Concrete patio construction in Portsmouth NH - a slab that drains away from your house
Water pooling by the back door or a backyard slab that's flaking? We build patios sloped to shed water and planned for New Hampshire winters.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete patio in Portsmouth?
The short answer: Concrete patio construction in Portsmouth means our crew builds a new outdoor slab for your back yard. It sits on a packed base, slopes so water runs away from the house, and gets a broom, smooth or stamped finish. After the build, the patio needs a curing wait before it can hold furniture and a grill.
Most people call when the old patio has cracked, sunk or holds a puddle after every rain, or when there's a worn patch of lawn out back they'd rather sit on. The price moves with the size of the patio, the finish you choose, how much digging and base work the ground needs, and whether we have to break out an old slab or bring concrete through a tight side lot. The schedule turns on the season, because fresh concrete needs time to cure before the hard freezes. It also turns on any permit questions, which we settle with the building office before we set a pour date. Your written estimate puts your own numbers on all of it.
How do you know your patio needs replacing?
Water pooling by the house
If rain sits on the patio or runs toward your back door, the slab has usually settled or was poured flat or with the wrong fall. Every winter that water freezes on top and soaks in along the foundation, so the problem gets worse each year.
Cracks that keep growing
One crack across an old slab is common. Cracks that widen, branch out or leave one edge higher than the other usually point to a base that's settling. Water gets in, freezes and pries them open, and the raised edges become a trip hazard.
Flaking, chipping surface
When the top layer peels off in patches and leaves rough stone showing, the surface is breaking down, often from salt or from water freezing in it. Patches rarely hold for long once the flaking has spread, so a new pour often makes more sense than more repairs.
How we handle concrete patio construction
Before we pick a finish, I look at where your downspouts empty and where the snow gets piled, because those are the spots that soak a patio all winter. Then we slope the patio so water runs off it and away from the house. Our crew digs out the grass and soft soil and packs a firm base, called the subgrade, so the slab rests on solid ground instead of loose dirt that settles. We set the forms to that slope and add rebar, steel bars that help hold the slab together, where the size and use call for it. We pour early in the day so the midday heat doesn't dry the top too fast and leave it weak and dusty. While the concrete is still young, we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give it a planned place to crack. Then we finish the surface and let it cure, the slow hardening that gives concrete its strength, before you put furniture on it. If the budget gets tight, spend it on the base and save on the finish. Nobody sees the base on day one, but it decides whether you're looking at a flat patio or a cracked one a few years from now.
If you want the patio to look like stone or brick, our stamped concrete services cover the patterns and colors that go into the surface. A lot of patios also need a walk from the driveway or the side door, and we handle concrete sidewalk building in the same plan so the slopes and finishes line up.
Broom finish for everyday use
Most backyard patios get a broom finish, fine lines dragged across the wet surface so it isn't slick when it's wet or icy. It suits anyone who wants a solid, plain slab and would rather put the money into the base.
Stamped or decorative finish
A stamped pattern or added color suits you if the patio is the centerpiece of the yard and you want it to look like stone or brick. It takes more work on pour day and costs more, so it's worth it when the look really matters to you.
What happens after you call about a patio?
Here's how a patio goes from a phone call to a finished slab, and who you'll deal with along the way. Most of the planning happens before anyone picks up a shovel.
- Step 01
Call, email or send the form
Reach us at (603) 956-1034, at estimates@portsmouthconcreteworks.com or through the form on this page, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. Tell us roughly how big you want the patio and which finish you have in mind.
- Step 02
I walk the yard with you
I come out myself, check the slope, the ground and how a truck gets in, and ask how you'll use the space. Then I send a written estimate with your price, so you know the cost before anything gets booked.
- Step 03
Permits, pour, finish and cleanup
Once you're ready, we sort out any permit questions and pick a pour date with the season in mind, since fresh concrete needs time to cure before the hard freezes. Our crew preps the base, pours, finishes and cleans up before we leave.
Planning concrete patio construction in Portsmouth
In Portsmouth, the city's Inspection Department issues the building permits that new construction and renovation work needs. Before we set a pour date, we check with them what your patio calls for and get any application in early. If your house sits in the city's historic district, those rules reach new construction and changes to a building's exterior. I ask about that on the first visit, and we plan around that review from the start. If the concrete truck or our crew will need to use a city sidewalk or the street while we work, that takes its own application through the same department before the pour.
Back yards around here are often tight, with older houses close to the lot line and narrow side lots a truck can't get past. We see the same thing on jobs in Kittery and Rye, so we work out how the concrete gets to the back yard, by wheelbarrow or pump, before we set the forms.
Get a written estimate for your concrete patio
Send the form and we'll get back to you within 1 business day to set up a visit. I'll come out, walk your yard and send a free written estimate, with no pressure to book.
Why Portsmouth homeowners call Portsmouth Concrete Works
Our own crew on your pour
I write the estimate myself, our own crew does the work, and I'm on site for the pours, when the concrete has to go in right the first time. The person who looked at your yard is the one watching the slope and the finish.
In business since 2017
I started this business in 2017 after years on other crews learning foundations and flatwork, the flat slabs like patios, walks and driveways. In those 9 years we've become the crew people call for sloped yards, tight side lots and old slabs that need opening up.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, and we're glad to show you our coverage before work starts. That matters when a crew, a concrete truck and heavy forms are working in your yard.
Working both sides of the Piscataqua
We're based in Portsmouth and work in the cities around it in New Hampshire and Maine, so the building office we check with depends on where you live. Tell us your city when you call, and we'll start from what that office needs.
On a patio, what matters most is what's under it and where the water goes. I'd rather spend an extra hour on a tricky corner of your yard than leave you a problem to find later. Ask for your estimate and I'll come take a look.
Concrete patio questions from Portsmouth homeowners
What does a concrete patio cost in New Hampshire?
An installed concrete patio in New Hampshire usually costs about $7.50 to $16 per square foot. That's a statewide range, not our quote. Where your patio lands depends on the base work, the finish and how easy the yard is to reach. I'll give you your own number in a written estimate after I see the site.
Which concrete patio finish holds up best in New Hampshire winters?
A textured finish, like a broom finish or a stamped pattern, usually suits a patio here better than a slick, hard-troweled one. Freeze-thaw guidance says an air-entrained slab exposed to freezing should get a hard-troweled finish only when the project specifically allows it, because overworking the surface can cut the protective air near the top. Broom and trowel finishes give a subtle texture, and stamped or stenciled designs add a decorative look. If you have one of those designs in mind, a contractor who does that work regularly is the better bet.
How do I help my concrete patio last through winter?
Start with a mix made for freezing weather, give the slab time to cure before it freezes, and keep water from sitting on it. Freeze-thaw guidance calls air entrainment, a system of tiny air pockets in the concrete that relieves the pressure when soaked concrete freezes, a key durability measure where the exposure calls for it. It's fair to ask whether your mix has it. Fresh concrete also needs curing time before severe freezes, which is why we plan fall pours with the calendar in mind. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
What causes a new concrete patio to flake?
Deicing salt is a common cause, because it raises the risk of scaling, the top layer flaking off. The risk is greatest on young concrete or on concrete that wasn't finished or cured well. Keep salt and other deicers off a new slab, even when the surface looks hard, and use sand for grip instead.
When should I seal a new concrete patio?
One concrete supplier's guide says to wait at least 28 days after the pour and seal on a dry day, to keep moisture and deicing chemicals out. Sealers wear off over time, so the same guide suggests resealing regularly or as needed.
How do I apply for a patio permit in Portsmouth?
You apply through the city, which takes all of its permit applications online. The application includes plans or sketches of the work. Most projects also need a site plan showing your lot, every structure on it with its size, and the setback distances, so it helps to measure the yard early. We check what the city needs for your patio and help pull together the sketches and site plan before we set a pour date.
Other concrete work that goes with a patio
Stamped concrete services
If you want the patio to look like stone, brick or slate without pavers that heave and sprout weeds, a stamped pattern and color can get you there.
Concrete sidewalk building
A new patio usually needs a solid walk from the driveway or side door, poured to the same grade so you aren't stepping down into mud or ice.
Send photos and book your patio estimate
Photos of the spot, the nearest downspouts and where the snow ends up let me show up with the right questions, so call (603) 956-1034 or use the form.