How to Price a Concrete Patio: Sizes, Finishes and the Extras Customers Ask For

Patios are the bread and butter of residential concrete. They are smaller than driveways, easier to access than you think and they sell well with add-ons. Here is how to price them so the small ones still pay.

The basic method

Price a patio by the square foot with a starting price that covers the smallest job. The truck minimum, the forms, the base, the crew's morning and the cleanup cost almost the same for 100 square feet as for 300.

A common mid-market setup for a 4-inch patio with wire mesh and a broom finish:

• $1,200 for the first 100 square feet, then $8 a square foot
• 10 by 10 (100 square feet): $1,200
• 12 by 12 (144 square feet): $1,552
• 10 by 20 (200 square feet): $2,000
• 12 by 25 (300 square feet): $2,800
• 20 by 20 (400 square feet): $3,600
• 20 by 25 (500 square feet): $4,400

That is $12 a foot on the smallest patio and under $9 on the larger ones. If you charge a flat $8 a foot, the 10 by 10 pays $800 and you lose the day.

The extras that change the price

• Tear-out of an old patio: about $900. Old patios are often thin, but you still pay for the breaker and the dump
• Rebar instead of mesh: about $300
• A 6-inch slab for a hot tub, a shed or an outdoor kitchen: about $600
• Sealer: about $200
• Integral color: about $350
• Stamped instead of broom finish: a different price, $1,800 for the first 100 square feet and $14 after, so a 300 square foot stamped patio is about $4,600. See stamped concrete pricing

A 300 square foot patio with tear-out and sealer comes to $3,900.

Questions to ask before you quote

• What is there now? Grass, gravel, old concrete or pavers. Grass means digging out sod and soil; old concrete means tear-out
• How will it be used? A hot tub needs a thicker slab. An outdoor kitchen needs conduit or gas line sleeves before the pour
• Where does water go? A patio against the house must slope away, about a quarter inch per foot
• Can the truck get close? Backyard patios often need a pump, a buggy or wheelbarrows through a side gate. A concrete pump can add $500 to $1,000; price it when access is tight
• Steps or a connection to the house? Steps are priced by the job, not by the square foot

Common patio sizes, and what to suggest

Homeowners almost always underestimate size. A table for six with chairs pulled out needs about 12 by 14 feet; add a grill and a walkway around it and 12 by 20 is the real minimum. A sitting area with a fire pit wants about 16 feet across. Suggest the size that works, show the price for both and let them pick.

Example: one backyard, three options

Here is how one example quote could look for a homeowner who asked for "a 12 by 20 patio":

• Option 1, as asked: 240 square feet, broom finish, $2,320
• Option 2, the size that fits a table and grill: 12 by 25, 300 square feet, broom finish, $2,800
• Option 3, the same 300 square feet stamped with one color and the first seal coat: $4,600

Add the old patio tear-out to any of them for $900. Laid out like this, most customers stop asking "why so much?" and start choosing. You are not pushing; you are showing what their money buys at each step. Many pick the middle option, and a good share pick stamped once they see the difference is under $2,000.

Show the price before the visit

Most patio buyers are browsing in spring with a budget in mind. If your site shows that a 300 square foot patio is about $2,800 in broom finish and about $4,600 stamped, the people who call you are already in your range. Let them outline the patio on the map with the concrete slab cost calculator, and your estimate visit becomes the last step instead of the first. Read concrete estimates from the map vs on site for how to split the two.

Where patios lead

A good patio leads to the next job: the walkway to the gate, the driveway out front, the stamped border two years later. Take good photos, ask for the review, and keep the customer's details. Patios are where most homeowners first try a concrete contractor.