South Holland Illinois Concrete Patios – How to Keep

Water leaves a patio when the slab falls away from the house toward a spot that can take it. On a flat South Holland yard, we have to build that fall into the pour. Because the lawn sits flat, it will not give you that fall. People call us about puddles that sit long after the rain stops. So we look at the pitch before we talk about a finish. Concrete Patios in South Holland often go on ground that is level and slow to drain. When we find a slab set dead flat, the water has nowhere to run.

Concrete Patios in South Holland need pitch away from the house

A dry patio after a rain is mostly a grading job. We set the forms so the surface falls away from the house and toward the yard. Then we check that fall with a level before the concrete truck shows up. A low spot in the middle will hold a puddle even when the edges are right. So we screed to the forms and watch for a belly while the mud can still move.

Flat yards in South Holland do not shed water on their own. The ground we have dug in South Holland has been heavy and slow to take water. Clay holds the rain near the surface. After a patio sheds its water, that water still needs a place to go. When the yard sits level at the slab edge, runoff ponds there. Then it creeps back onto the concrete. We have pulled up slabs where the pitch looked fine. The clay was holding a pool against the edge.

That is the reason the slope belongs to the concrete crew. A landscape rake will not fix a slab that tips the wrong way. Because clay drains slowly, a small error in the pour becomes a puddle after rain. We build the fall into the forms. And we leave enough height at the house so the patio clears the siding and the door.

Standing water also damages the surface once winter hits. Water that sits in a low spot freezes. The top of the slab can scale. We have seen that on patios that looked fine in July and showed damage by spring. So we set the pitch for two reasons. It moves rain off the concrete. And the surface stays clear of standing water when the temperature drops.

What a bad slope does to Concrete Patios in South Holland

When a patio holds water, the pour usually caused it. We have pulled slabs sloped back at the door and slabs with a dish from a soft base. After the old concrete comes out, we can reset the height and the fall. Then the new pour can drain. Concrete Patios in South Holland that we replace often include the side walks. But a service walk pitched the wrong way dumps water back on the patio.

Tear out and replace is common when the old slab is the problem. We break it out and haul it off. Then we reset the stone base so it holds the new pitch. Because a soft base lets the middle sink, a low center holds water. For example, we have opened patios where the stone was thin and clay had worked up into it. After we rebuild that base, the forms can hold a steady fall.

Some jobs stay smaller. Only the low corner may need concrete replacement. We will say so if that is what we find. When the whole slab has to go, we can also pour a service walk or upper walk. People ask about a stamped or colored finish once we settle drainage. We pour Concrete Patios in South Holland to match the door height and the yard on site.

Cabe’s Concrete is family owned, and we have worked this trade since 2006. The about us page covers the company, and the photo gallery shows finished pours. We handle concrete patio work from tear-out through the pour. We set that pitch for Concrete Patios in South Holland in the forms before the truck arrives. The last check is a straightedge on the wet concrete, looking for a low spot we can still fix.