Building Homes or Extensions/building a concrete patio

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Expert: - 2/20/2009


Question
We are planning to build a concrete patio in our backyard in Maryland. The lowest estimate we received was from a landscape/fence contractor who did not include a gravel base in his estimate. When questioned he said his company pours the concrete on compacted soil and rarely uses gravel. His reasoning is that an outdoor patio is no different than a sidewalk which never gets poured over gravel. This does not seem right to me. What is your opinion?

Answer
Hi Mark, I never pour concrete flatwork over a gravel base.  Compacted soil is adequate in most areas.  If your soil conditions warrant it then that is a different story.  If your soil is black mud and you can't get it to compact properly then you may need to put in a sub base of some kind but in most cases I agree with the contractor.   I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

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Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

Experience

Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

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