Concrete Patios in Dubuque, IA

Concrete Patios in Dubuque usually go on ground that tilts. Yards fall toward the alley, rise toward a bluff, or squeeze into a strip between the house and a detached garage. So before we talk about finishes, we decide where the water goes. The surface should fall gently away from the house, so rain and melting snow never run back toward the basement wall.

Sizing it to how you will use it

Most people underestimate. A four-person table plus a grill needs more room than it looks like on paper once chairs slide back. HomeGuide's size chart runs from small pads to 20 by 20 feet and beyond. Before we mark it out, think through:

• where evening sun falls in summer
• where the downspouts empty now
• the path from the back door to the patio, and from the patio to the garage
• whether a hot tub or outdoor kitchen might come later

A short connecting walk or step pad poured in the same visit costs much less than coming back for it.

Surface choices

• Broom texture. The everyday option, with good footing in rain. HomeGuide lists broom-finished patios at $6 to $13 per square foot.
• Integral color or stain. Color mixed into the load, or applied after curing, to warm up plain gray.
• Exposed aggregate. The surface paste is washed back to reveal the stone, which gives strong traction. HomeGuide puts it at $7 to $18 per square foot.
• Stamped patterns. Stone, slate or brick looks; our stamped concrete page covers those.
• Bands and scored lines. A border, or saw-cut lines that double as control joints.

The build

Sod and topsoil come off, we excavate to the depth needed for stone plus slab, and the stone is compacted. HomeGuide's patio guide treats 4 inches as the minimum for a typical patio and 6 inches with added reinforcement under hot tubs or outdoor kitchens. Forms are set to the fall, steel goes in, and air-entrained concrete is placed, finished and jointed. Against the house we install an isolation strip, so the patio and the foundation move independently.

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When the old patio is the problem

Plenty of older Dubuque patios have dropped toward the house, broken into chunks or lost their surface to freeze-thaw. One that tips toward the foundation can feed water into a basement. If the slab is whole, lifting it may solve that; if it is broken up, removing it and rebuilding with the correct fall deals with the cause. We tell you which one you have.

Looking after it

Give it a few days before furniture and wait for our go-ahead before a grill or hot tub. Seal once cured and reseal every few years, colored and stamped surfaces especially. Skip salt in winter; a patio does not need to be bare the way a driveway does. HomeGuide expects a well-built patio to last 30 to 50 years with regular care.