Concrete patio construction in Yakima WA - a slab built for freezing winters
Cracked, sunken or no patio at all? We dig out, pack the base and pour a slab that drains away from your house.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete patio in Yakima?
Concrete patio construction in Yakima means we dig out and pack a solid base, pour the slab and cut control joints, which are planned grooves that give shrinkage cracks a place to form. You end up with a flat outdoor floor that drains away from your house.
Most calls start with an old patio that's cracked, sunk or holding water against the house, or a bare patch out back that turns to mud every spring. The price comes down to the size, plain or stamped, whether an old slab has to come out first and how much steel goes in it. The schedule turns on the weather, the permit side and curing, which is the wait while the concrete gains strength before you put weight on it. We're based in Yakima and build patios in the cities around it, and the written estimate gives you the figure for your own yard.
How do you know your patio needs replacing?
Cracks that keep widening
A crack that was a hairline last year now catches a chair leg. That usually means the base under it moved or there were no joints to guide it, and every winter water gets in, freezes and pries it wider, so the fix only gets bigger.
Water sitting by the house
Puddles stay against the wall after rain, or the hose water runs toward the foundation instead of the yard. The slab is falling the wrong way, and the longer it stays, the more water soaks in along your foundation and turns to ice by the door in winter.
Corners sinking or tipping
One edge has dropped and there's a lip someone's going to trip on. The dirt under it was probably raked flat instead of packed, so it kept settling, and patching the top won't stop it from going lower.
How we build a concrete patio
Most patio talks come down to three things: the size, plain or stamped, and whether an old slab comes out first. Once that's settled, we break out any old concrete, dig down to firm ground and check where the water runs, so the new slab falls away from your house instead of toward it. Then we pack the subgrade, which is the layer the slab sits on, set the forms and lay rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it does crack. We pour, give it a broom finish, put an isolation joint where it meets the house so each can move on its own, and cut the control joints, and I show you where those cuts will go before we pour. If the budget gets tight, I'll tell you to save on the finish and not the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's the part you can't fix once the concrete is down.
A patio rarely stands alone. If you want a pattern pressed into the surface, our stamped concrete services cover that on the same slab, and if you need a way to get there from the driveway or back gate, we can form a walk through our concrete sidewalk building work so it meets the patio at the right height.
Plain broom finish
This suits most backyards, because the brushed texture gives you grip when the slab is wet and it's the simplest surface to keep up. It's also where your money goes furthest, so more of the budget stays in the base.
Stamped pattern
This suits you if the patio is the main thing you look at from the kitchen and you want it to read like stone or brick. It takes more hands on pour day because the pattern has to go in while the concrete is still soft, so crew size and timing matter more.
Get a free written estimate for your patio
Send the form and we get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, measure and look over the yard, and the written estimate is free with no obligation.
Call (509) 452-5002- Based in
- Yakima, WA 98901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about a patio in Yakima?
From your first call to the cleanup, here's who does what and what you'll have in hand before any digging starts.
Call us or send the form
Call (509) 452-5002 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out to your house.
I measure and walk the yard
I measure, look at where the water runs and ask how you'll use the patio. Your written estimate lists the mix, the prep and what's included, so there's no guessing what the price covers.
We prep, pour and clean up
Once you say go, we handle the permit side for our part, then dig, pack the base and form the job. I'm on site for the pour and the cleanup, and before we leave I tell you when the patio's ready for foot traffic and furniture.
Why Yakima homeowners call United Yakima Concrete for patios
I write every estimate myself
I come out to measure and write the estimate, and I'm on site for the pours while our crew digs, forms and finishes. The person who priced your patio is the one watching it go in.
Pouring in the valley since 2013
I learned concrete on a flatwork crew here in the valley after years at a desk, then started this business in 2013 to do the work my way. That's 13 years of seeing which patios hold up through our winters and which ones don't.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters on a backyard job where a concrete truck and our equipment are working close to your house.
Tell us about your patio or call (509) 452-5002, and I'll come out and look at your yard.
Concrete patios and walkways in Yakima
On a patio, the permit question starts with which office covers your address, because some addresses fall under the city and some under Yakima County. The city rule I watch for on paving is the stormwater one. Projects that add more than 5,000 square feet of new or hard surface need a stormwater permit application filed with the city's Codes office. I check which office covers yours and what it asks for on your job, we handle the paperwork for our part of the work, and you hear plainly where things stand before we set a pour date.
Hot, dry summers and freezing winters work a slab hard here, and most of the old patios we break out were poured on loose fill with no joints at all. That's why the dig-out and the fall get most of my attention, and we see the same tired backyard slabs on jobs in Selah and Terrace Heights.
Questions about concrete patios in Yakima
Call (509) 452-5002A concrete patio in Yakima usually costs about $6 to $12 per square foot, and that's the going rate in the area, not our quote. Stamped concrete costs more per square foot than plain, reinforced costs more than unreinforced, and tearing out an old patio first adds to the per-foot price. Your written estimate is where your own number comes from.
Probably a few hairline cracks, and I'll tell you that up front. Drying shrinkage leaves some cracking in most concrete, even on good work, but reinforcement and control joints can keep the large visible cracks in check by giving them a planned place to form. The joint layout I show you before the pour is how we aim to keep the big ones where we chose.
Start with air-entrained concrete, a mix with tiny bubbles spread through it that give freezing water room to push without breaking the surface. National concrete guidance points to it, and it matters here because Yakima's weather is rated severe for wear on building materials and the ground can freeze 24 inches down. Ask any contractor whether your patio mix includes entrained air before the pour, and our written estimate spells out the mix so you can check.
Plan the precautions before the pour date, because heat causes trouble with delivering, mixing, placing and curing concrete. Concrete industry guidance says so, and a summer pour that skips it can leave a weak, dusty top. Before we set a summer pour date, I tell you which hot weather steps we're planning, and it's a fair question to ask any crew.
Usually not, because the old slab's cracks and sinking come right up through the new layer, and the extra height can block a door threshold or tip water toward the house. We break out the old patio, fix what's under it and start fresh. I'll tell you at the estimate if yours is one of the rare ones worth keeping.
Check that the contractor is registered with Washington L&I, since the state requires every construction contractor to register and to be bonded and insured. L&I also advises getting three written bids and holding back full payment until the job is done. Registration doesn't test anyone's skills, so ask to see patios the contractor has poured.
Other concrete work that goes with a patio
Stamped concrete services
A pressed pattern like stone or brick gives a patio the look of pavers without loose pieces that shift and grow weeds between them over the years.
Concrete sidewalk building
A solid walk from the driveway or back gate to your patio keeps people off wet grass and keeps mud off the slab and out of the house.
Service areas for concrete patio work
United Yakima Concrete is based in Yakima, WA and builds patios in the cities around it, from Ellensburg down to Grandview. The eight cities below have their own pages, and we work in plenty of places in between.
Yakima, WA
Get your patio measured and priced
Know the rough size, plain or stamped, and whether an old slab comes out, and the visit goes straight to the details that set your price.