Backyard patios and extensions · Elgin, IL
Concrete Patio Installation for Elgin Backyards
A patio that fits the furniture you own, falls away from the house and doesn’t crack in the first winter. Elgin’s patio guide sets the floor: 3000 psi air-entrained concrete, at least 4 inches thick. The rest is planning.
Elgin, St. Charles, South Elgin, Bartlett, Streamwood, Algonquin and nearby Kane County.
How big should a concrete patio be?
Big enough for what you’ll put on it, plus room to walk around it. Patios that feel cramped were often sized off a number (“12 by 12 sounds right”) rather than off the table and chairs. Tick what you plan to use and the plan redraws to scale, with control joints where NRMCA would put them.
About 18 x 13 ft, roughly 234 sq ft, split by control joints into 4 panels.
Rules of thumb, not City rules: each zone is the furniture plus about 3 ft to pull chairs out and walk past, and a 3 ft walkway runs along the house. Dashed lines are control joints at no more than 10 ft, per NRMCA CIP 6 for a 4 in. slab. Setbacks from property lines come from your zoning district and the permit review.
Two things the planner can’t see: the doors and steps your patio meets, and the drainage around it. A sliding door needs a clear landing where it opens, and the patio should not block a swale or the path water already takes across the yard. Elgin’s stormwater page reminds us runoff “is generated by impervious surfaces”, and a new slab is one.
Poured concrete patio spec under Elgin’s patio guide
The Patio and/or Outdoor Grill Quick Guide sets the construction standards for a patio slab without a foundation:
- Strength: “3000 psi air entrant concrete” at minimum, for any exterior concrete.
- “Patios without a foundation must be at least 4" thick.”
- “Wire mesh is not required but is recommended, as is a 4" gravel base. These recommendations will help to control cracking and freezing upheaval or settlement.”
- “Total thickness of paving surface must be a minimum of 8".”
- Brick patios: 2 in. of paver brick over 8 in. of compacted gravel, 10 in. total.
Note the strength: 3000 psi is the patio minimum, lower than the 4000 psi Elgin’s driveway guide asks for. NRMCA CIP 2 suggests 3500 psi for concrete exposed to freezing and thawing, and 4000 psi where deicers are used. A patio right outside a door that gets salted in winter is worth pricing at the higher strength; ask for both numbers on the estimate. Mesh, per NRMCA CIP 6, “will not prevent cracking”; it keeps cracks tight, which is why the joints still matter.
Patio slab permits: what the City wants on paper
A patio is a permitted project in Elgin even though it sits at ground level. The guide defines it as “an at-grade surface typically used for recreation… constructed of concrete, bricks, stone, or another like impervious surface.” The paper trail:
- A complete building permit application, “listing contractors and costs of work being performed.”
- A plat of survey showing “the locations, dimensions, and setbacks of all existing and proposed improvements.” “Setbacks from property lines vary by zoning districts.”
- Zoning approval and planner review, about 7 to 10 business days by the City’s estimate. “No work can begin prior to a permit being issued.”
- A Certificate of Appropriateness in a historic district, and your HOA’s sign-off where covenants apply; the City doesn’t enforce covenants.
- A JULIE locate at least 3 but not more than 10 days before digging.
- Inspections: a final inspection when it’s done, and an optional pre-pour inspection.
Two patios, five differences
The same 16 by 10 foot patio off a back door, drawn twice: plan view on top, a slice through the slab underneath. The second one has five problems that show up within a few winters. Click the drawing or the list.
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The arrows run back to the door. Every rain then ends up against the foundation and the patio edge by the house. A patio should fall away from the house, toward the yard.
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A 16 x 10 ft slab with no joints. NRMCA CIP 6 puts joints about 10 ft apart on a 4 in. slab, 15 ft at most, with panels close to square; one joint across the middle makes two 8 x 10 ft panels.
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The downspout empties at the patio corner, so roof water soaks the base right where the slab meets the house. That is the classic start of a sunken corner. Carry it past the patio onto the lawn.
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Elgin’s patio guide: “Patios without a foundation must be at least 4" thick.” Three inches is below the City minimum.
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No gravel under the slab. The guide recommends a 4 in. gravel base, along with wire mesh, to “help to control cracking and freezing upheaval or settlement.”
Concrete patio contractors: plain broom or a pressed stone look
Every finish starts with the same slab. What changes is the top, the price, and how much upkeep you’re signing up for.
Broom-finished patio
The plainest and the cheapest. A broom finish grips when wet, hides little scuffs and needs nothing but an occasional sealer. A tooled edge band left unbroomed gives it a finished frame for very little extra.
Pressed concrete patio
Pattern mats pressed into the fresh concrete give it the look of slate, stone or wood plank, with a color hardener and a contrasting release. It costs more and needs resealing. The stamped and decorative concrete page covers patterns, borders and upkeep.
Colored or exposed patio
Integral color tints the whole mix, so a chip shows the same color underneath. Exposed aggregate shows the stone in the mix: good grip and hides dirt, but rougher on bare feet and harder to sweep.
Whatever the finish, NRMCA CIP 2 says to avoid steel trowels on exterior slabs, and CIP 11 says to cure the slab, with a curing compound about an hour after finishing. A slick, under-cured surface is the first to scale.
Concrete patio contractors near me, and concrete patio cost
The only published Elgin patio figure lumps pavers in with concrete. Here it is with that caveat, then the questions that tell you more about a bid than its total.
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Pulled from HomeAdvisor’s listing for brick and concrete patio pavers in Elgin. Pavers and poured slabs are lumped together there, with no date or data basis given, so use it as a rough fence rather than a number for a poured slab. Source: HomeAdvisor patio paver listing (Elgin)
Thin line: reported low to high. Thick band: typical range. Tick: average. Published third-party estimates for the Elgin area, not our prices; your written estimate depends on your site.
What moves a patio price
- Size and shape: curves and steps add forming; a simple rectangle is cheapest per square foot.
- Access: a backyard behind a fence may mean a pump truck or a long wheelbarrow run.
- Tear-out and grading: an old patio, a slope or soft clay to dig out first.
- Finish: broom, then colored, then stamped.
What to ask a patio builder before you sign
- What strength and air content, and how thick? The City minimum is 3000 psi air-entrained, 4 in.
- Is the 4 in. gravel base and mesh the guide recommends included?
- Which way does it pitch, and where do the downspouts go?
- Where are the joints, and who books the permit and inspections?
The same questions apply to everything we pour as one of the residential concrete contractors in the Elgin area.
Describe your backyard patio for an estimate
Rough size, a photo of the spot from the back door and one from the yard looking back at the house, and what furniture you have in mind. If there’s an old patio to remove, say so.
If the patio you have is solid but only sank at one corner, lifting it or repairing the cracks is cheaper than a new one, and we’d rather tell you that up front.
Questions about a new concrete patio
Do I need a permit for a patio in Elgin?
Yes. The City’s patio guide requires a permit before work, a plat of survey showing the patio’s location, dimensions and setbacks, zoning approval and a final inspection. Patios go through planner review, about 7 to 10 business days by the City’s estimate.
How close to the property line can a patio go?
The patio guide says setbacks “vary by zoning districts” and doesn’t give a number, so we won’t either. Draw the patio on your plat of survey and the zoning review will tell you. The optional pre-pour inspection can confirm the location before concrete goes in.
Can a new patio be added onto an existing one?
Yes. A patio extension is a new slab doweled or butted to the old one with a joint between them, and it needs the same permit. If the old patio is cracked, sunk or pitched toward the house, fix that first or the new part inherits the problem; lifting a sunken patio may be all it needs.
Is stamped worth it on a backyard patio?
If you want the look of stone and you’ll reseal it, yes. It costs more than broom finish and needs a sealer renewed over the years. See stamped and decorative patterns for what is involved.
Should a concrete patio be sealed?
Sealing helps keep water and salt out. NRMCA CIP 2 recommends a breathable silane or siloxane sealer made for concrete slabs and names late summer as the best time to apply it.
Can I have a fire pit or grill on a concrete patio?
The City’s guide is titled “Patio and/or Outdoor Grill”, so built-in grills go through the same review. For a freestanding grill or fire pit, follow the maker’s clearance instructions to the house and anything that burns.
Terms used on this page (3)
- Plat of survey
- The surveyed drawing of your lot showing its lines and what’s built on it. Elgin’s driveway, patio and sidewalk quick guides ask for one, marked up with the new work.
- Pre-pour inspection
- An optional City inspection Elgin’s patio guide offers before concrete is placed. It checks the patio’s location against the permit, which can head off major corrections later.
- Curing compound
- A liquid sprayed on fresh concrete that forms a film to hold its water in while it gains strength. NRMCA CIP 11 says it should meet ASTM C 309 and go on about an hour after finishing.