Concrete patio construction in Santa Barbara CA - a patio that sheds water after a rain
Patio cracked, sinking or holding water after rain? We build a new slab on packed ground that drains away from your house and grips underfoot.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete patio in Santa Barbara?
Concrete patio construction in Santa Barbara is flatwork, the trade's word for flat slabs like patios, walks and driveways. We dig out and pack the ground, form and pour the slab, and finish it so you get a level outdoor floor that sheds water away from the house and isn't slick after a rain.
Most people call us because the patio they have is cracked, sinking or holding water, or because the back yard is still bare dirt. At Premier Santa Barbara Concrete we build patios across Santa Barbara and the South Coast, and the price mostly comes down to the size, the finish you pick, whether there's steel in the slab and whether an old patio has to be broken out and hauled off first. The schedule turns on what the city or county needs before we pour, the weather that week and getting the site fully ready ahead of the concrete truck, and I put what your job needs into a written estimate once I've seen it.
How can you tell your patio needs replacing?
Water pools after rain
Puddles that sit for hours, or water that runs back toward the house, usually mean the slab was poured flat or tilted the wrong way. Every wet season that water sits against your walls and stains the concrete, and it doesn't fix itself.
Cracks and sunken corners
Wide cracks and corners that have dropped usually mean the ground under the slab was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled with the dirt. Patching the top rarely holds when the ground below has moved, and the edges become a trip hazard.
Slick when it's wet
A patio that feels like ice after the sprinklers run was usually troweled smooth or has worn down. With no texture to grip, it's a fall waiting to happen, especially for kids and older guests.
How we build a concrete patio
I start by helping you pick a finish you'll be happy with, plain broom or something decorative, because that choice shapes how the slab is formed and finished. Then our crew digs out the soft soil and packs the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, so it doesn't settle later with the dirt. We set the forms with enough fall away from the house that rain runs off, and place rebar or mesh, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks. Everything is ready before the truck shows up, because trade guidance on flatwork warns that delays once the concrete arrives can lower the finished quality, and we plan around the midday heat that leaves a weak, dusty top. We finish the surface with texture, such as a broom finish, a light brushed grain that gives your feet grip when it's wet. When a budget is tight, I'll tell you to keep a plain finish over a well-packed base rather than a fancy finish over raked dirt, because nobody sees the base on day one, but everyone sees it when the slab sinks.
A patio rarely stands alone. If you'd like it to look like stone or tile, our stamped concrete services press a pattern and color into the fresh slab, and if you need a path out to the gate or the driveway, our concrete sidewalk building work lets us pour it alongside the patio so the two drain together.
Plain broom finish
This suits most back patios and anyone who wants the most slab for the budget, because it's the simplest finish to do well. The brushed texture gives good footing after rain or a hose-down.
Colored or decorative finish
This suits a patio that's the main outdoor room, where you want color or a pattern that goes with the house. It takes more time and skill on pour day, so it adds to the price.
Replacing an old patio
This suits a yard where the old slab is cracked, sunk or draining toward the house. We break it out and haul it off first, then build the new one on packed ground instead of pouring over the problem.
Get a written estimate for your new patio
Send the rough size, any old slab to remove and the finish you want. We reply within one business day, and I come out for a free, on-site estimate with no obligation.
(805) 869-0160- Based in
- Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about a patio?
Here's how a patio job runs from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (805) 869-0160 or send the form with the rough size and the finish you have in mind. We get back to you and set a time for me to come see the yard.
I measure and check drainage
I measure, look at the ground and how water moves across it, and ask how you'll use the patio. Then I send a written estimate that spells out what's in it, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
We check rules and prep
Before the pour we check what the job needs from the city or county, as I explain below, and get the site fully ready. The date depends on any review and on the weather, so we set it once both are clear.
We pour and walk it together
Our crew pours and finishes the slab with me on site. When it's done, I walk the finished patio with you and go over when it's ready to use.
Why Santa Barbara homeowners call Premier Santa Barbara Concrete for patios
I measure and stay on site
I do the site visits and estimates myself, and I'm on site while our crew forms, pours and finishes. The person who walked your yard and wrote the estimate is there when the concrete goes in.
In business since 2017
I learned the trade on a flatwork crew here in Santa Barbara, starting with forms, pours and finishing, and opened this business in 2017. That's why I pay the most attention to the parts you can't see once the slab is down.
Licensed and insured on your job
We're fully licensed and insured. That matters on a patio, where the crew is digging, forming and pouring right next to your house.
Your satisfaction, guaranteed. Send the rough size of the patio, any old slab to remove and the finish you want through our contact page, or call (805) 869-0160.
Concrete patios and the city's rules in Santa Barbara
In Santa Barbara, the city generally requires a permit application to build structures, and its list of work that doesn't need one names walks and similar structures up to 10 inches above ground, but not patios. That list doesn't settle whether your patio needs a permit, so we check with the city or county office that covers your address before we set a date. If it does, we pull the permit or walk you through it, and we plan the schedule around review and inspections. The city's storm water rules also apply, and they turn on the patio's size and whether an old slab comes out, which I cover in the questions below.
Most patios we're called about sit right off the back of the house, often on a yard with some slope, and the old slab drains toward the walls instead of away from them. We set the fall away from the house and toward a planted area where the yard allows, and we see the same thing on jobs in Goleta and Montecito.
Questions about concrete patios in Santa Barbara
How much does a concrete patio cost in Santa Barbara?
A concrete patio in Santa Barbara usually costs about $6 to $12 per square foot, which is the going rate in the area, not a quote of ours. Stamped and reinforced concrete each cost more per square foot than plain slab, and replacing a patio costs more when the old one has to be broken out first. I measure your yard and send a written estimate for your patio.
What storm water rules apply to a new patio in Santa Barbara?
Every Santa Barbara project that adds or replaces hard surface has to meet the city's storm water requirements, and the patio's size sets which ones. Under 500 square feet in total is Tier 1, where the most common step sends patio runoff into relatively flat planted or mulched areas at least 18 inches wide, and 500 to 1,999 square feet is Tier 2, which has to capture and treat runoff from a 1-inch storm. Concrete over open ground counts as new hard surface and concrete over an old slab counts as redeveloped, so I add both up when I measure.
How do I choose a finish for a concrete patio?
Pick between a plain broom finish and a decorative one, such as exposed aggregate that shows the stone in the mix, dry shake color worked into the surface, integral color mixed through the batch, or a stamped pattern. Trade guidance says decorative finishes take much more care and experience, so ask any crew you're considering about the ones they've done.
Will my new concrete patio crack like the old one?
All concrete cracks, but a well-built patio cracks where we choose and stays flat. We cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, before it can crack on its own, and we dig out and pack the ground so the slab doesn't settle with the dirt the way many old patios did.
How long does a new concrete patio take to cure before I can use it?
It depends on the weather that week, and I'll tell you when it's ready to walk on and when you can set the furniture back. Curing, the wait while the cement gains strength, starts as soon as finishing is done, and trade guidance says that's the step that gives the surface its strength and durability, so we plan for it on pour day.
What license should a concrete patio contractor have in California?
California's state license board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places, finishes and installs flat and other concrete work, which is what a patio is. A general building contractor can take a concrete-only job if it holds that specialty class or hands the work to a licensed concrete contractor, so it's fair to ask anyone bidding your patio which license covers the concrete.
Related concrete work around your patio
Stamped concrete services
Stamping suits a patio meant to be the main outdoor room, giving it the look of slate, flagstone or brick while keeping one solid slab.
Concrete sidewalk building
Worn or heaved walks next to a new patio stand out fast, and a fresh walk keeps the trip from the street to the yard even.
Service areas for concrete patio work
Premier Santa Barbara Concrete is based in Santa Barbara, CA, and builds patios across the South Coast. The 8 cities listed here have their own pages, including Goleta and Carpinteria, and we work in the cities around them too.
Santa Barbara, CA
Plan your new patio with a site visit
Fixing a patio's fall after the pour means breaking it out, so it costs far less to get the drainage right before the concrete goes down.