Decorative concrete in Junction City KS - a color and texture planned for winter
Tired of a plain gray patio or walk? We pair a color and a texture that go together and time the pour around winter.
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How can I make a plain concrete slab look better?
Decorative concrete in Junction City adds color, texture and finish to a slab so it looks like part of the house instead of plain gray. Most of it is flatwork, the patios, walks and driveways that lie on the ground.
Most calls start with a patio or walk that's plain, chipping or uneven, and you want something better when it's redone. The price moves with the size, with how many color and texture methods we layer together, with whether the old slab has to come out, and with how much base work the ground needs. The schedule mostly turns on the weather and the time of year, because the pour, the cure and the sealer all need dry days. If you want a pattern pressed in, that's our stamped concrete work, and either way I measure and walk the site with you, then send a written estimate.
How we do decorative concrete
I start by showing you color methods and textures side by side, because a color that looks right on a smooth surface can look wrong on a pattern, and nothing gets ordered until you've picked the pair. Then we dig out and pack the subgrade, the base the slab sits on, since a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes your finish down with it. We set the forms so water runs away from the house, add rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, where the job calls for it, and pour early in the day so midday heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top. We work the color and texture in while the concrete can still take them, cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack instead of a random one, and let it cure, the wait while it gains strength before you use it. We plan the pour early enough in the year to give the sealer a fair start before winter. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather trim the pattern than the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but you can't fix it later without tearing out the finish.
Decorative work often comes with a second job. A colored patio on a sloped yard may need concrete retaining walls to hold back the ground beside it, and we can plan the wall's finish along with the patio's. Indoors, the same stains, dyes and polishing work on a new slab from our concrete floor installation work, whether that's a basement, a shop or a garage.
Decorative concrete permits in Junction City
Junction City requires a permit for a patio more than 30 inches off the ground and for a patio that's covered or enclosed, and questions go to the city's Building and Codes office. For an open patio at ground level that list doesn't settle it either way, so I check with the city on each job. Work on a driveway in the right of way or an easement, or on a public sidewalk, needs the city's Right of Way and/or Easement permit, and Kaw Valley Engineering handles those driveway and sidewalk inspections. If you live at the house and want to do the work yourself, the city allows it, but you still need the permit and still have to call for the inspections.
We're based in Junction City and work in the cities around it, and a lot of the decorative calls we get are for older plain patios and front walks that run out to the sidewalk, which is why the right-of-way question comes up so often. We see the same kinds of houses and jobs in Manhattan and Abilene, and I check the local office there the same way.
Decorative finishes up close
Get a written estimate for your decorative slab
We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out to measure and walk the site with you before sending a written estimate. The estimate is free, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(785) 530-0068Decorative concrete questions from Junction City
What looks can decorative concrete create for a patio?
Decorative concrete can be colored and textured to look like slate, brick or natural stone, or kept smooth with a stain or a polish. Installers often combine integral color, chemical stains, dyes, surface texturing, exposed aggregate, embossing and polishing, so you're choosing a color and a texture that work together rather than one finish.
How much does a stamped concrete patio cost in Junction City?
Across the US, installing a stamped concrete patio usually costs about $24 to $29 per square foot. That's the general market range, not our price, and your number depends on the size, the pattern and color, and the base work your yard needs. Your own figure comes in the written estimate after I measure.
When should new concrete be sealed before winter?
Canadian industry guidance says to seal young outdoor concrete once it's reasonably dry, and it calls late summer the ideal time, after at least a month of drying past curing. The point is to keep the slab drier going into freeze and thaw, which is why we plan decorative pours early in the year.
What causes decorative concrete to flake in winter?
Surface scaling, the thin flakes coming off the top, comes mainly from repeated freezing and thawing inside the concrete, and deicers make it worse by soaking the slab and adding more freeze cycles. Federal pavement guidance says evenly spread entrained air, tiny bubbles in the mix, gives concrete room to relieve that pressure, so it's fair to ask anyone pouring your slab whether the mix has it.
How do I protect new concrete from deicer damage?
A Michigan concrete trade group advises going easy on deicer for the first year and using sand for traction instead. The same group says to keep calcium and magnesium deicers off concrete altogether, and it notes that a slab poured in October or November may not dry long enough before deicing starts.
Are concrete contractors licensed in Junction City, KS?
Not by the city. Junction City says it doesn't license concrete contractors and suggests checking one out by asking for references, so that's a good first question for anyone you're considering.
Call about decorative concrete in Junction City
Have the rough size, a few photos and whether the work reaches the street or a public sidewalk ready, and we can talk it through on the first call at (785) 530-0068.