Concrete Patios in Athens, GA

Concrete patios earn their keep in Athens because the outdoor season is long. With the freezing season running only from about early November to late March, many households use the back yard from early spring well into fall. Concrete is a practical surface for that: HomeGuide's patio guide lists plain concrete at $4 to $12 a square foot installed, upkeep is mostly sweeping and occasional sealing, and the slab can be finished plain, colored, textured or stamped.

Start with how you will use it

Most patio regrets come from making it too small. A table for six with the chairs pushed back takes up roughly a 12 by 12 foot square by itself. Add a grill with room to work, a walkway past the table and a couple of lounge chairs, and the space grows toward 16 by 16 feet or more. At the estimate we stake and string the outline in your yard so you can stand inside it and see the size before anything is dug. Paths to the driveway, a step down to the lawn and a pad for a fire pit can all be poured in the same job.

Sloped yards and drainage

Back yards around Athens are rarely flat. A patio on a slope may need the low side built up with stone, a short retaining edge or steps down to the grass. Whatever the grade, the surface itself needs a gentle fall away from the house so rain does not run toward the foundation, and the slab must not block the path water already takes across the yard. Before we set forms, we look at where runoff goes in a storm and where downspouts and gutters empty, and we plan extensions or a drain line when a downspout would otherwise dump onto the new slab.

Building it

Sod, topsoil and roots come out first. We dig until we reach firm soil, set the subgrade to the planned slope and compact a crushed-stone base. HomeGuide notes 4 inches is the typical residential minimum for a patio and recommends 6 inches with added reinforcement for heavy items like hot tubs or outdoor kitchens. Forms set the shape, mesh or rebar goes in, and the concrete is placed, finished, edged and jointed. An isolation joint separates the patio from the house so the slab can move without pressing on the foundation.

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Finish options

• Broom: fine ridges for grip, easy to hose off, and the most economical surface
• Integral color: pigment mixed in at the plant, so the color runs through the slab
• Exposed aggregate: the top paste is rinsed away to show the stone, which hides dirt and pollen and grips well
• Stamped: stone, slate or brick patterns, covered on our stamped concrete page
• Saw-cut patterns: a grid or diamond layout cut into a plain slab that doubles as control joints

Heat and shade

Light-colored concrete stays cooler underfoot than dark surfaces, which matters on a sunny Georgia afternoon. If the patio will get full sun, we can talk through lighter colors, and where a pergola or roof is planned, we place footings or thicken the slab where posts will land so the structure has solid support later.

Replacing an old patio

An old patio is due for replacement when it has tilted toward the house, cracked into offset pieces, sunk away from the back door or lost its surface. If it is intact but has settled, leveling may be enough, and we will price that if it applies.

Keeping it in shape

Sweep and rinse it, lift planters on feet so water can drain from underneath, and reseal colored and exposed-aggregate finishes every few years. Clear pine straw and leaves before they stain the surface, and keep downspouts discharging past the edge of the slab.