Concrete Patios in Southern Ontario
My Concrete Pros pours concrete patios and pool decks across Southern Ontario, from new subdivisions in Paris and Caledonia to century-home backyards in Woodstock and Simcoe. Union-certified crews handle the grading, forming, and finishing, the labour carries a lifetime warranty, and every patio is quoted free and in writing after we see the yard.
Every job is priced individually, not off a price list. Tell us about yours and you get an accurate, no-pressure quote in writing.
A patio is the simplest thing we pour and the easiest thing to get wrong. Not the concrete itself: a 4-inch slab with no cars on it is a gentle life for concrete. What goes wrong is water. A patio poured flat, or worse, sloped toward the house, sends every rainfall and every spring melt straight at your foundation.
So we treat a patio as a drainage job that happens to be a nice place to sit. The grade has to move water away from the house. We set slope at about 2 percent, check where your downspouts discharge, and build the base so the slab won't settle into some new, wrong angle two winters from now.
Finish is where you get choices: broom for grip and budget, exposed aggregate for texture, stamped for pattern and colour. We quote whichever you're weighing, explain the maintenance each one signs you up for, and let the backyard and the budget decide.
- A free site visit, a measured layout, and a written quote that doesn't move after the pour.
- Grading and a compacted granular base, sloped about 2 percent away from the house.
- 32 MPa air-entrained concrete, because patios live through the same winters driveways do.
- Control joints planned around the patio's shape, so cracks happen where we told them to.
- Protection for the lawn, gardens, and fence along the access route, and a clean site when we leave.
- Cure and sealing guidance in plain words, plus a lifetime warranty on labour in writing.
The numbers we build to
| Mix | 32 MPa air-entrained | exterior exposure class for freeze-thaw |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 100 mm (4 in.) | designed for foot traffic, no vehicle loads |
| Base | 100-150 mm compacted Granular A | |
| Slope | About 2% away from the house | roughly 1/4 inch per foot |
| Cure | Foot traffic 24-48 hrs; furniture after 7 days | seal at about 28 days |
What affects the cost of a concrete patio?
Two things move a patio quote most: finish and access. Finish is the choice you control. A plain broom-finished patio in an open backyard is the affordable end; exposed aggregate is a step up; stamped work, multiple elevations, and borders are the premium. Size and the state of the ground factor in from there.
Access deserves a straight answer at quote time. If the concrete truck can't get near the forms, the crew moves the mix by pump or by wheelbarrow, and that labour is real. It's also the detail a vague quote conveniently forgets. Ours names it up front, and because every backyard is different, the only honest number is one written for yours after a free site visit. The number you sign is the number you pay.
Pool decks: grip, slope, and salt water
A pool deck is a patio with three extra jobs. It has to grip wet bare feet, so we finish pool decks in broom or exposed aggregate rather than smooth trowel, and any sealer gets an anti-slip additive. It has to drain away from the pool, so splash and rain don't wash dirt into the water or undermine the coping. And around salt-water pools, the deck lives with constant salt splash, which is exactly what an air-entrained exterior mix and a sealing schedule are for.
We pour new decks around new and existing pools, and we replace heaved or settled decks around older ones. If your existing deck has dropped toward the pool or the house, that's a base failure, and pouring new concrete on the same base just rents you a few more years of the same problem. We'll tell you which situation you're in before anyone talks money.
Drainage and slope: where does the water go?
Every patio we quote starts with that question. Homeowners who have lived through a wet basement will tell you the grade must move all water away from the house, and some of them say it in capital letters. They're right. A patio that traps water against the foundation costs far more in waterproofing later than the patio cost to pour.
Sometimes the honest quote is more than a slab. If your yard already puddles against the house, the right fix might be regrading before any concrete, or a patio set at an elevation that looks higher than you pictured. We would rather lose a job explaining drainage than win one that aims water at your basement.
How long does a patio take?
Most patios are one to two days on site: layout and base work, then forming, pouring, and finishing. Stamped patios add time for colour and pattern work. You can walk on the new slab in 24 to 48 hours, set furniture on it after about a week, and seal it at about 28 days.
Pour season runs April to November. Spring books up fast once the ground thaws, and a patio poured by early summer gets a full season of use the same year. Weather can move a pour date; if it moves yours, we call before the scheduled day and the job picks up the next dry window.
Straight answers
How much does a concrete patio cost in Ontario?
It depends mostly on the finish you choose and how easily the concrete truck reaches the backyard. Broom is the affordable end, exposed aggregate the middle, stamped the top, and tight access adds labour because the mix has to be pumped or wheelbarrowed in. Size and the state of the ground factor in too. Rather than a per-foot rate that ignores your actual yard, we write you a firm quote after a free site visit, and it holds.
Can we get a stamped patio with an exposed aggregate border?
Yes. Mixing finishes is common and it works: a stamped field with an exposed aggregate or plain border, or a broom patio with a stamped band. Borders also give the saw cuts a natural home, so the joint lines look intentional. The border adds forming and finishing time, and the quote shows exactly what it adds.
Part of our yard turns into a mud pit every spring. Will a patio fix it?
Sometimes, and we'll tell you honestly which case is yours. If the mud is foot traffic on low ground, a properly graded patio on a compacted base solves it. If water is collecting there from the roof or a neighbour's grade, concrete just hides the problem until it heaves. The site visit sorts that out before you spend anything.
Do you pour concrete pool decks?
Yes, around new pools, existing pools, and as replacements for heaved or settled decks. Pool decks get a grip finish, broom or exposed aggregate, and a slope that drains away from the water. Salt-water pool owners should plan on a regular sealing schedule, and we leave the timing in writing.
How soon can we use the new patio?
Walk on it after 24 to 48 hours. Give it about a week before furniture, planters, or the barbecue, and about 28 days before sealing. Concrete keeps gaining strength for weeks after the pour, so the gentle first week protects the finish you paid for.
Related work
- Stamped & Decorative Concrete Patterns, colours, and what stamped work adds, if the patio is going decorative.
- Concrete Slabs & Garage Pads Hot tub pads, shed pads, and gazebo pads are their own kind of pour. Specs and build details live here.
- Concrete Walkways & Steps Most patios want a path to the door. A walkway poured the same day shares the truck and the base crew.
Tell us about the job.
Send the details and we'll get back to you within one business day with next steps. If water is coming in right now, check the box and we flag it urgent.
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