Need a patio contractor

[motherscratcher]

I'm looking to put something on the back of the house and leaning heavily toward stamped concrete. Just about ready to collect a few estimates but don't have any contractor names as of yet.

If anyone knows somebody in the field that does work around Avon I'd be interested.

[swerb]

I have stamped concrete on my back patio and love it. Looks great, spill and stain resistant. I pay like $75 each spring to get it reglossed/refinished, and it looks great all year.

Recommend it highly.

[waborat]

Install patios for a living and I won't try to sell one over the other here...

But I will add, stamped concrete looks nice when installed and is reasonably priced, but it is still concrete in NEO and we all know what eventually happens to concrete here...

If you go this route then make damn sure your contractor installs and compacts a good base and adds drainage under or around it if you have any water issues in your yard...

The sealing that Swerb mentioned is mandatory

[motherscratcher]

Thanks for the info, guys. Wab, to you work with concrete or mostly with pavers and the like? Do you know anybody way out here in BFE that I should give a call to for concrete?

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Dude,know this...

There are only two types of concrete:

Cracked and going to crack.....

Stamped sucks. Its slippery when wet and squeaky after you seal it. You're always re-seling it and when it cracks or chips it can't be repaired. The aggregate gets exposed and thats when the water trouble starts

the pavers are guranteed for life and if I installed it you'd get 2 yrs on labor

In concrete you get what's called a "tail light guarantee"....figure it out

Go here.... http://www.earthworkserie.com/ Check out the Gallery

Limited number of projects as its under construction but, you'll get where I'm comming from as regards the flexibilty of pavers vs mud

Its what can be done vs calling a concrete contractor and , unlike concrete, you could drive the concrete truck over it minutes after yoyu finish it

...and wabo is dead nuts. Its all about the base

[motherscratcher]

I was leaning toward concrete for 2 reasons: 1) the SC around my neighborhood looks really nice. 2) It is my understanding that SC is significantly less expensive than pavers.

I understand that I may be way off base on that last assumption, but it is what I thought. To be honest the whole project might end up being more than I thought and I may have to hold off a little.

Is this the line of work you're in FMB? Because I'd have no problem using you so long as you promised not to bury any Pelosi types in there that might have to be dug up later.

[waborat]

Like Bill said, all concrete WILL crack, ya just don't know when or how bad...

That's why no contractor will ever warranty it, ever...

I know how to do it and have done it, but I won't do it professionally anymore...It's all pavers, flagstone or Travertine for us...

A good ballpark is $7-9 for SC, $12-15 for pavers, $14-22 for flagging, 16-20 for Travertine...

Pavers will last forever and there's 100's of different shapes and color blends to choose from...If one chips or you get grill grease on it, no problem, pull it out and install another...If ya ever want to add on to your patio in the future, no problem, it'll match...

IMO, flagstone (sandstone, bluestone, etc) is the best only because it will last like pavers and it'll still look good and change with the decades unlike a lot of pavers (ever see the "stopsign" shit by Unilock nowadays )...

I'm on the east side MS and do a ton of work in the Avon area, but I don't know any concrete guys I would recommend out there...

If you decide to go with SC, then just be forewarned that anything can happen to it, even within months after the pour

[hebner20]

I don't want to take money out of anyone's pocket but I knew nothing about putting in a brick paver patio and I read a book and got some tips from my father in law and 2 weeks after starting the project it was done and looked great.

I worked on it after work and on the weekends and most of the work was digging the 2+ foot deep base and laying down the gravel. My patio is 13x13 and was 1,024 pavers i think and I layed it all in about 7 hours. Laying the pavers is the easiest part. The cool thing was I let my wife lay the last paver and other than that I did the whole friggin' thing myself.

I think the hardest/skillful part was making sure i had it laid out square (also getting the proper crown and sloping away from the house is a little tough) the rest is all hard friggin' manual labor. I can barely sharpen a pencil correctly but I did a good job. That was 10 years ago and it still looks great and have not had to readjust any pavers. Maybe i got lucky but I say do it yourself and finally break free from being a pussy. It did wonders for me. Did I mention I did it myself?

Good luck.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I was leaning toward concrete for 2 reasons: 1) the SC around my neighborhood looks really nice. 2) It is my understanding that SC is significantly less expensive than pavers.

I understand that I may be way off base on that last assumption, but it is what I thought. To be honest the whole project might end up being more than I thought and I may have to hold off a little.

Is this the line of work you're in FMB? Because I'd have no problem using you so long as you promised not to bury any Pelosi types in there that might have to be dug up later.

Yeah, its what I do....landscape design and installs, commercial retaining walls, sprinkler systems, yadda yadda

I'm still blown away that wabo and I are virtually in the same biz cuz in the end about 50% of my work is patios & outdoor rooms....

I never quote a sq ft price but in the end, I charge more for paver work

wabo, you ever seen or heard Vanderkoi or been to a workshop?

[waborat]

I don't want to take money out of anyone's pocket but I knew nothing about putting in a brick paver patio and I read a book and got some tips from my father in law and 2 weeks after starting the project it was done and looked great.

I worked on it after work and on the weekends and most of the work was digging the 2+ foot deep base and laying down the gravel. My patio is 13x13 and was 1,024 pavers i think and I layed it all in about 7 hours. Laying the pavers is the easiest part. The cool thing was I let my wife lay the last paver and other than that I did the whole friggin' thing myself.

I think the hardest/skillful part was making sure i had it laid out square (also getting the proper crown and sloping away from the house is a little tough) the rest is all hard friggin' manual labor. I can barely sharpen a pencil correctly but I did a good job. That was 10 years ago and it still looks great and have not had to readjust any pavers. Maybe i got lucky but I say do it yourself and finally break free from being a pussy. It did wonders for me. Did I mention I did it myself?

Good luck.

Good for you Heb!!!

It's like anything else in construction, anybody can do it, but it'll take a lot of time, patience and tools that you may not have...

It usually comes down to what your time is worth? You say it took a good part of 2 weeks...My crew (and I'm sure Bill's) would come in and excavate, lay 170 sf in about 4 hrs...Although, you wouldn't be able to have created something that you are still proud of...

I am kinda scratching my head about the 2'+ depth though? Unless you had major wet conditions, then 7-8" woulda been sufficient

[waborat]

I'm still blown away that wabo and I are virtually in the same biz cuz in the end about 50% of my work is patios & outdoor rooms....

I never quote a sq ft price but in the end, I charge more for paver work

wabo, you ever seen or heard Vanderkoi or been to a workshop?

Ah, good ol' Chuck, yep, been to a few of his workshops over the past 25 years...

Most of our work is masonry, carpentry and dried layed patios/walls, etc, so yes, it sounds like we pretty much do the same thing...

These damn new outdoor kitchens/fireplaces have really been the new explosion for the past couple of years, huh? We're getting ready to start our largest one over near Little Mountain country club this week...It's amazing what peeps will spend on this stuff

[hebner20]

I don't want to take money out of anyone's pocket but I knew nothing about putting in a brick paver patio and I read a book and got some tips from my father in law and 2 weeks after starting the project it was done and looked great.

I worked on it after work and on the weekends and most of the work was digging the 2+ foot deep base and laying down the gravel. My patio is 13x13 and was 1,024 pavers i think and I layed it all in about 7 hours. Laying the pavers is the easiest part. The cool thing was I let my wife lay the last paver and other than that I did the whole friggin' thing myself.

I think the hardest/skillful part was making sure i had it laid out square (also getting the proper crown and sloping away from the house is a little tough) the rest is all hard friggin' manual labor. I can barely sharpen a pencil correctly but I did a good job. That was 10 years ago and it still looks great and have not had to readjust any pavers. Maybe i got lucky but I say do it yourself and finally break free from being a pussy. It did wonders for me. Did I mention I did it myself?

Good luck.

Good for you Heb!!!

It's like anything else in construction, anybody can do it, but it'll take a lot of time, patience and tools that you may not have...

It usually comes down to what your time is worth? You say it took a good part of 2 weeks...My crew (and I'm sure Bill's) would come in and excavate, lay 170 sf in about 4 hrs...Although, you wouldn't be able to have created something that you are still proud of...

I am kinda scratching my head about the 2'+ depth though? Unless you had major wet conditions, then 7-8" woulda been sufficient

Wabo,

The main reason I did it myself was that I like a challenge and was told that it was really mostly hard manual labor. It definitely was. I can't do shit with my hands and i come from a family of mechanics! I would really not recommend someone doing it unless they are physically able to do it and want that sense of accomplishment. I am glad i took the cahllenge.

As far as the 2 foot deep goes I was wrong I looked back at my book and notes and it was about a foot. 8 inches of gravel and then the sand (i rented a tamper) and allow about 2 inches for the pavers.

I think letting a pro come in and do it makes a lot of sense especially if there is risk you can screw it up. Hey, I probably got lucky that it is still holding up.

I will tell you this, if i had to do another one I would probably get a pro because i am 10 years older and I already fought that battle. Once was enough.

[aoxo1]

I'm not looking for another project right now (I'm in the middle of a complete floor replacement), but next on my list is doing something about my admittedly small back yard. It has a concrete slab ~15x15, which I would love to do something to improve the look of, and a bunch of pavers of varying origin that were poorly installed by the previous owner (he didn't make a level surface, just laid the stones on the ground to it is uneven and wavy).

I was planning to pull up the pavers and reusing some of them. But is there anything I can do about the concrete to improve the looks? I hadn't really looked into it much, but thought I might be able to do stamped concrete over it. Is that even possible? Maybe a bad idea, considering the reviews of professionals here?

[waborat]

I'm not looking for another project right now (I'm in the middle of a complete floor replacement), but next on my list is doing something about my admittedly small back yard. It has a concrete slab ~15x15, which I would love to do something to improve the look of, and a bunch of pavers of varying origin that were poorly installed by the previous owner (he didn't make a level surface, just laid the stones on the ground to it is uneven and wavy).

I was planning to pull up the pavers and reusing some of them. But is there anything I can do about the concrete to improve the looks? I hadn't really looked into it much, but thought I might be able to do stamped concrete over it. Is that even possible? Maybe a bad idea, considering the reviews of professionals here?

Don't try to do anything over your old concrete, except dry laying pavers/stone over the top and that's only if you have the height to do it...

If it's in bad shape, then just tear it out

[aoxo1]

Thanks wabo.

[motherscratcher]

We took FMB and Wabs advice and put it off a year. We went with pavers and install should begin probably some time next week. I'm excited as hell. Can't wait until it's finished. It should look great. (for as much as we're paying it damn well better.)

I'll post some pictures when it's finished for FMB and Wabs approval.

Wabs, I totally forgot about this thread until right now or honestly I would have PMed you to see if you wanted to drive out here. Sorry man.

[FUDU]

Taking on this project myself next year (I hope) and have reconsidered my original plan of concrete. Going a very green route, thanks to some info FMB has brought up recently in other discussions. Trying to avoid water problems and any loss of natural absorption if at all possible, been seeing problems close to home with too much concrete in yards.

Post the photos mo am interested in seeing them.