Decorative concrete in Lincoln CA - a finish that looks good and grips underfoot

Most people who call us have a slab that works fine but looks tired, or one that's cracked enough that they're wondering whether to cover it or tear it out. The price mostly turns on that answer, plus the size of the area, the finish you pick and how much digging and base work goes underneath, because a resurface skips the demolition and a new patio doesn't. The schedule turns on the same things, along with curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you walk on it, and when I walk the job with you I put your own price in writing.

I start where the decision starts, by helping you choose between stamped, exposed aggregate and an overlay based on how each looks, how it grips underfoot and the shape your current slab is in, and if that slab is too cracked or sunken to resurface, I'll tell you. On a new pour, our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the soil and base the slab sits on, and checks where the water runs so the finished slab falls away from the house. Then we set forms and rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it does crack, pour, color and stamp it or expose the stone, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a planned place to crack before it picks its own. It's like a kitchen before dinner service, where the prep decides how the night goes, so I'd trim the pattern before I'd ever trim the base, because a nice surface over loose dirt settles and cracks right along with it.

Decorative work often meets other concrete. On a sloped lot, concrete retaining walls can hold the soil back so a patio has level ground to sit on, and if you like the color and texture outside, we can carry a similar look indoors with concrete floor installation.

Where the new concrete sits on your lot decides which rules apply. The City of Lincoln lists concrete walkways and patios that aren't part of an accessible route among the projects that don't need a building permit, but if you're unsure, or your job is a driveway, the city's Building Division asks you to check with it before work starts. Anything that touches the curb, gutter or public sidewalk is a different matter, because the city requires an encroachment permit for work in the public right-of-way. Your HOA's rules and the city's zoning and grading rules still apply either way, so we check with the office that covers your address before we start and, when a permit is needed, take care of the paperwork and inspections with you.

We're based in Lincoln and work across the cities around it, and a lot of what we see is newer subdivision patios and walkways that have settled or cracked, often with HOA guidelines to check before anyone picks a color. The city's design criteria list no frost line for the area, so frozen ground isn't the worry it is in colder places, and our attention goes to a packed base and water draining away from the house, the same as on jobs in Roseville and Rocklin.