Concrete patio construction in Tacoma WA - a backyard slab built for how you'll use it

Maybe it's a patch of lawn that turns to mud every fall, or an old slab by the back door that's cracked, sunk and collecting puddles. The price moves with the size, how much digging and base work your yard needs, the finish you pick and what's going on it, since a grill station or a future pergola adds steel and footings. The schedule mostly turns on weather and how busy the season is, and a tight backyard where we can't get a truck close takes longer to pour. I'll walk it with you and put your number in a written estimate you can take your time with.

We start by asking how you'll use the patio, because a grill station or a future pergola changes the reinforcement and adds footings, and it's far easier to plan that now than to cut into a finished slab. Then we look at where the water runs and set the slab to fall away from your house, so rain doesn't end up against your foundation. We dig out the soft soil and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, because a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes the patio down with it. That's the part you never see, and it's usually the first thing people want to cut, but I'd rather spend on the base and keep the finish simple than the other way around. When the patio needs it, we tie in rebar, the steel grid that holds the concrete together if it does crack. We pour early in the day instead of in the midday heat that can leave a weak, dusty top, then give it a broom finish, a light swept texture so it isn't slick when wet, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack instead of across the middle. After that it cures, the wait while the concrete gains strength, and we bring covers so a sudden shower doesn't mark the fresh surface.

A patio usually connects to something else. If you want a pattern or the look of stone, our stamped concrete services press it into the surface while it's still fresh. You also need a way to reach the patio, so we often add a walk from the driveway or side gate through our concrete sidewalk building work, set at the same height so nobody catches a toe where they meet.

Rain is what shapes a Tacoma patio most, because western Washington weather can damage fresh concrete while it's curing. A slab that isn't cured properly can end up with fine surface cracks, flaking and a worn top layer, which is why those covers ride on our truck and go over the patio the moment a shower looks likely. When you compare contractors, ask each one how they'll cure the slab and what they'll do if it rains, because that answer tells you a lot about how the patio will hold up.

On finishes, one Washington contractor directory calls exposed aggregate, a pebbled surface, popular in the Pacific Northwest for its natural look and its grip when wet, which counts for a lot on a patio that stays damp much of the year. We're based in Tacoma and work in the cities around it in Pierce County and south King County, and we meet the same tight, sloped backyards on jobs in University Place and Lakewood, so getting forms and concrete in without tearing up the yard is part of the plan from the first visit.