Concrete patio construction in Bentonville AR - a slab built for how you'll use it

One cost guide puts a concrete patio in nearby Fayetteville at about $6 to $11 per square foot. That's what the market usually charges for a patio slab, not our price, and your own figure comes from the estimate after I measure.

Usually mesh, fiber or even good joints alone are enough for a patio that carries foot traffic on a well-packed base. Rebar, the heavier steel bars, is best saved for slabs under vehicles or heavy loads, so we match the steel to what you'll put on the patio.

It will likely crack somewhere, because concrete cracks no matter what steel is in it. Control joints, the straight lines cut or tooled into the slab, decide where those cracks show up, while the steel keeps them small. That's why we lay out the joints before anything else.

Pour when no freeze is due soon after, because a national concrete trade group urges caution in late fall, winter and early spring if fresh concrete could freeze while it's still wet. The same group says to seal once the slab is reasonably dry, ideally in late summer after a few dry days, with a breathable sealer made for slabs.

Yes, in most cases. The state's residential contractor law covers anyone who bids on or manages an improvement to an existing single-family home or its property, though it exempts owners doing their own work and jobs of $2,000 or less, unless the job is split into contracts under $2,000. For code questions, call Bentonville's Building Inspection Department at 479-271-3108.