Decorative concrete in Liberal KS - color chosen for how you use the slab

Most people who call me either have a plain gray slab they'd like to dress up or an older stamped concrete patio that has lost its color, and they want to know what a new one involves before they commit. The price moves with the size of the area, the pattern and color method you pick, whether old concrete has to come out first and how much base work the ground needs. The schedule turns mostly on the weather, the city paperwork and the wait before you can use the new slab. Your written estimate spells out each of those for your job, so you can see what you're paying for before any concrete arrives.

I start by asking how you'll use the space, and then we talk through the color methods together, because some hold up better under traffic and some show the gray underneath when they're chipped. On the job, our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, then sets the forms and places rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, where the job calls for it. We pour, work in the color and press the pattern while the concrete is still soft, then cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack instead of a random one. After curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength, we seal in thin, even coats so the surface doesn't cloud over or turn slick. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you choose a simpler pattern than skimp on the base, because nobody sees the base on day one, but a slab that settles takes the nicest finish down with it.

Decorative work often sits next to other concrete. If your patio is going in on a slope, a concrete retaining wall can hold the ground back and give the slab a level place to sit, and we can plan both at once. Colored concrete can work indoors too, so ask about it if you're planning concrete floor installation for a shop, basement or addition.

Liberal requires permits for a variety of building, construction and demolition work, and its Building and Code Enforcement Department lists a concrete permit application. Whether your particular job needs one is something we confirm with the department. We check with them about what your project needs, take care of the permit when one is required and let you know what we learn. The city also licenses concrete contractors who work for pay on sidewalks, driveways and slab work that doesn't carry a building's weight, and that license doesn't cover concrete porches. It requires every contractor to carry at least $500,000 in general liability insurance, including products and completed operations, with the city named as certificate holder. If your project touches a sidewalk under Liberal's Sidewalk Install or Repair Program, the city's building department has to inspect the job before any concrete comes out or goes in, and a licensed contractor has to do the work. Please ask any crew you're considering whether they meet those rules before you sign.

We're based in Liberal and work in Liberal and the cities around it, and the decorative calls we get are usually for backyard patios, front walks and driveways where plain concrete is already in place. Tearing out the old slab is often part of the job, so we look at what's there and where water runs off it before we plan the new one. You can read more about our concrete work around Liberal.