Concrete pool decks in La Verne, CA - a deck that's solid under the finish

Most of the decks I'm asked to look at have been around the pool for years and have taken a lot of wet feet, pool chemicals and patio furniture, so the real question is how much of the deck can stay. The price turns mostly on that answer, along with the size of the deck, how many sections come out, how much repair the surface needs first and which finish you choose. The schedule moves with the same things, plus decorative work and the weather, and the written estimate I leave after seeing your deck gives you your own figure.

On every pool deck I start by walking the whole deck and checking each section for rocking, lifting or settling, because a new top layer can't fix a slab that's moving. Where the deck is solid, our crew repairs the cracks, cleans and preps the surface and puts down the new top layer in the texture you choose. Where a section has moved, I'll recommend replacing it, so we cut it out, dig down to firm ground and pack the subgrade, the soil and base the slab sits on, before setting rebar, the steel that holds the slab together, and pouring. We pour early in the day rather than in the midday heat, which can leave a weak, dusty top, then give it a broom finish, a light ridged texture that gives wet feet some grip, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line of our choosing to crack along. That base work is hidden the day we finish and it's usually the first thing people want to trim from a budget, but I'd rather spend there than on a fancier surface, because no finish holds up over a base that settles.

Pool decks often meet other concrete work. If there are steps down from the house or a change in level along the way, we can rebuild them at the same time through our concrete steps construction work so they match the new deck. If you're adding a pool house, cabana or shed beside the pool, it needs a proper slab under it, which is the work of our slab foundation building crew.

In La Verne, the city's Building and Safety Divisions issue permits for construction work, check building plans and inspect structures for code compliance. Whether your particular pool deck job needs a permit is a question for the city, not something I'll guess at, so we check with them on each job, and where one is needed we handle the application and set up the inspections. We go over what the city tells us with you during planning, before any concrete comes out. If you'd like to ask the city yourself, the La Verne Building Department takes calls at 909-596-8706.

Most pool decks we see here sit in backyards a family uses every day, often reached through a side gate, so we plan how our crew and materials get in and out, protect the plants and fences along the way and keep the street and the neighbors' driveways clear. We see the same kind of backyard on jobs in San Dimas and Claremont, and we handle it the same careful way.