Concrete Patios & Lanais in Kissimmee, FL

Concrete patios and lanais are where Kissimmee households spend a lot of the year. With mild winters and January lows averaging 48.3 degrees on Wikipedia's climate table, the back slab is used in December as much as in April. Many homes came with a small covered lanai just big enough for two chairs. The most common job we see is making that space bigger: a patio beyond the roof line, a slab for a new screen room, or a path to the pool or side gate.

Patio, lanai or screen-room slab?

• Open patio: a slab past the roof line for a grill, a fire pit or seating. It gets full sun and rain, so finish and slope matter most.
• Lanai extension: a slab added to the existing covered area, often to go under a new roof or pergola. It has to meet the old slab at the same height.
• Screen-room or enclosure slab: a floor for a screened room. The enclosure contractor anchors the frame to the slab edge, so the edge has to be straight, level and thick enough.

If a roof or screen enclosure is going on top, we work from that contractor's plans so the slab size, edges and anchor points match.

Size it before you pour

People often wish they had gone bigger. A dining table for six with the chairs pushed back needs about 12 by 12 feet. Add a grill station, room to walk past it and a couple of lounge chairs, and you are near 16 by 16 feet or more. At the estimate we mark the outline on the lawn so you can stand in it and see the size. Think about shade too. A slab in afternoon sun on the west side of the house gets very hot, so a lighter color or a future roof can make a big difference.

Water off the slab, away from the house

The city's flood guide says flooding in Kissimmee usually comes from ponding after heavy rain. It asks owners to leave a clear drainage path between lots and to check with Development Services before regrading. A new patio is a large hard surface next to your foundation, so we set a fall of about a quarter inch per foot away from the house. We also make sure the slab does not block the side-yard swale that carries water to the street or a retention pond. We plan where downspouts and pool or AC drain lines will go before forming.

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Finishes

• Broom: light texture for grip, the lowest cost, easy to hose off.
• Smooth with a sealer: a clean look under a roof, but slick when wet, so we avoid it on open patios.
• Stained or integral color: tan, sand and terracotta tones stay cooler underfoot than dark colors.
• Exposed aggregate: the stone on the surface gives good traction and hides dirt.
• Stamped: stone and tile patterns, covered on our stamped concrete page.

How a patio is built

First we strip the sod and dig out any organic soil. The sand is compacted and graded to the planned slope. HomeGuide's patio guide lists 4 inches as the standard thickness for a residential patio. It calls for 6 inches with extra reinforcement under hot tubs or outdoor kitchens. Where the new slab meets the house or an old lanai, we place an isolation joint or dowels, depending on whether the two pieces should move separately or stay locked together. In summer we pour early and keep the slab damp so the sun does not dry the surface too fast.

Keeping it looking good

Sweep and rinse off pollen and leaf stains, and set planters on feet so they do not leave rings. Reseal stained or colored patios when water stops beading. Do not use pressure washers too close to the surface, because they can etch broom texture.