Concrete Patios in Taylor, MI

Concrete patios turn the back of a Taylor lot into usable space for the months when the weather cooperates. Wikipedia lists Taylor's July average high at 84 degrees, and most households want somewhere to eat and sit outside as soon as it warms up. Concrete is a practical choice for it: HomeGuide's patio guide lists plain concrete at $4 to $12 a square foot installed, maintenance is mostly sweeping and periodic sealing, and the surface can be broomed, colored, exposed or stamped.

Many Taylor yards are starting from old concrete

On postwar lots, the back of the house often already has a small slab: a 1950s or 1960s patio, a rear stoop, or a walk to a detached garage. After decades of freezing and thawing these are frequently tipped toward the house, cracked into trip edges or worn down to loose sand and stone. When we replace them, we usually make the new patio larger and tie in the path to the garage or driveway at the same time, so the backyard works as one surface.

Size it before you pour it

Small patios are the most common regret. A dining table for six with chairs pulled out needs roughly a 12-foot square on its own. Add a grill with room to work, a walkway past the table and a couple of lounge chairs, and the slab heads toward 16 by 16 feet or more. At the estimate we mark the outline on the lawn so you can stand in it and decide. Curves, a step down to the yard and a path to the gate can be poured in the same job.

Water and clay

A patio is a large flat surface next to your foundation, so drainage comes before looks. We typically set a fall of about a quarter inch per foot away from the house. Taylor's ground is flat and clay-heavy, and Wikipedia's Ecorse River article notes that clay soils limit how much water soaks in, so runoff has to be steered somewhere useful. Before forming, we check where water goes today and where downspouts and sump lines discharge, and extend them past the slab if needed.

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Finishes

• Broom: light ridges for grip; the lowest-cost finish and easy to hose off.
• Integral color: pigment mixed in at the plant so the color runs through the whole slab.
• Exposed aggregate: the top paste washed off to show the stone; hides dirt and grips well.
• Stamped: stone, slate or brick patterns, covered on our stamped concrete page.
• Saw-cut patterns: a grid or diamond cut into plain concrete that also serves as control joints.

How we build it

Sod and topsoil come out. The subgrade is shaped to the planned slope and a crushed-stone base is compacted over it. HomeGuide lists 4 inches as the minimum for a standard residential patio and 6 inches, with extra reinforcement, under hot tubs or outdoor kitchens. We place air-entrained concrete, finish and edge it, and cut or tool the joints. An isolation joint against the house lets the slab move without pushing on the foundation. Taylor's permits page lists patios among the jobs that need a permit, and we file it as part of the job.

Keeping it in shape

Sweep and rinse it. Lift planters on feet so water drains from under them. Reseal every few years. Do not use salt on a patio; if a winter path crosses it, use sand. Keep downspouts emptying beyond the edge of the slab.