If a concrete patio is decorated well after being built, it can be an attractive part of your landscaping. It also adds convenience to your landscaping since it’s rectangular & easy to mow around. Concrete patios also offer great places to entertain guests & a way to increase property value. Rather than paying some one else to do it, you can save time & money by building the concrete patio on your own in about 3 days. It’s a relatively small amount of time & effort to build when compared to how long the patio will last. It will be very durable & can withstand years of wear & tear.
Planning the Patio
You need to begin by planning your patio. How big do you want it to be? You will then need to mark off that area. Do you have all of the necessary tools? How much concrete will be needed? A common size for a patio is 50 square feet. To make a patio about this size, at 6 inches thick, you’ll need 25 bags of pre-mixed concrete. For the pre-mixed concrete (the best option) you’ll need to have concrete tools & an automatic concrete mixer. If you do not have these, do not want to buy them, or you can not borrow them, you can rent them from a home improvement or hardware store.
After marking off the area, you should use a garden shovel to dig out the area six inches deep. Digging at this depth will allow you to use 2 inches of gravel beneath 4 inches of concrete. It’s very important to do this in cold climates where freezing & thawing can cause drainage problems. The gravel will stop these problems & stop your patio from cracking.
After excavating the area for the patio, you should build a form out of wood to hold the gravel & concrete in place. This will stop the concrete & gravel from spreading out past where you want your patio to be. Other options besides wood for the form are to use strong plastic or rubber. No matter what you use, the entire form should be sunk into the ground & line the entire border of the patio area. The top of the form should be at the same level as the top of the lawn if you want the patio to be flush with the ground. Next, you’ll add the gravel. Make sure it’s packed somewhat tightly so it does not shift in the future… Next, you should add two-inch high flat pieced of rock. These will act as supports for the rebar that will reinforce the concrete.
Forming the Grid
The rebar is made in a grid form, & will be installed in the middle of the 4 inch thick concrete slab. You should install it by putting pieces 2 feet apart from front to back an left to right. Secure the intersections of the rebar together with wiring. It’s necessary to have the rebar to help unify the concrete & to provide extra support for the patio.
Next, you should use the automatic mixer to mix the concrete. Closely follow the directions for adding water. You should add water first with a hose, then begin adding concrete. You can begin adding water again until the concrete becomes a medium shade of shiny gray throughout. Once the concrete is mixed, you can begin to pour it into the form. You should begin to pour at the end of the patio farthest from the concrete mixer. You’ll most likely want to transport the concrete in a wheel barrow. It’s important that you have many filler rocks ready to add to the concrete mixture. You should have everything prepared as much as possible before pouring, because once you begin to apply the concrete, you should pour as rapidly as possible.
After the concrete is poured, use a creed to smooth out the surface & to take off excess concrete above the top of the form boards. Using a mason’s trowel, you should now cut initial control joints into the patio. The joints should be 2 inches deep, 3-4 feet apart from each other. When a watery layer appears, you should wait for it to disappear before you move on. Using a jointer will often help you finish the control joints. You can then make a clean groove, about one inch deep.
Finishing
Last, you can finish by adding any stylistic elements that you would like. Pushing a broom lightly over the surface, for example, will create a nice look while being functional in preventing a slippery surface in wet weather. After you do this, you should lay plastic over the patio for the concrete to “cure” (dry) properly. The plastic should be left on for 1 week, & you should not heavily use the patio for at least 2 weeks after that.
Did you know that a landscaped patio area can add as much as 12.4% to the value of a property! Once the patio is completed it is time to look at adding some landscaping as the next project for your patio.
Keith Markensen looks at landscaping around a patio pulling from his decades of landscape experience. Keith regularly shares his professional landscape knowledge at www.Plant-Care.com
