Pouring a new concrete patio in Bossier City, LA should make your backyard feel larger, but poor work often causes major problems. Every single summer around Bossier City, Elite Concrete receives calls from homeowners dealing with cracked concrete slabs, standing water, or contractors who took the deposit and vanished. Dealing with the brutal North Louisiana heat and shifting red clay soil is not a simple task for amateurs. Homeowners planning a concrete patio this year must understand what actually goes wrong and how to keep money from wasting away with a bad concrete pour.
Skipping the Subgrade Prep for Red Clay
The local soil around Bossier and the wider Shreveport-Bossier metro area is notorious for movement. The soil swells when it rains and shrinks into hard blocks when it bakes under a July sun. Many people focus entirely on the top of the slab without looking at what is underneath. If a contractor does not properly compact that subgrade and lay down a solid base of crushed stone, the concrete patio is going to shift. Elite Concrete spends a lot of time making sure the earth is stable before a single drop of concrete hits the forms.
Going Too Thin to Save a Buck
Nobody wants to spend more money than necessary, but trying to save a few hundred dollars on patio thickness is a fast track to regret. A standard backyard concrete patio needs to be at least four inches thick. Homeowners with plans for a heavy stone fire pit or a massive hot tub need to increase that thickness or pour dedicated concrete footings. Skimping on thickness means the first time a heavy load rolls across the concrete patio, jagged stress fractures will appear.
Ignoring Proper Drainage and Slope
Water must go somewhere during a heavy downpour. If a concrete patio is pitched wrong, water will pool right against your home foundation or turn your favorite outdoor seating area into a mosquito breeding pond after a heavy thunderstorm rolls off the Red River. A good concrete patio needs a subtle slope away from the house, usually about an eighth of an inch per foot. Homeowners should make sure their concrete contractor actually owns a transit level and knows how to use it.
Falling for the Lowest Bidder
Bids for concrete work can vary wildly across Bossier Parish. If a homeowner gets three quotes and one price is thousands lower than the others, that contractor is usually cutting corners on rebar, pouring too thin, or operating without insurance. When something goes wrong three months down the road, getting that cheap contractor to answer a phone call is nearly impossible. Elite Concrete advises homeowners to always check references and make sure contractors are licensed to work right here in Bossier Parish.
Building a concrete patio that lasts comes down to doing the boring prep work right the first time. Homeowners in Bossier City, LA should take their time, ask tough questions, and call Elite Concrete for reliable concrete patio construction services.