CONCRETE
Patios, front walks, and entry steps get used every day and take the worst of the freeze-thaw cycle because they sit in the open. We pour them with the base, slope, and jointing that keep the surface intact well past the first few winters.
We start with how you plan to use the space: a table and chairs, a grill run, a hot tub pad, or a path from the driveway to the back door. That determines size, shape, and where the slab needs to be flush with a threshold instead of stepped down.
Sun exposure gets factored in too. A west-facing patio in Wenatchee is unusable at six in the evening in August unless there is shade in the plan, so it is worth thinking about placement before the forms go in.
Flatwork is never actually flat. We set a slight fall away from the house so snowmelt and hose water run off instead of sitting on the surface or draining toward the foundation. Standing water on a slab through a freezing night is what causes surface spalling.
The mix is air-entrained so there is room inside the concrete for water to expand when it freezes, and we control the water added on site because a wet, easy-to-place mix is a weak one.
Entry steps and landings are formed with consistent riser heights and a slight pitch on each tread so ice does not build in a low spot. Where steps meet an existing porch or door threshold we set the elevations so the transition is not a trip hazard.
Walkways are jointed at regular intervals and given a broom finish across the direction of travel, which is what gives grip on a frosty morning.
Broom finish is the workhorse here. Saw-cut patterns, exposed aggregate, and integral color are available when you want the slab to read as part of the landscape rather than just utility concrete.
Forms and excess material come out, the site is graded back, and any landscaping or irrigation we crossed gets restored. You get a written estimate after a site visit, since access for the truck and pump changes the work more than the square footage does.
FAQ
