How To Preparing For A Concrete Patio In Lakeland

You may be considering getting a patio for your property, after all, these patios are the perfect outdoor living place where you can hang around with your friends and family. Naturally, you would ideally want a patio that is strong and durable, something that wouldn’t trouble you while you’re enjoying a fire pit or grilling. Concrete is the best material choice out of all building options. Even so, here are some steps you would need to prepare your yard for a concrete patio:

Plan Out The Area

Naturally, when you’re dealing with a large-scale home renovation project like this, then organizing your plans is always fundamental. During this period, it is important to measure the areas of your property first, this will allow you to choose where you would want your concrete patio to be, and how big you would want it. 

Related: Signs You Need To Add Concrete To Your Backyard 

You can also use some strings and stakes as marking tools so you have a good idea of the outline while making sure that the area provided is even and proportional. If you have a relatively large area available for a patio, then you can measure out a space in five feet increments while also evenly lining up your stakes, which will give you an acceptably large area that should be enough to fit any of your outdoor entertainment needs.

To be more completely organized while setting up and planning your area, would be to keep stakes two feet apart along the longest edges. This will help with keeping the strings that you put in straight, which could eventually help give you a better idea and vision of how your future concrete patio would look like.

Excavating The Area

After you got a great idea of what the concrete patio would look like, the next step you would want to take is to excavate the area. You would need to dig out an area of the earth with the proper depth that is appropriate for pouring concrete. When it comes to residential concrete patios, the thickness of the poured concrete is usually 4 or 5 inches thick. There is usually two to three inches of concrete below ground, and another one or two inches above ground level.

Depending on your preferences, you may also want to consider an additional two inches of depth, this would be the layer for the gravel, which is usually used for some extra drainage. In some cases, you may also want to prepare for a slope runoff, then this is the part where you would want to prepare that as well. It is advisable to first determine a 1/8-inch slope for every foot of the patio to give you the proper rain shed. 

Form Preparation With Rebar

When all the ground and gravel is already set to go, it is time to outline your concrete patio with some wood frames and mesh rebar. It could get pretty tricky and troublesome if you pour your concrete and the frame is not properly set, so be sure to check it and follow these steps:

• It is recommended to connect the wooden stakes near each end of 2×4’s, making sure that the smooth side of the stake is flush with the inside of the boards.
• Next would be to pound the stake firmly to the ground following the outer edge of your string outline using a hammer or mallet.
• Lastly, you should fasten the 2×4’s to one another at the corners using screws and a drill.