Concrete patio construction in Lodi CA - a slab that drains away from your house

A 4-inch concrete slab, fully installed, usually runs about $10 to $15 per square foot across the Sacramento Valley. That's the going rate in the area, not a quote. For your own patio's number, I come out, measure and go over an estimate with you.

Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal, and control joints, lines usually sawed into the slab, give those cracks a planned place to form. Before the pour we lay out the joints with you, so you know ahead of time where hairline cracks should show up.

Yes, when the job needs a building permit, uses any additional workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, the contractor needs a license from the California Contractors State License Board. A larger job can't be split into smaller bills to stay under that amount.

Crews plan hot-day pours around heat, low humidity and wind, since all three change how concrete behaves and how it's mixed, hauled and placed. One ready mix trade group suggests early morning pours, windbreaks and shades, and dampening the forms and subgrade, the soil under the slab, first. You can also ask whether the supplier was consulted on a hot weather mix.

Lodi's Building Division is the office to ask. It guides property owners on building requirements through plan check and inspections, and it takes questions at comdev@lodi.gov. We look into what the city asks for on your patio and help with the paperwork before work starts, and outside Lodi we do the same with whichever city or county your job falls under.

It matters because concrete settles with whatever is under it, so dirt that's only raked level will sink and take the slab with it. The base is the part nobody sees on day one, and it's the first thing people want to cut, but I'd rather trim the finish than the base, because a nice top on soft ground still cracks.