Concrete Pool Decks in Maricopa AZ - a deck poured right for the desert heat

Most people who call us about a deck have one that's cracked, shifted or worn thin, or a new pool going in with bare dirt around it. The price turns on the size of the deck, whether the old concrete has to come out, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick, from a plain broom finish, a light texture that keeps wet feet from slipping, up to stamped concrete. The schedule turns on the summer heat, any permit review and the days the new concrete needs before you can walk on it. After I've seen your deck, you get a written estimate that spells out what's included, so you know your own number before anything starts.

First I check the old deck to see whether a coating over it makes sense or whether it needs to come out, because no coating can fix a slab that's still moving. For a new deck, we break out and haul off the old concrete, then dig out and pack the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, since dirt that's only raked level settles later. We set the forms so the deck falls away from the pool and the house, lay rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, then pour and give it a broom finish so wet feet get some grip. We cut control joints, planned grooves that give the concrete a place to crack where you won't notice it, and keep the slab damp while it cures, the waiting time it needs to harden before you use it. If you pick a coated finish, I'll tell you up front that it'll need a fresh coat down the road.

A deck is rarely the only concrete in the backyard. If there's a drop from the patio door or a slope down to the yard, we can pour concrete steps that meet the deck at the right height, and if a pool house or shed is going in, we build the slab foundation under it too.

The City of Maricopa reviews plans and issues construction permits, and it wants an application and plans in before any construction project starts. Whether a pool deck on its own needs one isn't something I'll guess at, so before we start we ask the city's Building Safety office, which is where the city sends people with that question. If your house sits outside city limits in unincorporated Pinal County, the county's Building Safety Department handles plan review and inspection instead. Either way, we take care of the permit paperwork and schedule the inspections when your job needs them.

Some ground around here is expansive clay, which swells when a monsoon storm soaks it and shrinks back in the dry summer, and that movement can crack sidewalks and slabs that sit on it. Around a pool, where splash-out and sprinklers keep the edges wet, I'd rather dig out the soft dirt and pack a firm base than pour over what's there. We deal with the same heat and summer storms on jobs in Casa Grande and Chandler.