Concrete Patios in Schenectady, NY

Concrete Patios give a Schenectady backyard a level, easy-to-clean place to sit, grill and eat, and they hold up better than loose pavers on ground that heaves a little every winter. Many yards in the city are small and deep, behind a house that sits close to its neighbors. A well-planned patio makes the most of that space, and it has to send rain and snowmelt away from the house, not toward the basement.

Planning the patio

Size comes first. Think about what goes on it: a table and chairs, a grill, a fire pit, a hot tub. HomeGuide's patio guide treats 4 inches as the standard thickness and says a slab carrying something heavy, like a hot tub or an outdoor kitchen, should be 6 inches thick and get extra reinforcement. Then we look at where water goes. A patio against the house should slope away from the foundation, and we check where downspouts empty and whether the yard itself drains toward the house.

In older yards we also look for what is under the ground: an old walk, a buried slab, a former garage floor, tree roots. Those can be reused as fill only if they are solid and broken up properly. Usually they come out.

Finish options

• Broom finish: the most common choice, with a light texture that gives grip when wet.
• Exposed aggregate: the top paste is washed off to show the stone, a rugged, textured look that hides wear.
• Smooth troweled with a sawn border: a clean look, but slippery when wet and less suited to winter.
• Stamped and colored: patterns that look like stone or brick (see our stamped concrete page).
• Integral color: color mixed into the concrete so it does not wear off the way a surface stain can.

Patios and winter

A patio does not get plowed or driven on, but it still freezes and thaws all winter, and snow shoveled off the steps often ends up piled on it. Air-entrained concrete, a compacted base and well-placed control joints matter just as much here as on a driveway. Keep salt off the patio; use sand if you need traction. A sealer, renewed every few years, helps keep water and de-icer residue out of the surface.

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Replacing an old patio

If your patio has sunk toward the house, broken into pieces, or traps water against the foundation, replacement usually beats patching. We break out the old slab, fix the grade, build a new base and pour a patio that pitches the right way. If the patio meets steps or a back door, we set the height so the transition is safe and water stays outside.

Care

Keep furniture off for a few days and heavy items, such as a hot tub, off longer. Apply a sealer once the slab has cured and renew it every few years. Rinse away fertilizer and fallen leaves, which can stain, and clean grease near the grill before it soaks in.