Concrete patio construction in Ridgecrest CA - a slab that drains away from your house
Old patio cracked, sinking or holding water by the back door? We pour a new slab that sits flat and drains away.
I come out and give the estimate
I look at your yard myself, walk the spot where the patio meets the house and give you the estimate in person. Our own crew does the work, and I run it on site, so the person you talked to is there for the pour.
Running our own crew since 2017
I learned this trade hauling forms and pushing mud on a small crew before I started my own. We're still a small crew, and I still answer my own phone, so your questions go to the person who'll be on your job.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. When you're ready to talk about a patio, call (442) 294-1117 or use the form on this page, and we'll set a time for me to come out.
Concrete patios in Ridgecrest, built to drain
Concrete patio construction means forming, pouring and finishing a flat slab that runs out from your house and tips just enough to send rain away from it. We build them in Ridgecrest for homeowners replacing a cracked, sinking patio or turning bare ground into a place to sit.
Most patio calls start with something you can see, like a slab cracked through, sunk at one corner or holding water by the back door, or a yard that's still bare dirt. The price moves with the size, how much old concrete has to come out, how much digging and packing the base needs, the finish you pick and how easily our crew and the concrete truck can reach the spot. I'll put your own figure in the estimate.
The schedule turns on the ground and the weather, because a soft spot we find once the dirt is open has to be fixed before we pour, and summer pours get planned around the heat. In California, the state's C-8 concrete license covers forming, pouring and finishing flat work like this, so ask whoever you hire about it. That license covers wood only as concrete forms, so a lattice cover over the patio is a job for a different contractor.
Patio slabs and the work under them
Settling the slope before anything else
A patio's first job is sending rain away from your house, so the fall, the gentle tilt toward the yard, is the first thing I settle with you. It decides how high the slab sits at the door and where the water ends up. Once it's poured, a slab that's too flat or tips toward the house can't really be fixed short of tearing it out and starting over. If you like the look of stamped concrete, we talk through how a pattern slows runoff before we set the fall, so you choose knowing the trade-off.
Digging out and packing the base
The subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, matters more than anything you'll see on day one. A slab does best on even support, and a soft pocket, an old utility trench or buried roots can let one part shift while the rest stays put. So we dig it out instead of raking it level, pack it and fix soft spots before we set forms. When the budget is tight, this is where people want to cut first, and I'd rather trim the finish, because a nice surface on a poor base still cracks and settles.
Pour timing, joints and curing
Heat makes concrete set faster, which makes it harder to finish and raises the odds of shrinkage cracks, so we plan the pour time with you around the weather. Control joints, the cuts you see across a slab, weaken it along lines we choose so shrinkage cracks run straight there instead of wandering, and we'll go over that layout with you before we start. During curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength, we keep the new slab from drying out too fast. If you want a concrete sidewalk out to the patio, we can pour that too.
Get a free on-site estimate for your patio
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come see your yard, with no obligation. Have the rough size, where it meets the house and the finish you like handy.
(442) 294-1117How a patio job goes with us
You call, I come out
Call (442) 294-1117 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. I look at where the patio will go, ask how you'll use it and go over the estimate with you, with as many questions as you like.
Planning the patio and the base
We settle the size, the slope and the finish with you before any digging. If your patio needs a permit, I'll tell you at the estimate and we'll pull it before work starts, then our crew digs out and packs the ground.
Pour, finish and walk-through
I'm on site with our crew from the ground work through the pour and the finish. Before we pack up, we walk the new patio with you so you can see the slope, the joints and the cleanup for yourself.
Concrete patio questions from Ridgecrest
How much does a concrete patio cost in California?
Across California, a standard 4-inch slab with a basic broom finish, a lightly brushed surface for grip, usually costs about $9 to $18 per square foot installed, with materials and labor. That's the going range in the state, not our price. Your own figure comes from the estimate, once I've seen the size and the ground.
How much should a concrete patio slope away from the house?
A good rule is at least a 2% slope, which works out to a 1/4-inch drop for every foot. A patio that runs 10 feet out from the house drops about 2 1/2 inches from the house end to the far edge. We'll show you on site where the water will run before we pour.
Does a stamped concrete patio drain as well as a smooth one?
Not quite, because water collects in the pattern and runs off more slowly than it does across a smoother surface. A smoother finish lets rain move freely toward the yard. If you love the stamped look, it's worth weighing against slower runoff, and we can go over how the fall and the pattern work together.
How much can a contractor ask for up front in California?
Under the state licensing board's guidance, the down payment on a home improvement contract can't be more than $1,000 or ten percent of the contract price, whichever is less. The ten percent doesn't count finance charges. If someone asks for more than that before work starts, it's a good reason to keep shopping.