Old patio cracked, sinking or holding puddles by the back door? We start with the ground and the slope, so the new slab stays flat.
Concrete patio construction in Tiburon means we form, pour and finish a flat slab in your yard that's easy to sweep and easy to slide a table across. Most of what decides how it holds up happens in the ground before the truck shows up.
Most calls start with an old patio that's cracked, sunk at one corner or holding water by the back door. Some start with a patch of dirt you're tired of tracking in. Either way, I ask the same things. How big should it be, how will you use it, which way should the water go, and how do we get concrete into your backyard?
The price moves with the size, how much old concrete or dirt comes out, how hard the yard is to reach and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on whatever the city asks for, the weather on pour day and the curing time afterward, which is the stretch new concrete needs to harden before you use it. Your written estimate spells out what's included.
Everybody asks whether the new slab will crack like the old one. The honest answer comes down to a few things you won't see once the concrete is down.
The subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, gets dug out and packed firm instead of raked level, because loose dirt settles and the slab sinks with it. Concrete can crack where the ground moves unevenly, so this is the first thing I'd ask any builder about.
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give a crack a straight line to follow. If they're cut late or skipped, the cracks pick their own spots, usually right across the middle where you'll see them.
We plan pour day to stay out of the hottest part of the day, because concrete that dries too fast on top can turn weak and dusty later. After that, the slab needs its curing time left alone so it hardens all the way through.
From the first call to the final walk-through, here's who does what, so you know when I'll be out and when our crew shows up.
Call (415) 429-4397 or use the form, and tell us roughly how big a patio you're picturing. Photos of the way into your backyard and any plans for a roof or pergola help me come prepared.
I come out myself, measure, look at where the water runs now and ask how you plan to use the space. Then you get a written estimate in plain words that lists what's included.
Once you're ready, we sort out what the city or county asks for. Then our crew digs out and packs the base, sets the forms, pours and finishes the slab.
When it's done, we walk the patio together so you can see the slope, the joints and the finish up close. I'll tell you what to keep off it while it cures and when it's ready for furniture.
A patio has to carry water away from your house, so before anything else I decide which way it falls. It only takes a slope you'd barely notice standing on it. A slab that leans the wrong way, though, sends every rain toward your foundation, and that's a much bigger repair than any patio.
If the budget gets tight, the base is usually the first thing people want to trim, because nobody sees it on day one. I'd rather you trim the finish. A plain slab over a solid base stays flat, but the nicest surface over loose dirt sinks and cracks like any other.
If you'd like a pattern or color, we can talk about stamped concrete as part of the same pour. And if a path from the driveway or side gate should tie in, we can plan a concrete sidewalk alongside it so the two meet cleanly and drain the same way.
Access is the other thing I look at early. With a driveway the truck parks right at the edge, but a backyard patio often means wheelbarrowing concrete through a side gate or bringing in a pump. If the side gate is the only way in, we walk that route with you and talk through how the concrete gets back there and what needs moving first.
A broom finish is a light texture dragged across the wet surface so the patio isn't slick when it's wet. It's the simplest finish to live with and easy to sweep.
Stamping and color make the biggest difference in how the patio looks. One Bay Area builder's guide notes it also commits you to resealing about every 2 to 3 years, so weigh that upkeep first.
We respond within 1 business day, and the on-site estimate is free, with no pressure and no obligation. Once you send the form, we set a time for me to come out, walk the yard with you, measure and write up what's included.
(415) 429-4397The Town of Tiburon asks anyone unsure whether their work needs a building permit to contact its Building Division instead of risking a Stop Work Order. I won't guess on your patio, so we find out what your job needs, help you with the paperwork and wait for any permit to be in hand. When a permit is issued, the city also requires at least 90% of the project's discards to be tracked and diverted, old concrete included.
Size matters here too. Tiburon has collected a storm water runoff impact fee since 2004 on construction that adds 50 square feet or more of new impervious surface, which is ground rain can't soak into, and new concrete counts. Even a small patio can pass that mark, so check the city's current fee details before you settle on a size.
We're based in Tiburon and work in cities across Marin and nearby, from Novato down to Sausalito and over to Richmond. A lot of the backyards I see here, and in Mill Valley and Sausalito, sit behind a narrow side yard with the house close by, so access and drainage come up on almost every patio call.
I taught myself concrete on small jobs around my own place, learned the rest next to people who'd been at it for years, and started this business in Tiburon in 2020. I still come out to look at each patio and write the estimate myself. I'm also on site with our crew while the work gets done, so the person who planned your slope is there when it's poured.
We're fully licensed and insured. Every patio is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. What we're best known for is explaining what we're doing and why before anything gets poured, and I'd rather answer a question twice now than have you wondering about it later.
If you're ready to talk through your patio, call (415) 429-4397 or send us a message, and I'll set a time to come out.
If you want the look of stone or tile without loose pieces, a pattern and color pressed into the fresh concrete give your patio that look in one pour.
A solid walkway from the driveway or side gate means guests and grills don't cross wet lawn to reach the patio, and it can drain the same direction.
We're based in Tiburon and build patios in cities across Marin and nearby. These are the cities with their own page, and we work in others too, so ask if yours isn't listed.
A concrete patio installed in San Francisco usually costs about $6 to $15 per square foot, materials and labor included, which is the closest regional figure we have. Where yours lands depends on the size, how much digging and old concrete comes out, how hard the yard is to reach and the finish. I'll give you your own number after measuring.
For most backyards I lean toward concrete, because it's easier to sweep and move furniture on. Pavers win on repairs, since they can be lifted and reset over a spot that settles, while patches in poured concrete show. They need the same base work, though, and their joints grow weeds and need sand topped up.
One Bay Area builder's guide says a poured patio typically takes two to three days on site and then needs 7 days before normal use, so plan your first gathering for after that week. Weather can stretch the work days. On walk-through day I'll tell you what's safe to do and when.
Ask Tiburon's Building Division, the office the city wants you to contact if you're unsure, rather than risk a Stop Work Order. We find out what your job needs and help with the paperwork before we start. The storm water fee covered above also depends on your patio's size.
Almost always, yes. California lets an unlicensed person take minor work only up to $1,000, and only when the job needs no permit and they employ no one on it. The state's licensing board counts forming, pouring and finishing flat concrete as concrete contractor work, so ask anyone bidding on your patio about their license.
Clear furniture, planters and anything stored along the route to the backyard, and keep pets out of the way on pour day. Tell us about sprinkler lines or anything buried where the patio goes. If you might add a roof or pergola, say so before the pour, since its posts need their own footings.
Call (415) 429-4397 or use the form with a rough size and a few photos of the way into your backyard, and I'll show up already thinking about how the concrete gets back there.
