Decorative concrete in Novato CA - color and pattern that hold up to how you use it

Pick color hardener where the area gets heavy traffic, because one pigment maker says it gives a harder, more wear-resistant surface and allows light and pastel shades. Integral color, mixed through the whole slab, saves time and labor. Either way, site conditions, curing and sealer can vary the final color.

Stamped concrete in San Francisco usually runs about $15 to $30 per square foot, which is the going price there, not ours. A single pattern and color costs less and is easier to keep up, while borders, inlays and several colors cost more and need more upkeep. Your Novato number comes from the estimate.

Plan on inspecting, cleaning and resealing every 24 to 60 months, one pigment maker says, and sooner on heavily used surfaces, because traffic, weather and location set the pace. Novato almost never freezes, so the wear here comes more from foot traffic and cool, wet winters than from frost.

It can, but timing and a packed base keep most cracking where we plan for it. A concrete institute guide says the timing of finishing, jointing and curing is critical, and poor timing can mean cracking, a dusty or flaking top, uneven spots and poor drainage. So we cut control joints, grooves that give a crack somewhere to go, on schedule.

Work that reaches into the public right-of-way, the land along the street, or into a watercourse needs an encroachment permit from the city's Public Works Department before it starts. For other permit questions, ask that office, and when your job needs a permit, we find out who handles it, do the paperwork and put in writing who's pulling it.

A licensed concrete contractor, the trade the state licensing board describes as forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing flat and other concrete work. A general "B" builder can take the whole job only if they hold that specialty or subcontract it to a licensed concrete contractor. If a general builder bids your patio, ask which way they're going.