Ever notice how many patios and walkways around Westminster are cracked, heaved or sinking at one corner? It's not bad luck. Colorado ground moves. Between freeze and thaw cycles and the clay soil we've got around here, concrete takes a beating.
The good news is a patio can be built to handle it.
Why concrete fails here
Water gets into the ground, freezes, expands, thaws and settles. Clay soil swells and shrinks with moisture. Do that every winter and a slab that wasn't built for it will crack, shift or settle.
What "done right" looks like
Concrete done right here comes down to three things:
- Proper base prep. What's under the slab matters as much as the slab itself.
- The right mix. Not every mix is meant for what a Colorado patio goes through.
- Control joints where they belong. Concrete is going to crack somewhere. Control joints tell it where, so it cracks along a clean line instead of across the middle of your patio.
Get those right and your patio or walkway survives more than a couple winters.
What we pour
Our concrete work includes:
- Patios and walkways
- General concrete flatwork
- Paver patios and pool decks
- Demolition and haul-off of old concrete
If you've got an old cracked patio, we can tear it out and haul it off as part of the job.
Water and grading
A patio near the house should move water away from your foundation, not toward it. That's where grading comes in. We do grading and site prep as part of our landscaping work, and it's a big part of a backyard that holds up over time.
Part of a bigger backyard?
A lot of patios happen alongside other outdoor work. Maybe there's a pergola going over the patio, a new deck off the back door, a fence or fresh sod. Doing the deck, fence, patio and yard as one project means one schedule and one crew. Landscaping is usually the last trade on a backyard remodel, and having the same contractor run it means nobody's schedule slips.
One of our favorite backyards is a Westminster project: a horizontal cedar fence, turf and a pergola, all done in one pass.
What it costs
Concrete flatwork starts at $20 per square foot. Demolition of old concrete, access and site conditions get itemized in your free written estimate, so the number you see is the whole number. Landscaping like sod, turf and grading is quoted per project because every yard is different.
How it goes
It starts with a walkthrough. We look at the space, the slope and whatever's there now, then put the scope in a free written, itemized estimate. If old concrete is coming out, that's on the estimate too. Then we prep the base, pour, and set the joints. When it's done, we walk it with you. Every job, patio or otherwise, is backed by our 2-year workmanship warranty.
A quick tip if you're planning ahead: think about how you'll use the patio before we pour. Is a pergola going over it later? Is there a grill spot? Where does the hose run? It's a lot easier to plan the slab around those things now than to work around them later.
Local, licensed and insured
Saw Dog Construction is based in Westminster, CO, and does concrete and site work across the Denver metro. We're licensed and insured with $1M in liability coverage, hold an A+ BBB rating, and back our workmanship with a 2-year warranty.
Get a number for your patio
Call or text (720) 290-4077, or send the form on SawDog.net. Tell us roughly how big the patio or walkway is and whether there's old concrete to remove.