Concrete Patio Replacement in Wichita, KS
Wichita Concrete Pros replaces concrete patios for homes throughout Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas. We are a licensed and insured concrete contractor. A patio replacement means the old slab is broken out and hauled off, the ground under it is rebuilt, and a new patio is poured in its place with the right slope and finish.
The new patio is 4000 PSI air-entrained concrete over a compacted crushed-stone base, reinforced with wire mesh or fiber and cut with control joints. The air-entrained mix holds up to freeze-thaw so the surface does not flake, and the stone base keeps clay movement from lifting the slab. An old patio poured on bare dirt has none of that, which is why it heaves and cracks after a few Kansas seasons.
Why Old Patios Heave on Clay
Sedgwick County sits on expansive clay that swells wet and shrinks dry. A slab with no stone under it rides that movement, and a patio takes it worse than a driveway because it is wide and often built tight to the house. We dig out the old base, compact the subgrade, and lay a stone base that stays stable through the wet and dry swings.
Broom or Stamped Finish
A broom finish gives you a slip-resistant surface for chairs, a grill, and bare feet. Stamped concrete presses a pattern into the same slab for a tooled stone or brick look, a finish we cover in more detail on our stamped concrete page. Both sit on the same base and the same mix. The look is the last decision, made after the slab is built to hold.
Slope, Joints, and the House
A patio has to shed water away from the foundation. We pitch it about a quarter inch per foot so nothing ponds and nothing runs back at the wall. An isolation joint separates the patio from the house so the two move on their own without cracking each other. Control joints run across the slab so it cracks where we cut it.
What It Costs
A patio replacement in Wichita depends on size, finish, and how much base has to be rebuilt. A plain broom-finish square on solid ground is straightforward. A large patio, a stamped finish, or a full tear-out with the old slab hauled off costs more. Every patio gets a free written estimate first.
Patio tilting back toward the house or cracking along the middle? (316) 555-0148 gets you a free look. If the old slab needs to come out, we handle the tear-out and haul-away in the same job.
Why is my concrete patio cracking and heaving?
Most old patios in Wichita were poured straight on graded clay with no stone base. When the clay swells with water it lifts one corner, and when it dries it drops. That back-and-forth cracks the slab and tilts it back toward the house. A repour on a compacted stone base takes that movement out of the picture.
Broom finish or stamped for a patio?
A broom finish is a fine texture brushed across the wet surface for grip, and it is the standard for a working patio. Stamped concrete presses a pattern and color into the slab for a stone or brick look. Both start with the same base and the same air-entrained mix. The finish is a choice you make on top of a slab built to last.
Can you pour a new patio over the old one?
No. Pouring over a failed patio just carries the cracks and the bad slope up into the new surface. We tear the old slab out, rebuild the base, and pour fresh so the new patio sits on solid, compacted ground. That is a replacement, not an overlay.
How do you keep water off the patio and away from the house?
The slab is pitched about a quarter inch per foot so water runs off the surface and away from the foundation. A patio that drains back toward the house feeds water under the slab and against the wall. We set the slope with the pour and check it before the concrete sets.