Decorative concrete in Duluth MN - color that fits how you'll use the slab
Plain gray patio looking tired? We add color or a stamped finish that suits your house, poured on a base we dig out and pack.
I look at every job myself
I come out to every site myself, walk it with you and check where the water runs before anything gets planned. I also work alongside our crew on the pour, so the person who made the plan is there when it counts.
In business since 2017
I taught myself on small slabs and walks, learned the rest on job sites and started this business in 2017. Nine years in, I'd still rather take an extra look up front, because concrete is hard to fix once it's in.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, so our crew's work at your house is covered. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. When you're ready, call (218) 241-4178 or fill out the form below and we'll set up a visit.
Decorative concrete in Duluth, planned from the base up
Decorative concrete is plain concrete with color or a stamped finish added, usually on a patio, walk or driveway. We do it for homeowners in Duluth, MN, who want something warmer than gray but still need a slab that drains right and holds up to our winters.
Price comes down to a few choices: size and shape, stamped or colored only, and which color method fits. Rebar, the steel set inside the slab to hold it together if it cracks, raises the per-square-foot price, and so does tearing out an old slab or digging out soft ground first. My written estimate lists what's included, so you can see what each choice adds.
The schedule turns on weather and the pour date, then curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you walk or drive on it. If the work reaches the street, like a new driveway opening, the city engineer handles permits for digging in or next to public streets and sidewalks, and we take care of that application when we're doing the job. We're based in Duluth and do the same work in Superior, Hermantown, Cloquet and nearby cities.
Decorative concrete, from the base to the color
Color mixed in or worked on top
Integral color is pigment mixed into the concrete at the plant, so it runs all the way through, and one pigment maker says it adds little to no labor. Color hardener is a colored powder our finishers work into the fresh surface, which takes more skill, and if it's done poorly it can peel away later. Hardener generally stays on flat slabs like patios and walks, so integral color fits steps, curved shapes or a colored concrete retaining wall better. I help you pick by the job's shape and how you'll use it.
The base comes before the finish
If the budget has to give, I'd go with a simpler pattern before I'd skimp on the base, because nobody sees the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, but everyone sees it when the slab settles. We dig it out and pack it instead of raking it level, and set the slope so water runs away from your house. The same holds indoors on a concrete floor installation, where any finish only holds up as well as what's under it.
Pouring, stamping and cutting joints
We plan the pour to stay out of midday heat, because concrete that dries too fast ends up with a weak, dusty top, and color shows that right away. Stamping happens while the surface is still soft enough to take the pattern, then we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack. No slab is crack-proof, but joints cut on time give cracks a straight line to follow. If we're using color hardener, we cover nearby siding and walks first, because the powder can drift.
Get a free on-site estimate for your decorative slab
We reply within one business day to set up a time, and I come out to walk the site with you. You'll get a written estimate afterward, free and with no pressure to book.
(218) 241-4178What happens after you call
You call, I come out
Call (218) 241-4178 or send a message through the form, and we'll set a time to visit. I walk the site with you, look at the slope and the old slab, and ask how you'll use the space.
Written estimate, then planning
I send a written estimate that lists what's included, from the color method to the finish. Once you say go, we look into permits, line up a pour date, and dig out and pack the base.
Pour, finish and first-season care
We place the concrete, work in the color and pattern, cut the joints and clean up. Before we leave, you get care steps for the first season, covering when to seal and how to treat it in winter.
Decorative concrete questions we hear in Duluth
What does a stamped concrete patio cost in Duluth?
A poured stamped concrete patio in Duluth usually costs about $8 to $17 per square foot. That's the going rate in the area, not our price, and where yours falls depends on size, pattern, color method and site prep. I'll give you your own number in a written estimate after the visit.
When should I seal new decorative concrete, and how often?
Wait 28 days after the pour before the first seal, unless the mix had a sealer built in. After that, one sealer maker says a properly applied penetrating sealer, the kind that soaks in, typically protects 5 to 10 years and is its pick for outdoor slabs facing freeze-thaw and deicers, so plan a reseal within that span.
Can I put salt on my new concrete patio this winter?
No, keep deicing salts like rock salt and calcium chloride off new concrete its first winter, because they speed up scaling, where the surface flakes off. Use sand for traction instead. A Minnesota winter salt guide notes rock salt works slowly below a pavement temperature of about 15°F and stops below -6°F, so it does little on the coldest days.
Does a concrete contractor need a license in Minnesota?
Yes, for home work a contractor needs either a state license or a state registration. Minnesota requires a residential building contractor or remodeler license when work on a one- to four-unit home covers more than one special skill, and someone offering a single specialty, like concrete slabs, registers instead. Ask which one a contractor holds before you hire.