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What makes a patio last happens before and just after the pour: a slope that sends water away from the house, a compacted base that drains, control joints placed where cracks should go, and curing and sealing that prepare it for Canadian winters. Get those right and the finish becomes mostly a matter of taste.
This page covers patio design, finishes, the base and frost, control joints, sealing and winter salt, how concrete compares with pavers and decks, permits, drainage and locates, and repairs. The concrete contractors page explains the pour itself.
Designing a concrete patio: shape, slope away from the house and steps
Start with how the space will be used. A dining table with the chairs pulled out, a barbecue kept clear of the siding and room to walk around furniture take more space than a sketch suggests, so mark the outline on the ground with paint or a garden hose and live with it for a few days. Curves are easy to form in concrete, but narrow strips and sharp corners are where cracks like to start, so simple shapes that divide neatly into panels age best.
- Slope: the surface is formed to fall away from the house so rain and meltwater run off, never toward the foundation or a basement window well.
- Height at the door: the patio sits far enough below the door threshold that snow and splashing water stay outside, confirmed before the forms are set.
- Steps: where the yard drops, poured steps need even risers and treads from top to bottom, and your municipality may require a handrail or guard.
- Heavy loads: a hot tub, masonry fireplace or outdoor kitchen needs a slab designed for the weight, sometimes with thickened edges or footings.
- Services: conduit for lights or an outlet, and a sleeve for a future gas line, go in before the pour, because cutting concrete later is disruptive.
Concrete patio finishes: broom finish, exposed aggregate, stamped and coloured concrete
The finish is worked into fresh concrete, so it's chosen before the pour. It affects grip underfoot, how easily the surface cleans and how it ages through freeze-thaw and salt.
- Broom finish: a stiff broom dragged across the fresh surface leaves fine ridges that grip well when wet; it's the simplest and most forgiving choice.
- Exposed aggregate: the top film of cement paste is washed away to reveal the stones in the mix, giving a textured, non-slip surface that hides dirt and wear.
- Stamped concrete: patterned mats pressed into the surface imitate stone, slate or brick; it looks striking, but it can be slippery when wet and needs regular resealing to keep its colour.
- Coloured concrete: pigment is mixed through the whole batch or spread onto the surface; colour mixed throughout won't wear off, while surface colour can show wear where people walk most.
- Smooth trowel finish: a sleek surface that suits covered areas but turns slick outdoors when wet or icy, so it's rarely used on open patios.
The base under a concrete patio: compacted stone, drainage and frost
A patio is only as stable as the ground beneath it. Topsoil and organic material are dug out, soft spots replaced, and crushed stone compacted in layers to form an even, free-draining bed. Pay special attention next to the house: the backfill placed against the foundation during construction can keep settling long afterwards, which is why patios beside newer homes sometimes sink or tilt toward the wall. A careful contractor digs down to firm material there or compacts the backfill thoroughly.
Frost is the other enemy. Soils that hold water, clay especially, expand as they freeze and can lift a slab unevenly before letting it drop in spring. A patio at grade is usually built as a slab floating on a draining base rather than on footings, and good drainage limits how much water is there to freeze. If a roof, wall or structure will rest on the patio, the design changes and footings may be needed, which usually brings a permit into play.
Control joints in a concrete patio: deciding where it will crack
Every slab cracks as it shrinks; control joints make it crack in straight lines where you chose. On a patio, the joint layout matters as much as the joints themselves, since it's part of what you look at every day.
- Panels close to square: long, narrow strips crack across their width, so a wide patio is divided into a grid rather than a few long bays.
- Inside corners: an L-shaped or notched patio gets a joint running out from each inside corner, where cracks naturally begin.
- Fixed objects: posts, drains and window wells are surrounded by joints or isolation material so the slab can move around them.
- Stamped patterns: joints can follow the pattern's grout lines so they blend into the design.
- Timing: saw-cut joints must be cut once the concrete is hard enough but before random cracks form, so ask who comes back to cut them and when.
Sealing a concrete patio and protecting it from winter salt
A sealer slows the water and salt behind scaling, and on a patio it also resists barbecue grease, rust marks from planters and furniture, and stains from leaves and berries. Decorative patios are usually sealed to keep their colour vivid, ideally with an anti-slip additive in the sealer, while broom-finished patios often get a penetrating sealer that leaves the texture unchanged. The label says when new concrete can be sealed and how often to reapply.
- Keep de-icing salt off the patio where you can, and don't pile salty snow from the driveway onto it.
- Lift planters and furniture off the slab for winter, or set them on feet, so water doesn't sit and freeze beneath them.
- Clear leaves and wet debris in fall; left all winter, they stain the surface and hold moisture against it.
- Keep downspouts from emptying onto the patio, where the water refreezes as ice.
Concrete patio vs interlocking pavers vs a deck
All three make good outdoor living spaces; the lot, the height of the back door and how much upkeep you want usually decide.
- Concrete: one continuous surface that's easy to sweep and furnish, best on fairly flat ground at grade; cracks are hard to hide, and a failed section is cut out and repoured.
- Interlocking pavers: individual units on a compacted base that tolerate some frost movement and can be lifted and relaid after settling; the joints need topping up with sand and occasional weeding. See the interlocking page.
- Deck: a raised structure on footings that handles sloping yards and doors well above the ground; wood needs regular staining, composite less, and raised decks often need a permit. See the deck construction page.
Permits, drainage onto neighbours and utility locates for a concrete patio
Whether a ground-level patio needs a permit depends on your municipality, and the bigger risk is often where its water goes. A large paved area sheds rain much faster than lawn, and grading that sends that water into a neighbour's yard or against their foundation is a common source of disputes. Keep runoff on your own lot, toward lawn, a garden bed or approved drainage, and ask the municipality about limits on paved area, distances from lot lines and anything planned on top, such as a roof or an enclosure.
Digging for the base can reach buried cables, gas lines and irrigation. In Quebec, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec asks contractors to request a free locate from Info-Excavation at least 4 business days before work begins; in Ontario, Ontario One Call locates are free and legally required at least 5 business days ahead. Private lines, such as power to a shed or a gas line to a barbecue, aren't covered by public locates and must be found separately.
Repairing a concrete patio: patching, lifting or replacing
Hairline cracks along control joints are normal. Surface scaling, chipped edges and small spalls can often be patched or resurfaced if the concrete underneath is sound, and a section that has sunk in one piece can sometimes be raised. A patio that heaves, has broken into many pieces or now slopes toward the house is usually better replaced, with the base and drainage corrected this time. The concrete repair page explains each option.
Concrete Patios: frequently asked questions
Is stamped concrete slippery?
It can be when wet, especially under a glossy sealer. Ask for a pattern with some texture and an anti-slip additive in the sealer, particularly on steps and around pools and hot tubs.
Can a new patio be poured over an old one?
Sometimes, if the old slab is sound, stable and drains the right way, and the added height still works at the door. A slab that heaves or is badly broken passes its problems to the new layer, so it's usually removed.
When is the best time to pour a concrete patio?
Between late spring and early fall, when the ground is thawed and temperatures suit curing. Hot, dry or windy days call for extra care so the surface doesn't dry too fast, and cold-weather pours need protection from frost.
Can a hot tub sit on a concrete patio?
Yes, if the slab is designed for it: a filled hot tub is very heavy and concentrates its weight on a small area. Tell the contractor before the pour so thickness, reinforcement and base can be planned, and have a licensed electrician plan the power supply.
Sources
Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Reviewed by Zubair Afzal on September 10, 2026. How we write and check our guides