Concrete Patios in Suffolk, VA

Concrete patios get used hard in Suffolk. Summers are long and warm, with July highs averaging close to 87 degrees, so the back patio becomes the place for grilling, eating and sitting out until well after dark. Many homes in newer subdivisions came with a small builder slab outside the back door, and older homes may have a patio that has settled or cracked. We pour new patios and extend existing ones, and we plan each one around how you want to use it and where the water will go.

Planning the size and shape

The usual regret with a patio is that it came out too small. A table with chairs pulled out needs more room than people expect, and a grill needs space to stand clear of the house. Before we quote, we walk the yard with you and talk through:

• Where the table, grill, seating and any fire feature will go
• How the patio meets the back door, steps or a deck
• Sun and shade through the afternoon
• Where roof runoff and yard drainage go today
• Room for a future addition, such as a cover or screen porch

Rectangles cost the least to form, but curves and offsets are possible and often fit a yard better.

Built on a firm, sloped base

A patio is a slab sitting next to your foundation, so drainage matters more than anything else. Suffolk gets more than 50 inches of precipitation a year, and a patio pitched the wrong way will push that water toward the house. We set a gentle fall away from the foundation, typically about a quarter inch per foot, and dig out soft soil before placing and compacting a crushed stone base. Where the yard is low or wet, we may raise the patio slightly or add a drain so water has somewhere to go.

We use air-entrained concrete for outdoor slabs, cut control joints so cracks run in straight lines, and cure the slab properly so the surface stays strong through winter freezes.

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Finish options

• Broom finish: the standard, with good grip when the patio is wet
• Smooth or trowel finish: clean look, suited to covered areas since it gets slick in rain
• Colored concrete: color mixed in or added on the surface for a warmer look than plain gray
• Exposed aggregate: the top layer washed off to show the stone, with good texture and traction
• Stamped concrete: stone, brick or wood patterns, covered on our stamped concrete page

HomeGuide's patio cost guide puts plain concrete at $4 to $12 per square foot and exposed aggregate at $7 to $18, so the finish has a big effect on price.

Extending an existing patio

If your current slab is sound, we can add onto it instead of tearing it out. We pin new concrete to the old edge with dowels, keep the slope continuous, and leave a joint at the seam so the two slabs can move without cracking each other. New and old concrete rarely match in color, so some homeowners choose a contrasting border or a different finish for the addition.

Patio care

• Stay off the slab for a day or two and keep heavy furniture off for about a week
• Clean up grill grease and leaf stains before they soak in
• Seal colored and exposed aggregate patios every few years
• Keep downspouts aimed away from the slab edge