Concrete pool decks in Round Rock TX - firm footing on a base that's done right

In the Austin area, a concrete pool deck usually runs about $8.50 to $15 per square foot, with materials, labor and site prep included. Where yours lands depends on the size, whether an old deck comes out, how much base work the ground needs and the coating you pick. We're licensed and fully insured, and the number I give you at the estimate is for your yard.

The city's development technicians tell you whether your deck needs one, since Round Rock issues building permits for work on any building or structure in the city. If you're not sure whether your address is inside city limits, just outside them or in Williamson County, call the city's Building Inspection Division at 512-218-5550 first. The city also requires every contractor who applies for a permit to be registered with it. Before we set a date, I check which office covers your address, and when a permit is needed we handle the application and keep it moving.

It can, because clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries can crack a slab or sink it in the middle from moisture changes alone, with no extra weight on it. The Blackland Prairie, which runs from north of Dallas down to San Antonio, is known for that kind of clay, so we plan for it on every deck. We dig out and pack the subgrade, which is the ground the slab sits on, set rebar, steel that holds the slab together, and cut control joints, grooves that give any crack a straight line to follow. It's the same care we put into a slab foundation.

Often you can, if the old slab is still structurally sound and only looks tired. One maker makes an overlay that puts a colored, textured surface over dull but solid concrete without tearing it out, which saves you the mess and cost of removal. If yours is cracked through, sinking or tipped toward the house, I'll tell you that plainly, because an overlay won't fix what's under it.

Pick the coating and the color with the sun in mind. One maker says its deck coating keeps the surface cooler than bare concrete, though how much depends on the color, the air temperature, the time of day and direct sun. Another maker's sprayed texture, knocked down with the edge of a trowel, leaves a surface it calls slip resistant and comfortable to walk on, and I'll go over those options with you before you choose.

One coating maker's data sheet says new concrete must cure at least 28 days before its coating goes on, so on a new deck the coating is a later step. Curing is the time fresh concrete needs to harden without drying out too fast. In summer we pour in the morning, since a pour in midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top.