Concrete patio construction in Redding CA - a slab that stays flat and drains

Most people call when an old slab has sunk or cracked, rain pools against the back wall, or there's a patch of dirt out back they're tired of looking at. The price moves with the size and shape of the patio, how much soil has to come out, how easy it is to get concrete to the spot and the finish you choose, and the schedule turns on our calendar, the weather on pour day and the curing wait before you put furniture on it. If the budget gets tight, cut back on the finish before you cut the base, because nobody sees the base once it's poured, but it's what keeps the slab flat. We're based in Redding and build patios in Shasta Lake, Cottonwood, Red Bluff and other cities nearby, and our written estimate shows what yours will cost and what's included.

We start by marking out the patio with you and checking where water runs off the roof and across the yard, because a slab that tips toward the house sends water right where you don't want it. Then we strip out the topsoil and soft spots, compact what's left and give it a slope to drain, since that groundwork, the subgrade the slab sits on, decides how long the patio stays flat. We set the forms, place the reinforcement, pour and finish the surface, and most patios get a broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives your feet some grip when it's wet. Once the slab is firm we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give it a straight line to crack along instead of a random one, and we clean up before we leave.

If you want more than plain gray, stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the patio while it's wet, and it starts from the same packed base. A concrete sidewalk out to the driveway or side gate is often worth pouring at the same time, so the walk and the patio meet at the right height and slope.

California sets who's allowed to build your patio, so it's worth checking before you sign. The state contractor board puts forming, pouring and finishing flat concrete like a patio slab in its concrete contractor class. A general builder can take your patio job if it holds that class itself or hands the concrete to a licensed concrete contractor, and the board says a landscaping contractor can pour one when it's part of landscape work around the house, so ask each bidder which of those applies to them. We form, pour and finish our patios with our own crew.

Most patio calls we get are for a back slab that has settled or cracked, or a bare spot by the house that turns to mud, and we see the same jobs in Anderson and Happy Valley. Either way, the fix starts with the ground under it.