Concrete patio construction in Mobile AL - a slab that drains away from your house
Cracked old slab holding water, or just bare dirt out back? We pour a new patio on packed ground, sloped so rain runs off.
What does it take to build a concrete patio in Mobile?
Concrete patio construction in Mobile starts with digging out soft ground and packing a firm base. Then we set forms with a slope that sends rain away from your house, pour the slab and keep it damp for the first few days. Done that way, you get a patio that sits on solid soil and drains the way it should.
Most calls start with a yard that turns to mud every time it rains, or an old patio that's cracked, sunk on one side or holding water by the back door. Either way, the fix starts underneath, with the ground and the slope. If you'd like a walk that ties the patio to the driveway, our concrete sidewalk building is done the same way.
Your price mostly comes down to size, how much digging and fill the ground needs, whether an old patio has to be broken out and hauled off first, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the weather, the permit side and the few days a new slab needs before you use it. I'll give you your own figure in writing once I've seen the yard.
Four parts of a concrete patio that matter
Most of what keeps a patio flat happens before the pour, so these are the parts I'd want you to understand before you compare bids, ours included.
The base under the slab
We dig out and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, instead of raking it level, because loose dirt settles and takes the concrete with it.
Slope away from the house
The ground and the slab both slope gently away from your house, so rainwater runs off into the yard instead of pooling against the wall or the door.
Control joints
Control joints are grooves cut or tooled into the slab so it cracks along a straight line we chose, instead of wandering across the middle of your patio.
Finish versus base
A broom finish, fine ridges dragged across the wet top, keeps the patio from getting slick. Stamped concrete costs more per foot, and on a tight budget I'd cut the finish before the base.
Questions about concrete patios in Mobile
How much does a concrete patio cost in Mobile, AL?
A concrete patio in Mobile usually costs about $6 to $12 per square foot to pour. That's what the work runs in the area, not our price, and breaking out an old patio first or picking a stamped finish both push the per-foot cost up. I'll give you your own number in a written estimate after I've seen the ground.
Will a new concrete patio crack, and does rebar or wire mesh help?
Concrete moves as the temperature and moisture change, so the goal is to control where it cracks, and control joints cut or tooled at the right time give that movement a place to go. Wire mesh or rebar, steel set inside the slab, can't stop cracks, but placed at the right spot it can keep them narrower. If you're paying for reinforcement, ask any contractor where it will sit in the slab, because placement decides whether it helps.
Do I need a permit to build a concrete patio in Mobile?
Plan on it, because the city requires a building permit for construction projects and a land disturbance permit for clearing brush, digging out or filling land. Permits inside the city go through Build Mobile, the city's permitting office. Before work starts we check with the office that covers your address, and we handle the paperwork when the job needs one.
How do I know if a new patio triggers Mobile's drainage rules?
Start with how much hard surface your lot already has, because the city calls for a land disturbance permit once concrete and other hard surfaces built after 1984 top 4,000 square feet on a residential lot. Changing how water naturally drains off your lot, or sending more runoff onto a neighbor, triggers it too. If you're in one of the Flood Hazard Areas the City Engineer designates, any added hard surface needs stormwater detention, which holds runoff back before it goes into the city's drains, so I measure the patio against your lot at the estimate.
How long does a new concrete patio need to cure?
Curing, the care that keeps the new slab from drying out before it hardens, should start right after the pour, either with a sprayed-on curing compound or with damp burlap kept wet for at least three days. Skip it and you can end up with a weak, dusty top. Hot-weather guidance also says to pour at a favorable time of day and keep the concrete from losing moisture, which is why I don't like pouring in midday heat.
Does a patio contractor need a license in Alabama?
Under the state's rules, anyone who builds, remodels or improves a home where labor and materials run over $10,000 falls under Alabama's Home Builders Licensure Board, with work outside the board's jurisdiction as the exception. If your patio job comes in over that amount, ask the contractor for their state license before you sign anything.
Why Mobile homeowners call Quickset Mobile Concrete Company for patios
You'll deal with me from the first look to the finished slab, and you'll know why each step matters. Our promise is satisfaction guaranteed.
The estimator runs the job
I look at your yard and write the estimate myself, then run the work on site with our crew of finishers and form setters.
In business since 2013
We've built our name on flatwork, the slabs you walk and drive on, done right underneath where nobody looks.
Fully licensed and insured
That holds on every patio we pour, and I'm glad to show you when I come out to look at the job.
Joints marked before the pour
We show you where the control joints will land before the truck shows up, so nothing about the layout surprises you.
Bids you can judge
I explain the reason behind each line so you can weigh any patio bid you get, ours included.
Get a price on your new patio
Have a rough size in square feet, your address and whether an old patio comes out first when you call (251) 219-6382, and I'll know what to look for when I come out.
What happens after you call about a patio in Mobile?
I plan each patio around your yard and how you'll use it, and you'll know what's happening and why at every step, from the first call to the last pass with the broom.
You get in touch
Call (251) 219-6382 or send the form with your address and a rough patio size, and I'll get back to you myself.
I come out and look
I walk the yard, check the ground and where the water runs now, and talk you through what the patio needs and why.
Your written estimate
You get it in writing, spelling out what's included and what isn't, and we sort out the permit side before any work starts.
The pour and handoff
We pour and finish the patio, and when we're done I show you how to take care of the new concrete.