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Concrete Patios in Markham
We pour concrete patios across Markham, from the bare backyards of new builds in Cornell, Berczy and Greensborough to the older lots of Unionville, Markham Village and Thornhill. Markham sits on clay-rich till that swells with water and lifts with frost, so every patio goes on a compacted granular base dug to depth and slopes about 2 percent away from the house. Union-certified crews, a free written quote, and a lifetime warranty on labour.
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Reviewed June 2026
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Markham has two kinds of backyard. In the planned communities, Cornell, Cathedraltown, Berczy and Greensborough, the patio is often the job the builder left undone, on ground only a season or two old. In the old cores, Unionville, Markham Village along Main Street North and old Thornhill, the homes are a century and more old, and the job is often replacing tired concrete beside a wall that was never sealed to a modern standard. See our Markham page for everything else we do in the city.
The ground under both is the same. Markham sits on the South Slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine, mostly a clay-rich till. The full patio method, 32 MPa air-entrained concrete, a 100 mm slab on a compacted Granular A base and control joints, is on our concrete patios page. This page is about what Markham ground and Markham homes change about that job.
Clay till: the base does the work
Clay is the hard ground to keep a patio level on. It swells when it takes on water, it lifts as frost drives down under a slab in a Markham January, and it drains so slowly that the ground stays wet long into a wet spring. A patio set on this clay without a base dug to depth and packed hard tends to crack and ride up within a few seasons.
So we dig out the soft ground, build a compacted granular base, and slope the slab about 2 percent away from the house. Near the Rouge River and its creeks, Berczy Creek and Bruce Creek among them, the ground in the low pockets stays wet well into the season, and the nearer a lot sits to a creek bottom, the more its soil decides how deep and how hard we set the base. Toward the north of the city the moraine turns sandier and drains faster, so there we pay more attention to where the runoff lands, so it does not wash out the ground at the patio's edges.
New Cornell and Berczy yards: let the lot settle
The fill a builder backs against a new foundation keeps settling for a year or two. A patio poured on ground that is still dropping is the one that cracks early, or sinks at the house edge and tips back toward the wall. Let the lot ride out a winter first. At the site visit we check how firm the base is before we commit to a pour.
Spring is the time to ask for a quote in Cornell, Berczy and Greensborough, because those new streets fill the summer schedule quickly. If you are planning a gazebo on the patio, bring the plan to the visit, and we size the base and the slab for it.
Older Unionville and Markham Village homes: keep water off the wall
Many homes in the old cores stand on their first foundations, with walls no one sealed to a modern standard. A patio that is flat, or that has settled toward the house, sends rain and spring melt straight to that wall. On clay that drains slowly, that is how a patio turns into a damp basement.
Before we pour beside an older home, we take out the old slab, look at what failed under it, and check where the downspouts empty. The new patio slopes away from the house. If the wall already lets water in, we tell you, and you can read about basement waterproofing in Markham before a new patio goes in on top of the problem. Unionville's Main Street is a heritage conservation district, so tell us if your home is inside it.
Finish, cure and scheduling
Broom finish gives grip and is the most affordable. Exposed aggregate adds texture. Stamped concrete adds pattern and colour; see our stamped and decorative concrete page if you are weighing it. You can walk on a new patio after 24 to 48 hours, put furniture on it after about a week, and seal it at about 28 days.
Markham lies east of our home routes, reached down the 404 and across the 407, so we group Markham jobs into trips already planned into York Region and give you firm dates, not a same-week promise. We reply to every request within one business day.
Straight answers
We just closed on a new build in Cornell or Berczy. When can we pour a patio?
Usually after the lot has gone through a winter. The fill against a new foundation keeps settling for a year or two, and a patio poured too early can crack or tip toward the wall. We check the base at the site visit and tell you if the lot is ready. Ask for the quote in spring, because summer dates on those new streets fill fast.
Why do concrete patios crack and lift in Markham?
Most of the time it is the clay. Markham's clay-rich till swells with water and lifts with frost, and a slab poured without a base dug to depth and compacted moves with it. We dig out the soft ground, compact a granular base, use 32 MPa air-entrained concrete for the freeze-thaw winters, and cut control joints so any crack goes where we planned it.
Will a new patio make our older Unionville basement wetter?
Not if it is built right. A slab that slopes toward the house sends water to the wall, and an old wall on slow-draining clay lets it in. We slope every patio about 2 percent away from the house and check where your downspouts empty. If the wall already leaks, we tell you before we pour.
How much does a concrete patio cost in Markham?
The size, the finish you pick, the base the clay needs, how a truck or pump reaches the backyard, and the season all set the price, so a flat number would mislead you. Broom is the plainest; stamped and decorative cost more. You get a free written quote after a site visit, and the number on the quote is the number you pay unless you change the job.
Keep reading
- Concrete Patios across Southern OntarioThe full patio method: mix, base, slope, joints and cure.
- Concrete Contractors in MarkhamEverything else we pour and repair in Markham, from Unionville and Markham Village to Cornell and Berczy.
- Basement Waterproofing in MarkhamIf an older wall near a Rouge creek already lets water in, fix that before a patio goes in beside it.
- Concrete Driveways in MarkhamThe same clay till decides how we build a Markham driveway's base.
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