A patio increases a family's enjoyment of their home, and it increases the property's value, too. Although many people hire professionals for the job, most homeowners can make a concrete patio to improve their homes.
It's a good idea to handle this as a group project because gravel and concrete are heavy! The job requires physical strength and quite a lot of time, but it is not a complicated. If you work together and follow a logical procedure, you can make a patio in about three days.
Instructions
1. Measure and stake the area where you will put the patio. Excavate the area to a depth of five inches. Make sure that the excavated area has a slight slope. That's to make sure that the water runs away from the house instead of pooling against the foundation.
2. Build the concrete form in the excavated area. If you want your patio to be the same height as the ground, the top of the form should be even with the ground. The top edges of the form should slope away from the house.
3. Spread the gravel inside the form to a depth of about two inches. Tamp it down firmly. The surface should slope slightly away from the house.
4. If you are going to use rebar to reinforce the concrete, place it now. Arrange the rebar in a grid pattern and wire it together at the intersections. Support the grid on small stones about one inch above the surface. The rebar will only reinforce properly if it is in the center of the concrete slab.
5. Pour concrete into the form. Start the pour in the area next to the house. Most concrete trucks can distribute the concrete fairly evenly by controlling the rate of the flow and the direction of the chute. Rake the concrete into position. When the first three feet of concrete is in place, begin screeding while the rest of the concrete is poured.
6. Position the screeding board across the slab at one end, resting on the top of the form. Pull it evenly to the other end of the form, moving is slightly side to side as you do so. Screeding consolidates the concrete and makes the surface level. The surface of the concrete will slope slightly away from the house, following the slop of the form.
7. Wait for a watery film to appear on the concrete surface and be reabsorbed. Then float the surface.
8. Lay a polyurethane sheet over the concrete to keep moisture while it cures. Keep the concrete damp and warm for several days. You can remove the plastic and the forms after three or four days. The concrete will continue to cure slowly for another 28 days.
