Decorative concrete in Orinda CA - color that goes on even and holds up

Most folks who call me have a slab that does its job fine but looks like a parking lot, or they're pouring new and want it to look like it belongs with the house, maybe with a stamped pattern. The price moves with the size of the area, whether old concrete has to be broken out and hauled off, how much base work the ground needs and how much hand work the finish takes, since layered color and a detailed pattern cost more labor than a plain one. The schedule mostly turns on permits and utility marking up front, then curing, which is the wait while fresh concrete gains strength before you walk or drive on it. When I come out, I put all that in a written estimate that says what's included, so you see your own number before anybody digs.

We start under the surface, because that's where a decorative job usually fails first. Our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, which is the dirt and rock the slab sits on, and we check where the water runs so the finished slab sheds it away from the house. Then we form, set rebar, the steel that keeps any cracks tight, and pour early in the day so the top doesn't dry out before the finishers are done with it. Color is where decorative work goes right or wrong, so we take our time getting it on evenly and talk with you about how the finish will hold up to the feet, tires or pool chairs it'll see, then we stamp or texture it, let it cure and seal it. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you pick a simpler pattern than skimp on the base, since a fancy finish on a poorly packed base is like a new saddle on a lame horse.

A lot of decorative work ties into other jobs. If the patio needs dirt held back along one side, we build concrete retaining walls and can color the wall to go with the slab. Inside, our concrete floor installation can carry the same kind of color into a basement or studio so the house reads as one piece.

In Orinda, building permits come only from the Contra Costa County Building Department, and the city requires one before anyone builds, alters, repairs or tears down a building or structure. Whether your patio or walk falls under that isn't something I'll guess at, so we check with the county on your job before we start, and when a permit is needed we pull it as your contractor and handle the paperwork and inspection calls for our part. City planning approval, if your project has it, isn't a building permit. If the work moves dirt or changes how water drains, the county's Lamorinda office handles grading and drainage permits along with the city's engineering department. A new or replaced driveway, any work in the street or the strip along it, and a dumpster or debris box on your lot or the roadside all need an encroachment permit from the city, which we line up before tear-out day.

Around here we pour a lot of decorative work beside older homes where the driveway or patio is still solid but looks dated, and we see the same thing on jobs in Lafayette and Moraga. If the old slab is sound, a stain or overlay can save you the tear-out, and if it isn't, I'll tell you so before you pay to dress up something that's going to keep cracking.