Decorative concrete in Tacoma WA - a finish you chose with the upkeep in mind

Most people who call us have a slab that works fine but looks tired, or they're planning a new concrete patio and want it to look like more than a driveway. The price mostly moves with the size of the area and how busy the design gets, because a single pattern in one color costs less and is easier to keep up than borders and custom inlays, and a sloped yard can need extra grading or reinforcement that adds labor and time. Those high-end looks can lift curb appeal and resale value, but they'll ask for more frequent care to keep looking right, so it's worth deciding how much upkeep you want before you fall for a pattern. The schedule turns on the weather and on what we find under the old slab, so I'll come look, ask questions and put your own figure in writing.

We start at the estimate by laying out stains, overlays and textured finishes side by side and showing you samples, so you can weigh each look against the care it'll ask of you before anything gets ordered. Then I look hard at what's underneath, because the subgrade, the packed ground a slab sits on, is hidden on day one and it's the first thing people want to cut when the budget gets tight. I'd rather you pick a simpler pattern than skimp there, since a beautiful finish on dirt that was only raked level settles and cracks like any other slab. On new work we dig out and pack the base, check where the water runs so the slab falls away from your house, pour early enough that midday heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell the slab where to crack so it doesn't pick its own spot. Then comes curing, the wait that lets the concrete gain strength before you use it, and after that the sealer.

Decorative work often comes with a neighbor job. On a sloped yard, a stamped or stained patio may need one of our concrete retaining walls to hold the ground beside it, and we can plan the two together. Stains work indoors too, so if you're putting in a basement or shop slab, we can plan the finish as part of the concrete floor installation from the start.

In Tacoma, the city asks for a site development permit for grading on your lot and for putting in new hard surfaces that shed rain, so a new decorative patio, walk or regraded yard can fall under it. Work on the public strip along the street, like a sidewalk, curb, gutter or the end of a driveway, needs a right-of-way permit from the city, which usually wants a site plan showing the work area and a traffic control plan. Most of those go only to people who meet the city's bonding rules, though in some cases a property owner can get one without them. Before work starts we check which office covers your address and what it'll want to see, and when a job calls for a permit we handle the paperwork, or if it's one you have to get yourself, we tell you what to bring.

The other local factor is rain. A Seattle cost guide says our wet coastal climate calls for extra sealing and drainage planning to protect decorative concrete, so we work out where the water goes before we settle on a finish. We're based in Tacoma and work in the cities around it in Pierce County and south King County, and we plan for the same wet weather on jobs in Lakewood and University Place. Not sure we come out your way? Just ask.