One of the first things you need to decide for building a patio is the material. Various materials like bricks, flagstone, concrete, cut stones, and tiles are used by patio builders for installing a patio. We’ll go ahead and discuss concrete patios and whether they are good for outdoor spaces.

Concrete Patios

Concrete is a common and durable building material. Concrete patios are made with a mixture of sand, water, cement, and gravel. It’s poured as a paste that is styled and it hardens into a durable patio surface.

Pros Of A Concrete Patio

Durability

Concrete is a popular building material for a reason. It’s a tried and tested material. Once concrete is poured and dried by a professional, it can last for 30-50 years. That’s a decent lifespan for a patio.

Concrete patios can withstand a hefty number of people, furniture, and even an outdoor kitchen. You won’t have the problem of sunken pavers if you have a poured concrete patio. Moreover, the addition of rebars can increase the durability of a concrete patio.

While there are other materials like bricks and stones that can also last this long, there are other benefits of concrete patios that give it an edge over others when compared with respect to the cost.

Styles And Designs

Some people may think of an ugly square-shaped patio when they consider concrete patios. However, this is an outdated concrete patio design. As concrete is poured as a semi-hard paste, it can be shaped to any size and length as long as the ground beneath it is prepped well and even.

So, whether you want an attached patio, detached patio, side patio, or any other type of patio, you can have it by laying a concrete patio. Moreover, there are various types of finishes you can choose like smooth, stamped, scored, brushed, tinted, painted, patterned, and many others.

You can even make your concrete patio appear similar to a stone or paver patio. If you like wood as your flooring and want to match the outdoors with your indoors, you can stain, paint, or stamp concrete to look like wood.

The above choices are for a poured concrete patio. Concrete can also be used in the form of pavers and tiles. So, if you fancy a concrete paver patio, you can find various shapes and colors of pavers that can be installed in any kind of pattern and shape. However, poured concrete is considered more durable compared to concrete tiles and pavers. Whereas tiles and pavers are easier to repair because damaged pavers can simply be replaced with new pavers.

Easy To Clean

Poured concrete is easy to clean. It’s installed as one solid and thick surface that doesn’t have spaces between it like pavers or bricks. You won’t have to worry about moss growth on the surface which is a common problem with bricks and pavers. Moreover, the spaces between pavers can allow insects, but the solidness of concrete restricts it as well.

For cleaning the patio, you can easily use a hose and a mild cleaning solution to clean the surface. You can also power wash your concrete patio for quick and easy cleaning.

Affordability

Usually, durability comes with a higher cost, but it doesn’t apply to concrete patios. Concrete is perhaps the cheapest patio material after gravel even though it’s miles ahead of gravel in terms of durability, functionality, and design.

In some cases, the initial installation cost of poured concrete patios can be higher than pavers, but pavers require costlier repairs in the long run as well. So, overall, poured concrete is more cost-effective than pavers.

Faster Installation

The installation of a concrete patio is a quick process because the area is prepped, concrete is poured, designs are made, and then it’s left to dry. Once the curing process completes, the contractor performs some finishing touches and your patio becomes ready to use. However, in winter and areas where temperatures are lower, the curing time can be from 7-14 days which elongates the installation time.

Cons Of A Concrete Patio

You Can’t Move It

A concrete patio is solid and immovable. People who want to change the location of their patio will need to hire a contractor who can tear down the concrete patio and then pour a concrete patio into the new location. This will become costly because you will be paying for the patio material again.

However, if you choose a brick patio and later want to move it, a contractor can remove the bricks and install them where you want a patio. You will save up the cost of patio materials because the bricks from the old brick patio will be used for the new patio.

Requires Professional Installation

Patios should be installed by an expert for proper installation. However, some patio materials and their installation technique allow DIY enthusiasts to install those materials themselves like gravel, bricks, and pavers. But concrete is not DIY-friendly and it must be installed by a professional.

Homeowners who choose to install a concrete patio themselves may face hidden costs during the installation process. Even if the patio is poured and dried, installation mistakes can lead to a reduced lifespan of the concrete surface.

Cracking

Concrete patios are durable. However, they are prone to cracks that occur on any concrete surface. Professional concrete patio installers create joints in concrete to reduce cracking and it works for the most part, but there will still be some unsightly cracks on your patio surface.

Keep in mind that cracks on the concrete patio don’t affect the structure of the patio. Your patio will be functional even with the cracks. However, cracks can become a tripping hazard if they’re deep enough or in the wrong spot.

Maintenance And Care

Concrete patios are easy to clean but more difficult to repair than bricks. If a brick cracks, you can easily replace it. Whereas concrete damaged parts of concrete can’t be repaired like that.

You can fill smaller cracks with a caul-based crack repair product, but if the patio has deteriorated, you may have to re-pour concrete on the damaged parts. Sometimes, you may have to tear down the damaged parts before pouring concrete.

Moreover, you may also need to seal your concrete patio every couple of years. A sealer will add a protective layer on top of the concrete to prevent moisture from cracking, spalling, or discoloring the surface. A concrete sealer is not required, but it extends the lifespan of the surface.

Slippery When Wet

Concrete surfaces are usually even and if wet, they become slippery. In colder regions, it’s more of a problem because the wet surface can freeze and the risk of slipping is heightened. However, you can minimize this problem by choosing textured designs.

Conclusion

Concrete patios are great when it comes to sturdy patios at a low cost. Due to the versatility of the material, the design and color choices with concrete patios are more than bricks and stones. But they are difficult to install and must be constructed by an expert. They also crack easily and you have to seal them.

That’s it! If a concrete patio sounds like something you would want, get in touch with patio contractors Long Island for the installation of a concrete patio.