Concrete
Concrete patio installation cost
A 20 × 16 ft concrete patio costs about $4,267 — $13.34 a square foot — 4 in thick over a compacted base with wire mesh and a broom finish. Stamped and coloured, about $6,290. Most of the price is the crew, not the concrete, so a 10 × 10 ft patio pays the minimum of about $1,800.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-30 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Concrete patio cost calculator
The patio, the slab and the finish
A patio is a 4 in slab over a compacted base — the same slab the concrete slab calculator prices — with the finish on top.
320 sq ft.
The standard: floated and broomed across the slope for grip.
Holds a crack tight once it has formed, so the slab keeps transferring load across it — but only if it sits at mid-depth, on chairs.
Sod stripped and the ground dug to grade for the base.
Left bare.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
20 × 16 ft patio, broom finish
$4,267
$13.34 a square foot · $3,073–$6,188
4.5 cu yd of concrete
Control joints every 10 ft or less, 36 ft of them, so the cracks run where they are cut.
Poured or laid
Concrete cracks; pavers move.
One piece is cheaper and cracks along its joints; pavers cost more and can be lifted and relaid. Both on the same patio.
Broom, colour, exposed or stamped
20 × 16 ft, 4 in, welded wire mesh.
What the concrete contractor charges for
- Concrete, 4.5 cu yd ordered
4.3 cu yd at 4 in, with waste.$770 - Compacted base
6.9 tons of crushed stone, placed and compacted.$241 - Welded wire mesh
Holds a crack tight once it has formed, so the slab keeps transferring load across it — but only if it sits at mid-depth, on chairs.$112 - Forms, joints and extras
Form boards and 36 ft of control joints.$137 - Crew: dig, form, place, finish
Excavation to grade, forming, placing and finishing.$3,008
What it costs
National average. A 20 × 16 ft, 4 in patio on a compacted base, broom finish. Not included: steps to the door, a roof or pergola, drainage beyond sloping it away from the house.
The slab is the concrete slab calculator’s; the finishes are priced as on the concrete driveway page.
Worth knowing
- 320 sq ft at 4 in is 4.3 cubic yards — 4.5 ordered — over 6.9 tons of compacted base. The slab is $4,267: $3,008 of it the crew digging, forming, placing and finishing, $770 the concrete.
- Control joints every 10 ft or less — 36 ft of them — cut within a day of the pour, so the cracks every slab makes run straight along them. Welded wire mesh: holds a crack tight once it has formed, so the slab keeps transferring load across it — but only if it sits at mid-depth, on chairs.
- Slope it away from the house, about 1/8 in per foot, so rain runs off rather than toward the foundation — and keep its top an inch or two below the door sill.
- Four inches carries people and furniture. A hot tub or a masonry grill island wants 5 in, or its own thickened pad under it.
On this page — 4 sections
From the slab up
The short version
- 20 × 16 ft: $4,267 — $13.34 a square foot.
- Stamped: $6,290 — $19.66.
- Small patios pay the crew minimum, about $1,800.
- Pavers, same patio: $6,720.
A concrete patio is a slab: the ground dug out, 4 in of crushed stone compacted, forms set, wire mesh on chairs, 4 in of concrete placed, screeded, floated and finished, and control joints cut the next day. The concrete itself is the smaller part — $770 of a $4,267 patio. The crew is most of it, which is why a small patio costs much more a square foot.
| Broom finish | Per sq ft | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | $1,800 | $18.00 |
| 12 × 12 ft | $2,098 | $14.57 |
| 12 × 20 ft | $3,275 | $13.64 |
| 20 × 16 ft | $4,267 | $13.34 |
| 20 × 20 ft | $5,260 | $13.15 |
$4,267
20 × 16 ft
Broom finish
4.5 yd
Concrete
Ordered
$3,008
The crew
Of the total
$6,290
Stamped
Same patio
MaterialsEstimator, Delivered ready-mix price survey · checked 2026-09-15
Broom, colour, exposed or stamped
| 20 × 16 ft | Per sq ft | |
|---|---|---|
| Broom finish | $4,267 | $13.34 |
| Coloured (integral) | $4,843 | $15.14 |
| Exposed aggregate | $5,170 | $16.16 |
| Stamped and coloured | $6,290 | $19.66 |
Colour mixed through the concrete hides wear and fades evenly. Exposed aggregate shows the stone and grips when wet. Stamping presses a stone, brick or slate pattern into coloured concrete and costs the most — it lands near pavers, needs a sealer every two or three years, and still cracks along its joints. The finishes are priced as on the concrete driveway page, so the same stamped square foot costs the same on both.
American Concrete Institute, ACI 302.1R, Guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction · checked 2026-09-15
Concrete or pavers
The same 20 × 16 ft patio is $4,267 poured and $6,720 in pavers. Concrete is one piece: cheaper, and it cracks along its joints. Pavers are already in pieces: they cost more, move without cracking, and can be lifted and relaid.
Concrete against pavers, line by line, and why one cracks and the other cannot.
Both on the same patioWhat goes wrong
Before the pour
- Utilities marked before digging.
- Four inches of base, compacted in lifts.
- The mesh on chairs, in the middle of the slab.
- A slope away from the house.
- Joints planned every 8–10 ft.
01Skimping the base
The slab settles and cracks where the ground is soft.
Instead — Four inches of compacted stone.
02Mesh lying on the ground
It does nothing at the bottom of the slab.
Instead — Pulled up or set on chairs.
03No joints
It cracks anyway, wherever it likes.
Instead — Cut within a day, a quarter of the depth.
04Pouring against the house
Water runs to the foundation.
Instead — Slope it away and leave an expansion joint.
- 01Lay it outStake the corners and measure length and width.
- 02Pick the thickness4 in for people and furniture; 5 in under a hot tub or grill island.
- 03Count the concreteArea × thickness ÷ 324 gives cubic yards; add about 8% for waste.
- 04Price the baseFour inches of compacted crushed stone under it.
- 05Choose the finishBroom, coloured, exposed aggregate or stamped.
- 06Plan the joints and slopeJoints every 8–10 ft; slope away from the house.
Cubic yards, bags or truck, base and reinforcement for any slab.
Just the slab- Broom finish
- The standard patio surface: floated flat, then dragged with a broom for grip.
- Stamped concrete
- Concrete coloured and pressed with patterned mats while soft, to look like stone, brick or slate. Resealed every two or three years.
- Exposed aggregate
- The top layer of cement paste washed off before it sets to show the stones in the mix.
- Control joint
- A groove cut or tooled a quarter of the slab's depth so the crack every slab makes runs along it.
- Wire mesh
- Welded steel mesh set in the slab to hold cracks tight. It has to sit in the middle of the slab, not on the ground.
- Compacted base
- Four inches of crushed stone placed and compacted under the slab — the part that decides how long it lasts.
- Crew minimum
- What a concrete contractor charges for a small pour, whatever its size: the truck, the forms and a finisher's day.
Common questions
- How much does a concrete patio cost?
- About $4,267 for a 20 × 16 ft patio — $13.34 a square foot — 4 in thick over a compacted base, with wire mesh and a broom finish. $3,008 of that is the crew digging, forming, placing and finishing; $770 is the concrete.
- How much does a concrete patio cost per square foot?
- About $13.34 for a 20 × 16 ft broom-finished patio, more for a small one: $14.57 for 12 × 12 ft and $18.00 for 10 × 10 ft, which pays the crew minimum. Stamped and coloured it is $19.66.
- How much does a stamped concrete patio cost?
- About $6,290 for 20 × 16 ft — $19.66 a square foot, the stamping and colour adding about $6 a square foot plus a sealer. A 20 × 20 ft stamped patio is about $7,788. It needs resealing every two or three years.
- How much does a 10 × 10, 12 × 12 or 20 × 20 concrete patio cost?
- About $1,800 for 10 × 10 ft (the crew minimum), $2,098 for 12 × 12, $3,275 for 12 × 20 and $5,260 for 20 × 20, broom-finished.
- How much does an exposed aggregate or coloured patio cost?
- About $5,170 for 20 × 16 ft in exposed aggregate, sealed, and $4,843 with integral colour.
- How much does it cost to replace a concrete patio?
- About $5,291 for 20 × 16 ft: $1,024 to break out and haul the old slab, then the new one.
- Is a concrete patio cheaper than pavers?
- Yes: the same 20 × 16 ft patio is $4,267 poured and $6,720 in pavers. Concrete cracks along its joints; pavers move and can be relaid. Stamped concrete ($6,290) lands close to pavers.
- How thick should a concrete patio be?
- 4 in over 4 in of compacted base for people and furniture. Under a hot tub or a masonry grill island, 5 in — $4,405 instead of $4,267 for 20 × 16 ft — or a thickened pad under just that spot.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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