If your old patio is cracked, uneven or holding water, we dig out and pack a solid base, then pour a slab that sits flat.
Concrete patio construction in Boston means digging out the yard, building a packed base and pouring a slab over it, and with a proper base underneath, concrete holds up where the ground freezes every winter.
Most people call us because the old patio has cracked, sunk at one corner or holds a puddle by the back door, or because there's a patch of yard they'd finally like to use. The price mostly moves with the size of the patio, how much digging and base the ground needs, whether an old slab has to come out first, how easy it is to get material into the yard and which finish you pick. The schedule turns on the weather around the pour, on any permit the city needs and on curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you use it. Your own number comes from the estimate, once I've walked the yard.
I come out to see the yard and give the estimate myself, so the person pricing your patio is the one who answers for it. Our own crew does the work with me running it, which means the base we talked about on your lawn is the base that goes in.
We've been in business since 2017, nine years now, and I learned the trade beside older finishers who cared more about the prep than the finish. That's still how we work, and I'd rather explain a step twice than leave you wondering what you're paying for.
We're licensed and insured. The state consumer affairs office lists ground-level patio installers among those who don't need Home Improvement Contractor registration, so it's worth asking each bidder what they carry. When you're ready, call (857) 770-0722 or fill out the form to set up a visit.
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free with no obligation to book. I'll come out, look at where the water goes and what we'd put under the slab, and give you a price you can understand. It helps to have the patio's rough size, a few yard photos and whether your house sits near a park or in a historic district.
Boston's Inspectional Services issues Short-Form permits for minor alterations, repairs and replacements that leave the structure or use of a home, building or lot unchanged, but the city's pages don't name patios, so whether yours needs a permit is a question for that office about your project. Before work starts, we check with the city about the permits your job may need and help you get the paperwork in order, because if work starts before a permit is issued, the city may charge double the permit cost or issue a building code violation. Depending on the project, a permit may also need zoning approval, a Parks and Recreation review if the work is within 100 feet of a park or parkway, or a Landmarks Commission review in a historic district.
We're based in Boston and work across the cities around it, including Cambridge and Somerville. A lot of the patios we build here go into small backyards behind triple-deckers and row houses, where material comes in by wheelbarrow down a side path and the slab has to shed water away from a foundation only a few feet off. When you're deciding how big to go, keep in mind that the Boston Water and Sewer Commission bases its stormwater charge on how much hard surface your property has, so you can ask the commission how a new patio counts toward it.
There's no fair number until we've seen the yard, because the price comes from the size, the groundwork and the finish on your job. If you're trimming the budget, trim the finish or the size before the base, since a cheap base is the part you end up paying for later.
The city's permit pages don't settle it for patios, so the answer for your project comes from Inspectional Services, and we check with the city before work starts. Long-Form permits are for major alterations or renovations that change a building's structure or use, and if you're unsure which permit fits, Inspectional Services can tell you.
Usually it's what's under it, because a slab poured on undisturbed topsoil will crack in its first winter. The base matters more than the concrete itself, so ask each bidder how deep they'll dig and what base they'll pack in before you weigh their prices.
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association recommends good-quality air-entrained concrete, which holds tiny air bubbles that give freezing water room to expand, for concrete exposed to severe freezing and thawing. Check whether each bid names air-entrained concrete for the slab, because if it doesn't say, you don't know what you're getting.
Pick a stretch when freezing weather is unlikely soon after the pour. The concrete association urges caution about pouring outdoor concrete in late fall, winter or early spring if it could freeze while it's still soaked, so we talk through the forecast with you before setting a date.
It can, because poured concrete handles ground movement by cracking, but control joints give it a planned place to crack in a straight line. Joints don't stop heaving, and a section that lifts at a joint edge becomes a trip hazard that has to be replaced. Patching isn't a clean fix either, since new concrete differs in color from old and the patch stays visible for the life of the patio.
Skip deicing chemicals that first winter, which is the concrete association's advice, then use them in moderate amounts after that, so plan another way to handle ice for the first season. If you want a sealer, put it on when the concrete is reasonably dry, and late summer after a few dry days is an ideal time.
