Monday, March 25, 2024
HomeBuildHow To Build A Covered Patio On Concrete Slab

How To Build A Covered Patio On Concrete Slab

Massive Concrete Cobblestone Patio

Raise the value of your property by installing this massive concrete cobblestone patio, will require much low maintenance. How to pour a concrete patio? You need a cobblestone walk maker form to get the cobblestone pattern. Further, you need concrete, cardboard, crushed stone dust, and concrete mixer for this project. 

How To Transform An Old Cracked Concrete Patio


If you have got bored with the old concrete patio that has cracks, and is looking tired, then think of a quick concreting backyard makeover it. Get here instructions about how to transform your cracked patio with the rust-oleum stone effect. The project will cost you much less, for sure. Details here

Resurface Your Concrete Patio

If youre just looking to give the old patio a refresh and make it look new again, resurfacing is an uncomplicated option. You can buy the needed supplies easily and knock out the job in a weekend.

  • Clean the Patio
  • The first step will be to clean the patio. Use a pressure washer to remove stains, dirt and debris. A little tip just this step alone can take years off the look of your old concrete patio. Removing those old mildew stains and spilled sodas is like a facelift for your patio.


  • Repair the Patio
  • Before you resurface the whole patio, spend a little time patching the cracks and pits. We recommend . For this stage, mix it to a consistency that lets you apply it easily with a trowel. Let the repairs dry completely before the next step.

  • Resurface the Patio
  • Once your repairs are dry, completely saturate your concrete patio with water, then remove any standing water. Work in manageable sections, as the resurfacer will set up very quickly, and make sure to separate the gaps between workspaces to maintain the spaces between slabs. Mix the resurfacer one work section at a time and apply with a long-handled trowel, then go over it with a push broom or squeegee to get that flat finish.

    And if you are not sure of how you want to resurface or if you want to put new concrete over old concrete, you can look at that article to come up with your decision. If you decide to resurface your old patio, check out this video from Quikrete for a step-by-step guide.

    Deciding The Thickness Of Your Patios Concrete Slab


    A patios best feature is that it has next to zero maintenance. Though you do need to put in a few fine touches here and there, you really dont have to do much to keep up the appearance of your outdoor escapade.

    This varies from one type to the next.

    Three of the most commonly chosen patio types include the paver, stone and concrete slab patio. Among the three, the easiest to sustain are those made out of concrete. While they come in many forms, the concrete slab is the best option to go for when you are looking for a flat, smooth and stable patio that gives you thermal heating and the best flooring to work with.

    Being the best option naturally has its drawbacks. While it may seem to be quite simple, constructing a Concrete Slab for your patio can be complicated in itself. Dont even get me started on the concrete composition, placement and measurement to get the slab into place. On top of that, timing and proper setup of your concrete slab is essential for the stability of your patio floor. That said, lets dig into all the details before you get started.


    How Do I Cover An Old Concrete Patio

    How to Lay Deck Flooring on a Concrete Patio

    An old concrete patio can be the most boring part of an exciting backyard. You dont have to live with that plain concrete patio, though. A little creativity and a liberal helping of elbow grease, and you can breathe new life into that old patio.

    Cover an old concrete patio with a wood or composite deck to bring a warm, organic look to the backyard. Build the new deck with wood or composite decking and attach the deck directly to the concrete patio.

    There are several considerations regarding the kind of deck you build over your concrete patio, as well as a few other options for patio covering. Keep reading to pick up some tips and ideas.


    Curate An Outdoor Living Room For Entertaining

    Now more than ever, homeowners are fully focused on creating indoor-outdoor rooms for entertaining. Sassano recommends increasing the seating with lounge chairs to make the patio a comfortable gathering place.

    A weather-resistant outdoor rug will help establish the dining area. Enhance the landscaping with homemade flower boxes or a container garden, string lights, a water feature, or a pergola, and then heat things up in the backyard with a portable fire pit.

    I Want To Build A 14×14 Slab With A Covered Patio

    Tolyn IronhandTolyn IronhandI’d forget about sonotubes and just construct a thickened perimeter footing, contiguous with the slab, and continuous with rebar, to support the column loads. Less work, will look and perform better, and be quicker to build.


    How To Pour A Concrete Slab

    Thoroughly dampen the gravel. Start placing the concrete at one corner of the form while a helper uses a shovel or hoe to spread it .

    Pour the concrete up against the form and compact it into all corners with a square shovel or mortar hoe; with a hoe, push- don’t drag the concrete. But don’t overwork the concrete, and don’t spread it too far; overworking will force the heavy aggregate to the bottom of the slab and will bring up small particles that can cause defects in the finished DIY concrete patio. Instead, space out your placement along the form, placing each batch against the previous batch to fill the form.

    If you plan to leave the dividers in place, finish, and cure the concrete in alternating sections. Once they’ve cured for at least three days, remove the stakes from inside of the remaining sections and complete them.


    Set Up The Guide Strings

    Set up guide strings to represent the edges of the patio, using stakes and mason’s lines. Start by driving two stakes at each corner of the patio area, placing the stakes about 1 foot beyond the edges of the patio. Tie mason’s lines between pairs of opposing stakes to create a square or rectangular layout. The points where the strings intersect mark the patio corners. The strings should be at least 6 inches above the ground.

    Tips For Building A Concrete Patio

    Buying concrete in dry, premixed bags makes sense for relatively small patio slabs. To get an idea of how many bags you would need, a 50-square-foot slab at 4 inches thick needs about 28 80-pound bags or 38 60-pound bags. You can buy bagged concrete a local home center or lumberyard, and you can rent a concrete mixer at any large rental outlet.

    For large slabs, consider ordering ready-mix concrete delivered by a concrete truck. Ready-mix is more expensive than bagged concrete, but it’s far more convenient, and you don’t have the labor of mixing the concrete or the concern of getting the mix just right. Discuss your plans with local concrete companies to compare costs and to make sure your site is suitable for ready-mix delivery.

    Option One: Use A Surface Coating

    This may be the best option if you have small cracks or holes in your concrete because it will keep water off of them and prevent major damage to occur from freezing temperatures . Its also an inexpensive way, although I still recommend using one that has sealant properties for more effectiveness. Some pros and cons of this approach are:

    Update Your Concrete Patio With Rust

    If youve been following along for a while, then you might remember that weve been working on projects to fix up the exterior of our house since the spring.

    I shared the whole before of our exterior as well as our plans to improve it early in the season. So far we have worked on the deck; the pea gravel fire pit, the siding , the exterior trim, and the front yard lawn, river rock garden,  split rail fence, and side shade garden.

    One of the last things we managed to squeeze in this year before the weather arrived was the makeover of our lower patio. The before of this patio area from when I shared all my plans for the exterior of our house and the yard shows how it looked mid-way into the deck reconstruction process

    We started with a very tired, very damaged, very ugly, old patio area beneath our upper deck.

    At some point it had been painted with concrete paint , and it had NOT held up well. It actually made me cringe inside every time I looked at it.

    We started out by giving it a serious power washing. We got up as much of the old concrete paint as we possibly could in order to leave a clean, fresh surface for our new treatment. The prep steps may seem like the boring part but they are super important, so dont skip them!

    We bought this Subaru Power Washer in the spring and LOVE it

     

    After power washing and getting every last bit of the old paint off that we possibly could, we filled the cracks with a special RustOLeum epoxy filler

    Next: The Primer!

    !

    How To Pour A Concrete Patio

    DIY Concrete Patio in 8 Easy Steps

    Get your landscaping features with this DIY concrete patio that comes with a solid concrete texture. Our all concrete patio ideas are long-lasting and economical and will require low maintenance too. For this DIY concrete patio, you need a concrete mix, gravel, acrylic cure, and seal as the main ingredients to build this solid concrete patio. Details here

    Build A Concrete Patio

    How to build a concrete patio step by step? Get here the step-by-step guides and visual diagrams about how to pour a concrete patio by making the concrete slabs. Use the wood slats to add the bordering and then fill the concrete that you can smooth down a towel, and float using the respective tools. It will be solid and durable and will be super affordable too.

    Avoid Diy Mistakes When Building A Deck Over Concrete

    Thinking of being your own builder? A standard deck may take as few as four working days to finishand isnt as daunting a task as you may think. Take note of these deck-building basics before you get started.

    Post positive. Posts should be anchored to the existing concrete to help stabilize the framing.  Consult with your local building code official on the best methods for attachment.

    Gap like a pro. Proper gapping is necessary for water drainage and expansion and contraction, and also allows for shrinkage associated with wood joist systems. Consider using Trex Hideaway® Hidden Fasteners, which create proper gapping when used with our grooved-edge boards.

    Pre-drill. Worried about splitting boards? Try pre-drilling surface screw holes to avoid damaging the end of your composite boards.

    Know your local laws. In most cases, building permits are required before you start construction. Ensure your deck plan meets local building codes and safety standards. In addition, some states require stamped construction drawings from engineers when applying for a permit.

    Drying Concrete: Curing The Diy Patio

    Patio slabs need to be moist cured to keep their surfaces from drying too quickly- especially in our high desert heat of Twin Falls, ID. If the surface dries too soon, it will be weak and may later become powdery or crumble away. Cure your concrete by keeping it wet. Cover the slab with burlap, sand, straw, or other material and wet it . Wet it down as needed until curing is finished.

    Another option is to use plastic sheeting or a commercial curing compound. Water evaporating from the slab will be trapped, eliminating the need for wetting.

    Whatever method you choose, curing should last a minimum of three days-longer in cold weather- but it’s best to let the slab cure for a week, just to be on the safe side. Don’t walk on it for at least 3-4 days, nor drive a vehicle until 10 days have passed.

    Now it’s time to enjoy your new DIY cement patio!

    Need More Help? Check back to our site as we will be adding the best “how-to’s” on concrete, and articles for do it your-selfers.

    Option Four: Add A Mulch Top Layer

    Add a mulch top layer you can use shredded bark, ground up wood chips or other materials to create this look. You need one of these options in order for the aggregate not only be covered but also protected from erosion and damage , and its a great way to add some color and texture.

    The good things about this appraoch is that it will last for a very long time, but the cons would be that youll need to maintain the mulch on top of your surface in order for it to look its best.

    Install The Gravel Base

    Fill the excavated area with 2 inches of compactible gravel. Rake the gravel smooth, then compact it thoroughly with the plate compactor. Add 2 more inches of gravel, and rake it smooth. Measure down from the layout strings and use the 2×4 with a carpenter’s level on top to make sure the gravel is level side-to-side and slopes end-to-end to follow the strings. Compact the second layer of gravel.

    How To Cover A Concrete Patio With Spray Paint

    Finally, First Home Love Life updated her front entry with a stepping stone mold and spray paint! Easy alternative to stamping concrete!

    We hope you loved these DIY patio cover up ideas! Check out our post 9 DIY Cool & Creative Patio Flooring Ideas for more great ideas, projects and tutorials! You also may love our post on Patio Privacy Screens!

    Previous Post

    Option Five: Add Pavers

    Add pavers or stone on top of the existing aggregate. While most contractors say remove and start again, others say that as long as the structural integrity of the current slab is ok, you can use the exposed aggregate as the base to add on dry-laid or mortared stone or pavers.

    With this approach, an important element to remember is that the original exposed aggregate is probably already at the height required, so make sure you account for as much as a 3 and 1/2 inch increase in height or the area. This is important to consider for existing stairs and doors etc.

    The pros for this approach is that its the most budget conscious and time effective approach. The cons are that because aggregate is below ground level, there will always be a slight problem with water seeping out of seams of the pavers due to surface run-off on the concrete below.

    Diy Cement Tile Concrete Patio

    Had old slab cement patio painted bronze, added stone ...

    Get here free instructions about how to turn a plain solid concrete patio into a cement tile oasis. The makeover is pretty smart, and you will just love it. Mark the lines with chalk for 8×8 tiles and then use the Edco Walk-Behind Downcut Saw that you could also take on rent, to cut expansion joints. Next, use a grinder to dig the lines more and finish with paint.

    Concrete Slabs Pricing And Installation Cost Checklist

    • Expect the Concrete Slabs prices to fluctuate between various companies each and every company have different operation expenses and over-head.
    • Try to get prices in late Fall, early winter you should expect aggressive pricing discounts by waiting for a contractors down season.
    • Try to budget and additional 7-15% more on top of what our calculator gives out for Concrete Slabs costs.
    • Visit every supply house that sell your particular brand of Concrete Slabs and try to negotiate a better price with each supplier I save on average 20%.
    • Installing Concrete Slabs isnt an easy task to perform and can leave you with a sore back. You might find it more cost effective to hire a Concrete Contractor or, mason company to perform the work for you. Concrete Contractors or, Mason companies will most always get better prices on Concrete Slabs saving your back and additional costs of Concrete Slabs materials, so shop around, ask your neighbors if they can recommend someone.

    Pavers Over Concrete: Assemble The Materials

    The materials for this 12 x 14-ft. patio cost about $850, or $5 per sq. ft. Using less expensive pavers, you could cut the cost by almost half. Most landscape suppliers and home centers stock all the materials, but you may have to do a little hunting for the right combination of pavers. The pavers used for the border must be at least 3/4 in. thicker than the field pavers, which cover the area between the borders. That thickness difference will allow for a bed of sand under the field. A difference of more than 3/4 in. is fine; you’ll just need a little more sand. If you can’t find thick pavers you like, consider retaining wall cap blocks for the border. We used cement pavers for the border and clay pavers for the field.

    To estimate how much sand you’ll need, grab your calculator. First determine the square footage of the sand bed. Then divide that number by 12 for a 1-in. bed or 18 for a 3/4-in. bed. That will tell you how many cubic feet of sand to get. You can have a load of sand delivered or save the delivery fee by picking up a load yourself with a truck or trailer. Most home centers also sell bagged sand. A 50-lb. bag costs about $3.

    Protect Against Water Damage

    Ground-level decks over a concrete patio are particularly susceptible to moisture build-up, so hard-working water management and air circulation is a must. With a steel substructure, youll benefit from the durability and peace of mind that only rot-proof materials can provide. 

    For those working with a wood substructure, Trex® Protect joist and beam tape is an easy-to-use option that can help shield your under-deck from the elements that lead to dampness and decay.

    How To Broom Finish And Seal The Concrete

    Knowing how and when to start the finishing process is one of the hardest things to learn about concrete finishing.

    In the video below, I will show you how we start the finishing process and apply a broom finish to the concrete.

    The finishing is always determined by how fast of slow the concrete sets up. I’ll show you the best time to start finishing in the video below for best results.

    I used a penetrating sealer to seal the concrete with in the video. This type of sealer will not leave a slippery film on the surface but will seal and protect your concrete.

    It’s best applied with some type of sprayer. We’re using a power sprayer in the video but you can use a simple garden if you like.

    tools you’ll need to build a concrete patio slab

    I’ve made a list of all the tools you’ll need to build your concrete patio slab.

    Most of these you can get at your local hardware store or even easier, you can order them right from Amazon.

    Concrete tools list for building a patio slab.

    IN CONCLUSION:

    I built this page to help you decide if you want to pour your own concrete patio or not. 

    If you kind of handy and like building and doing things on your own, then maybe it’s something you can tackle by yourself after watching my videos.

    If the size of your patio slab isn’t too large, maybe you can do it yourself with the information I’ve given you on this page.

    If you have any doubts or questions, then look to hire a pro like me. We do this kind of work every day.

  • How To Pour And Level The Concrete

    Pouring the concrete for your patio slab and getting it leveled out is something you might want to hire a professional for. 

    If your patio slab isn’t very big, then maybe it’s something you can do on your own. 

    Watch us pour this 50′ x 10′ concrete patio and see if it’s something you want to try or not.

    To learn how to pour and finish concrete like we do in the video above, check out my training academy The Concrete Underground.

    In The Concrete Underground I have many of my best training videos to teach you how to pour and finish concrete just like we do it.

    Building A Patio Deck Over Concrete: Time Money And Tools

    Time: Covering a patio with decking typically takes a weekend or two. This patio took much more timefive long days. That’s partly because it’s a big one . The grid pattern formed with different-colored decking also added a few hours to the job. But the biggest time factor was the unevenness of the patio surface. All those ridges and sunken spots meant hours of tedious shimming under the sleepers to form a flat surface for the decking .

    Cost: The cost of building a patio deck depends mostly on the decking you choose. Decking ranges from about $1.50 per sq. ft. for treated wood to more than $10 per sq. ft. for a top-grade manufactured product. The other materials for this project add up to about $1.50 per sq. ft., so your total cost could be anywhere from $3 to $12 per sq. ft. For looks and durability, we used two different colors of decking made from PVC, but there are less expensive alternatives.

    Tools: Aside from standard carpentry tools, you’ll need a hammer drill for this project. You can get a hammer drill for less than $50 that will do the job. But consider spending $100 or more. Even a very small patio will require more than 50 holes, and a more powerful drill will make that chore a lot easier. Also consider buying an impact driver. Impact drivers pack a lot more torque than standard drills or drivers and will drive concrete screws much better. Most models are cordless, but you can still find inexpensive corded models online.

    Can You Install Composite Decking Directly Onto Concrete

    An existing concrete patio will make your deck installation much easier and faster, and you can install your deck directly onto the concrete.

    You will want to account for water drainage and material expansion/contraction, so it is best to place boards called sleepers underneath the deck. It is also a good idea to add small spacers between the sleepers and the concrete patio.

    • When you install your sleepers, keep them no more than a foot apart. You want to provide as much support for the top planks as you can, and too much distance can leave your deck feeling unstable and springy. It can even be dangerous nobody wants to put a foot through the deck.
    • Some composite decking can be installed directly onto concrete without sleepers. In this case, you will want to make sure your patio is very level and well settled. If your concrete patio sinks an inch in various places over the years, so will your deck. Do yourself a favor and check the manufacturer installation guide before you decide on a deck built flush to the concrete.
    • In either case, there will be a need to attach some elements to the concrete. To do this, you will need to drill holes and add plastic anchors to the concrete. Regular nails and screws will not attach to concrete.

    Glue Down The Border Pavers Over Concrete

    DIY Concrete Patio in 8 Easy Steps

    After setting each paver, run a bead of construction adhesive up the side of it. That will keep the sand from washing out between pavers. How to lay paving stones

    To get started, scrub the border area with a concrete cleaner or muriatic acid mixed with water . Any stiff brush will do, but a deck stripping brush on a broom handle makes it easier. Hose down the patio when you’re done scrubbing the border.

    While the concrete is drying, grab a tape measure and a chalk line and carefully plan the locations of the borders . Using the chalk lines as a guide, glue down the border pavers along the house and two sides of the patio . We used polyurethane construction adhesive for a strong, long-lasting bond . If adhesive squishes up between pavers, don’t try to wipe it off. Just let it harden, then trim it off of the concrete patio blocks with a utility knife.


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