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Pervious concrete should be between 4 and 8 inches thick to drain water properly. Surfaces like parking lots and driveways should be at least 6 inches thick to accommodate the weight of vehicles, while patios and walkways may be poured between 4 and 6 inches thick. There’s no standard for pervious concrete thickness, but in most cases, the more weight the surface will need to hold, the thicker it should be.

A 4-inch-thick concrete slab can support around 4,000 pounds per square foot if a contractor reinforces the slab with rebar, while that same slab without reinforcements will support closer to 1,000 pounds. For the purposes of a patio, 4 inches in thickness without reinforcement should suffice unless you’re installing heavy kitchen equipment or a hot tub on it. In those cases, reinforcing your slab and sticking with 4 inches of thickness should provide plenty of strength.

Yes, you can pour new concrete over old concrete, but you need to apply a concrete bonding agent to the existing concrete to ensure the new concrete sticks. Keep in mind that even with a bonding agent, large cracks and other flaws will still come through. If the concrete has heaved, settled, or cracked, pouring new concrete on top won’t address any root structural problems. Removing the existing concrete and rebuilding will be your best solution in that case.

Whether pole barn posts should be set in concrete depends on the soil surrounding your home. If your soil is compact and digging conditions are agreeable, then setting pole barn posts in concrete is an ideal option.