Concrete Patio and Sidewalk Installation:

We recently had our back patio torn out along with a few walkways that lead around the back of the house and had them replaced with concrete. We went with the concrete patio since it is much more pleasing to the eye than our previous aggregrate patio. With aggregate patios and walkways you get very uneven surfaces and they are incredibly hard on kids knees when they fall down. Our 2 little ones (ages 3 and 5) have gouged up their knees and elbows quite a few times over the years and we felt like it was time to get a smoother concrete finish. Plus, we had moss growing all over the aggregate rock and I heard that concrete patios would be more resistant to that. Our first step was to find a local contractor that could do the work. I suggest using a website like Craigslist and search for concrete installers. Also, you can get multiple estimates from a company like Service Magic - just fill in your request on their website and they have 2 or 3 contractors contact you about the project.

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One of our neighbors had their driveway redone a few years back and so we got their contractor information. After 3 estimates for the patio repaving came in - ranging from $1500 to $2200 (not including concrete) - we decided to go with the neighbors contractor which was the middle ground and well recommended. We had 3 different areas that needed concrete paving - two patio extensions, a pad for our garden shed, and 2 sidewalks. The estimate included hauling away the previous aggregate that was broken up and hauled off. Our 2 patio areas included one that was 220 sq ft and the other was 130 square feet while the walkways measured a total of 145 square feet. The concrete slab for the shed was the smallest at roughly 80 sq ft. We were told that the project would take about 3 days total with removal of the previous patio/walkway. The only thing we had to do was pay for the concrete to be delivered and they would do the rest. All the walkways were flat which made the project easier. If you have stairs or raised or angled sidewalks that aren't completely flat it gets a little more complicated and could raise your estimates. We had looked into pavers for our backyard patio but decided that the concrete would work best for our children. Pouring concrete is really one of the more basic DIY homeowners projects, but the scope of this was beyond what I wanted to take on. If we were talking about a small slab for a patio or just redoing a portion of a walkway I might have considered it. Ambitious do it yourselfers could tackle this - say with the help of a friend or 2 and get it done in a weekend or two.

Concrete Patio Cost:

Ok, the breakdown of costs for a project like this are for labor and concrete. The concrete was delivered and we ordered about 9 yards (that's the unit of measure with this stuff) for about $63/yard. Total cost including delivery was $620. The labor was the most expensive portion of the bill and like we said above the 3 estimates came in with about a 30% difference on price. The cost to pour concrete for our patio and sidewalks ended up being about $1750 for the labor. Total cost with concrete materials was roughly $2400. We are totally happy with the results and our kids are thankful that falls on the concrete are much less damaging that with the older aggregate finish. If you have a larger or smaller area to be done, you can take our estimate and either add or substract from it to get a good idea of what a concrete patio cost might be. We like the Costhelper.com website which has lots of estimates from homeowners who have had similar projects done.

Concrete Slab vs Pavers:

Patio pavers are definitely something we want in the future as the designs and layouts can be very attractive, but for now concrete was the easiest and most basic installation we could handle. With our children playing with sand/water/etc. on the patio, we felt that the concrete finish would be the easiest to maintain and clean. Pavers may get damaged and they are somewhat harder to clean. Also, we live in the Pacific northwest (Oregon) where moss is a real concern and one of our neighbors has had real problems with moss on her patio pavers. We had hoped to avoid some of that with concrete.

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