Decorative concrete in Auburn ME - a slab built to keep its look through winter
Patio chipping after a few winters? We pour decorative slabs with the mix, timing and care a Maine winter asks for.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into a decorative concrete patio or walk in Auburn?
Decorative concrete in Auburn is an outdoor slab, usually a patio, walk or entry, poured to look good and built so its surface keeps its color and character through freezing and thawing.
Most folks who call us have a patio or walk that's chipping after a few winters, or a plain slab they'd like to swap for something nicer to look at from the kitchen window. The price moves with the size of the area, how much digging and base work the ground needs, whether an old slab has to come out, how close we can get the truck and the finish you choose. The schedule turns on the weather and on what the city needs before we start. If a plain back patio is all you're after, our concrete patio construction page covers that, and either way your own figure comes from the written estimate I give you after I've seen the site.
How we handle decorative concrete, from the base up
We start under the slab, because that's what decides how long the top looks right. We dig out the soft dirt and pack the subgrade, which is what the slab sits on, so it doesn't settle with the soil later, and we set the grade so water runs away from your house instead of toward it. Decorative concrete is hard to patch without it showing, so I put the care in up front, from ordering an air-entrained mix, which holds tiny air bubbles that give freezing water room to expand, to picking the pour date. We pour in the cooler part of the day, because midday heat leaves a weak, dusty top. We cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, before it picks its own spot, and then we let it cure, which is the wait that lets it gain strength before you use it. When budgets get tight, the base is usually the first thing people want to trim because nobody sees it on day one. I'd trim the finish before the base every time, since a fancy top on a lazy base is just an expensive crack. We'll talk through the first winter with you too.
Decorative work often sits next to other concrete. If the yard slopes, concrete retaining walls can hold the ground so the patio has something level and solid to sit on. If you want the same careful base and cure inside the house or a shop, we do concrete floor installation as well.
Patios and outdoor seating areas
This suits you if you want a spot that gets used all summer and looked at all year. A back patio usually sees less salt and traffic than a front walk, so the finish has an easier life.
Walks and front entries
This suits the path from the driveway to the door, where looks count most for visitors. It also gets shoveled and salted the most, so the mix and the winter plan matter more here than anywhere else.
Decorative concrete in Auburn: permits and runoff
In Auburn, the Public Works department takes permit applications for drive entrances, fill, excavation, storm water drainage and utility locations. Decorative concrete isn't on that list, so whether your patio or walk needs a permit isn't settled until somebody asks. Some of what is on the list, like digging out and bringing in fill, can be part of a decorative job, which is one more reason to check. The city's departments answer what a project needs. Before we book a job, I check with them, and when a permit is called for, we handle the application.
Hard surfaces are the biggest runoff problem in the Lake Auburn watershed, and a new patio is one more hard surface, so I look at where the water will go before we set the grade. We ask the same runoff questions on jobs in Lewiston and Portland.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete for decorative concrete
The owner estimates and pours
I come out to look at the job and give the estimate myself, and I lead the crew that does the work. The person who told you how it would be done is standing there while it gets done.
Pouring concrete since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after learning the trade on other crews, and the first slab I ever poured was a barn floor. That's 13 years of seeing which shortcuts come back to bite once winter gets a look at them.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
That holds on a small walk the same as a big slab. Ask to see the paperwork before we start and you'll get it.
Based in Auburn, close by
We're based in Auburn, so the winters your slab sits through are the same ones we live through. When a pour date has to move for the weather, we're close enough to move with it.
On decorative work, the part you'll never see decides how long the part you do see looks right, so ask me to walk you through the base plan when I'm out. Get in touch to set up a visit.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your decorative concrete
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. You'll get it in writing, with what I saw and what the job needs.
What happens after you call about decorative concrete in Auburn?
Call or send the form
Call (207) 707-4423 or fill out the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the spot. A rough idea of the size and where it goes helps me plan the visit.
I measure and write it up
I look at the ground, measure the area and ask how you'll use it, and then you get a written estimate. It lays out the base work, the slab and the finish, so you can see what moves the price before you decide.
Check permits, set the date
Once you're ready, we check what the local permit office needs and pick a pour date that suits the job and the weather. The base gets dug, packed and graded before any concrete shows up.
Pour, cure and walk it
We finish the slab, cure it properly and walk it with you before we pack up. That's the time to point out anything you want a second look at.
Frequently asked questions
How much does decorative concrete cost in Auburn, ME?
There's no one price, because the cost comes from your site, so I give you a figure in a written estimate after I've seen it. Size, base work, removing an old slab and the finish move it most. If the number comes in higher than you hoped, ask me which choices bring it down and which ones won't hurt the slab.
When is the best time to pour decorative concrete in Auburn?
The best time is a stretch of weather when freezing temperatures won't follow closely behind the pour, which here usually means late spring through summer. Concrete that freezes soon after it's placed, while it's still saturated, can be damaged, so late fall, winter and early spring pours call for caution. We pick the date with you once we can see the weather window.
Which deicer is safe on new decorative concrete?
None, in its first winter, so a slab poured in summer or fall needs a snow plan that skips deicers altogether. After that first winter, calcium chloride or rock salt are considered acceptable in moderate amounts. Stay away from ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and magnesium-based salts, because they eat concrete surfaces.
When should I seal decorative concrete in Maine?
Late summer, after a few dry days, is an ideal time, because the sealer should go on concrete that's reasonably dry. The usual advice is a breathable silane or siloxane-based sealer or water repellent made for concrete slabs. I can go over it with you when I'm out for the estimate.
Do I need a written contract for a concrete job in Maine?
Yes, when the job runs more than $3,000 in materials or labor, Maine law says the contract has to be in writing and signed by you and the contractor. You both get a copy of the signed contract before any work begins, so yours is in your hands before our crew starts.
What causes decorative concrete to chip and flake?
Usually it's freezing and thawing at the surface, made worse by deicers, or concrete that froze soon after it was poured while it was still wet through. Patching it rarely works out well, because repair material won't match the color and look of the original. That's why the mix and the pour date matter as much as the finish.
Other concrete work that goes with it
Concrete retaining walls
When the ground drops off at the edge of a patio or walk, a wall keeps the soil from washing out from under it and gives you a flat, usable yard.
Concrete floor installation
A new floor in an addition, a barn or a finished basement gets the same packed base we give a patio, and it cures indoors, out of reach of a hard freeze.
Auburn, ME
Get your decorative concrete on the schedule
Call (207) 707-4423 or use the form now, and the estimate and permit check can be done before spring, so your pour isn't waiting on paperwork once the weather turns.