the house
Specification
Built like this
This is what goes on the written quote. If another bid does not say these things, ask.
- Thickness
- 4 in. Hot tub pads 6 in with rebar.
- Base
- 4 to 6 in of 21AA crushed gravel, compacted
- Mix
- 4,000 psi, air-entrained, fiber in the batch
- Joints
- Every 10 ft or less, lined up with doors and corners
- Slope
- 1/8 to 1/4 in per foot away from the house
- At the house
- Expansion joint at the foundation; never poured against siding
- Finish
- Broom, colored, exposed aggregate or stamped
Top: Broom, color, aggregate or stamped; joints in line with doors
Slab: 4,000 psi, air-entrained, color if you choose it
Steel: Wire mesh on chairs; rebar grid on hot tub pads
21AA crushed gravel, compacted, sloped from the house
Native soil, soft spots dug out and replaced
Prices
What it costs
-
Broom finish
$8 to $12 per sq ft
-
Colored broom
$10 to $14 per sq ft
-
Exposed aggregate
$12 to $17 per sq ft
-
Hot tub pad, 6 in with rebar
Typical 8 × 8 ft pad hits the minimum job
$2,400 to $3,200
Worked example
Back patio, 16 × 20 ft, colored
- Area 20 ft × 16 ft = 320 sq ft
- Colored broom: 320 sq ft × $10 to $14 $3,200 to $4,480
Range, rounded to $50 $3,200 to $4,500
Run your own numbersRanges include digging, gravel base, forms, steel, mix, joints and curing unless a line says otherwise. Where you land in a range depends on access for the truck, how much soft soil comes out and how complicated the shape is. The firm number comes after the site visit and does not move unless the scope does.
Before you sign
Honest notes
Cracking
We line joints up with the door and corners. A patio with no joints is a patio with a random crack across the middle by spring.
Curing
Walk on it after 24 to 48 hours. Furniture and the grill after 7 days. Keep the sprinkler pointed away the first week.
Sealing
Optional on broom finish, smart on color and aggregate. First coat after day 28, then every 3 to 5 years.
Freeze-thaw
Patios rarely see salt, which helps. The risk is water: ours slope away so it never sits and freezes against the house.
Schedule
How the job runs
-
Site visit
Measure and slope
We measure, check the grade at the house and mark where downspouts discharge.
-
Day 1
Dig and base
Sod and soil out, gravel in and compacted, forms set to the slope.
-
Day 2
Pour and finish
Poured, finished to the texture you chose, joints tooled or cut.
-
Day 3
Clean up
Forms off, edges backfilled, lawn edges raked and seeded.
-
Day 9
Furniture back
Seven days after the pour, move the table and grill back on.
Questions
Asked about patios
Concrete or pavers for a patio?
Pavers cost more per square foot and need joint sand and weeding; concrete costs less and is one solid surface. We only pour concrete, so if you want pavers we will point you to a good hardscaper.
Can you pour right up to my house?
Up to it, with a strip of expansion joint against the foundation, and sloped away. Never against siding, and never higher than the bottom of your door threshold.
How small can a patio be?
As small as you like, but a pour under about 250 sq ft costs about the same as our $2,400 minimum, because the truck and crew day cost the same.
Next step
Get your patios price in writing.
Tell us what you want poured and roughly how big. We walk the site, check the base and the slope, and send a written quote within two business days.