Get matched with top patio pros in Collinsville, MS

It’s technically possible to install your own patio, but we don’t recommend it. Installing a patio is labor- and time-intensive, and getting the end product to look professional demands patience and experience. Not only can mistakes lead to unevenness in your patio and expensive repairs, but not grading the surface properly can cause issues with water management, potentially leading to leaks in your home, foundation damage, and flooding. It’s more expensive to hire a patio company, but it’s usually well worth the investment to avoid costly mistakes.

It’s possible to pour concrete if the temperatures are expected to dip below freezing at night, but you need to take some special precautions before you do. Most importantly, you need to make sure your concrete won’t freeze, so the best thing to do is enclose the area and heat it. You should also make sure you’re using cold-weather concrete that’s designed for pouring in cold weather. Use accelerants to help speed up the curing process and avoid cold temperatures from resulting in weak concrete.

In most cases, you’ll want your patio to be 4 inches thick, although you should add reinforcement and increase the thickness up to around 8 inches if you want it to support heavier loads and resist cracking more readily. Although thicker slabs will cost more, you’ll start seeing diminishing returns at around 6 inches.

Most professionals will take two to three weeks to install a patio and return your yard to its previous condition. The timeline for your patio installation will depend on several factors, though, including landscaping features your installer needs to navigate around, the type of patio you’re having installed, and how long any add-ons, like outdoor kitchens, take to complete. The size of your patio will also play a role in how long it takes, so plan to keep pets and children out of your yard for longer if you’re installing an oversized patio.