Concrete patio construction in Lincoln CA - a backyard slab built for how you use it

Most people call us about an old patio that's cracked, sunk or chipping, or a patch of dirt they're tired of looking at. The price mostly comes down to the size, the finish you pick, the steel inside the slab, how much old concrete has to come out and whether you want a cover, lights or a water line, since those add work and sometimes permits. The schedule turns on the weather, any permit review and the curing wait, so when I walk the job I tell you what I can see, what I can't know until we're digging, and what your own number looks like.

Before anything gets formed, I ask about a cover, lights or water lines, because a post, a conduit or a pipe is easy to plan for now and a headache to add once the concrete's down. I pick the reinforcement to fit how you'll use the space, then our crew sets the forms, the boards that shape the edges, places the steel and pours. We finish the top, then cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a planned place to crack so it doesn't pick its own spot across the middle. The curing gets planned before the pour and not after, especially on hot days, because it's like prep before dinner service, and once the truck shows up there's no starting over.

A lot of patio jobs grow a little once people see the plan. If you'd like the surface to look like stone or pavers, we can do stamped concrete as part of the same job, and if there's no good way to reach the patio from the front of the house, we can add a new concrete sidewalk so the two meet cleanly.

The City of Lincoln's list of work that doesn't need a building permit names concrete patios not part of an accessible route, which is a path built to meet wheelchair access rules, but its list of work that does need one names covered patios, so adding a roof can change the answer. The city also says those exemptions leave HOA requirements, city zoning and grading requirements and other local ordinances in place, so have your HOA rules handy when I come out. If you're not sure where your patio falls, the city's Building Division answers those questions, and before we start we check with the office that covers your address and take care of the paperwork and inspections with you when a permit is needed.

Placer County says soils that shrink and swell sit mostly in the low-lying western part of the county, from Rocklin out to the county line, and that they can damage foundations over time. We work across that ground on jobs in Rocklin and Roseville, so I look at your soil when I walk the yard and talk through what it means for the steel and the joints.