Porter Indiana Concrete Patios for Summer and Freeze

A pale flake sticks to the chair leg when you drag the set back out in April. The low edge of the slab looks dusty. A thin map of cracks shows where water sat over winter. Concrete Patios in Porter see that cycle every year. Summer loads the slab with chairs and a grill after days at the dunes. Then winter freezes water that got into the paste. So the surface that looked fine in July can show wear by the thaw.

After a few seasons of that wear, people call us. We’ve pulled up patio slabs that scaled along the outside edge. We’ve also seen joints open after a slab settled over a soft spot. Because water runs to the low side, a puddle in the middle becomes a freeze spot later. When we lay out a new pour, we slope the slab away from the house. After a storm, that slope is what keeps water from sitting on the concrete overnight.

Concrete Patios in Porter After a Full Summer of Use

Summer use around Porter, Indiana wears a patio down. Grills drop grease on the slab. Chair legs rock where the surface is out of plane. Kids track sand in from the beach, and that sand grinds under shoes all season. So we talk through the finish before we order the truck. When the slab is wet from a hose, a broom finish gives feet a grip. For a different look, we color the concrete or stamp a pattern into the surface.

We will work with you on the look you want for the patio. For example, colored concrete and a stamped pattern are in the decorative work we do. After the pour, we stay on the cure until the surface has set up. On a hot July afternoon the top can dry too fast if we leave it open to the sun. Then we cover the slab or apply a cure so the top doesn’t dry out.

Freeze Damage on Concrete Patios in Porter

Concrete Patios in Porter get heavy summer use, and then that slab goes through a full freeze-thaw winter. So the pour has to handle both. We’ve seen the top of a slab flake off after water in the paste froze. But salt from a walk shovel makes that flaking worse when it lands on the patio. Because of that, we order an air-entrained mix for exterior flatwork in this climate.

We cut control joints to guide cracking into a straight line. We compact a stone base before the truck arrives. And we don’t pour when the ground is frozen. When a hard freeze is due before the slab can gain strength, we move the date. We try to get in and out quickly and leave a professional job.

Concrete Patios in Porter that have scaled past a patch usually come out for a tear-out and replace. We do the concrete removal and the new pour on one visit when the old slab has failed. After the tear-out, upper walks often meet the new edge. We form those walks with the slab so the elevations match and water can leave. Then water can pass the edge without pooling against the house. Stamped or colored concrete is an option on the new pour.

Cabe’s Concrete is a family owned and operated company. We’ve poured Concrete Patios in Porter since 2006. Our concrete patio work also covers a grill pad when the grades line up. But a service walk can join that pour too. Finish photos are in the photo gallery. The About Us page covers how we run a job. We don’t inflate the price of material to make a few extra dollars. And we write the quote out line by line.