Concrete Patios in Eden Prairie, MN

Concrete patios give you a firm, low-upkeep surface for a table, grill or fire pit, and they suit the way most families here use a backyard. Summers here are short and good. The 1991 to 2020 normals for the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport show a July average high of 83.4 degrees, and a patio is how most families make the most of those months. The challenge is the ground. Eden Prairie is a city of rolling hills and lots that slope toward ponds and wetlands, so many backyards fall away from the house or toward a neighbor. A patio has to be built around that.

Planning around slope and water

The surface should fall slightly away from the house so rain and meltwater end up in the lawn, not at the foundation or against a basement window. Where the yard already drops off, that comes easily. Where it tilts back toward the house, or off to one side, the plan may call for regrading, a step down, or a short wall on the low edge. Downspouts matter too. One that empties onto the middle of a new patio leaves stains in summer and a sheet of ice in winter.

How a patio is built

Layout. The outline is painted or staked on the lawn first, so you can judge the size from inside and outside before we dig.

Excavation and base. Sod and topsoil come out. Compacted gravel goes in to give the slab even support and drainage.

Thickness. According to HomeGuide's patio cost guide, a typical residential patio is 4 inches thick, and one carrying a hot tub or outdoor kitchen should be 6.

Reinforcement and joints. Rebar or mesh, plus control joints laid out so they line up with the edges of the house and any steps. A well-planned joint pattern looks deliberate.

Finish. A light broom finish gives grip when the patio is wet. Smooth trowel finishes look sleek but get slick, so we use them carefully outside.

Patio options

• Plain broom finish: the simplest and least expensive surface.
• Exposed aggregate: the surface cement is rinsed away to reveal the stone in the mix, which looks textured and grips well.
• Stained or colored: color added to the mix or applied after the pour.
• Stamped: patterned to look like slate, flagstone or brick (see our Stamped Concrete page).
• Extensions: an older patio made larger with a new section joined at a planned joint.
• Hot tub and grill pads: heavier, steel-reinforced sections sized to what sits on them.

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Permits and lot rules

Eden Prairie's planning guidance requires ground not covered by a building, patio or driveway to be covered in grass or landscaping, and lots within 300 feet of a tributary or 1,000 feet of a lake fall in the city's shoreland overlay district. Many backyards here back onto water. Before we lay out a large patio, we check what applies to your lot and whether any approval is needed.

Signs an old patio should be replaced

• The slab has tipped toward the house
• Sections have sunk and collect water
• Open cracks where one side has dropped below the other
• Heavy scaling or crumbling edges
• It no longer fits the furniture, grill or crowd you have

Caring for a concrete patio

Sweep it, rinse it, and reseal it every few years. Use a grill mat to catch grease. Keep de-icers off a patio you do not use in winter; shovel it if you need to, but you can usually let the snow sit. Check that downspouts and the yard around the slab still drain away from it each spring.