Flatwork is a base job with concrete on top
Concrete is the most common surface in a DFW backyard and the one where the difference between good and cheap is hardest to see on day one. Two driveways poured the same week can look identical and behave completely differently three summers later. What separates them is under the slab: how the ground was excavated, how the base was compacted, what reinforcement went in, and where the control joints were placed.
Our clay makes that more true here than almost anywhere. The ground under your slab swells when it rains and shrinks when it bakes, and it does that every year. Concrete does not bend. So the work is about controlling where it gives.
Overlays, a new patio without demolition
An overlay is a new surface bonded on top of the concrete you already have. The slab stays where it is. What changes is the top, which gets scored, stamped, or textured into large format tile, cut stone, or a slate look, then colored and sealed. From standing height it does not read as a coating. It reads as the patio you wish had been poured in the first place.
This is the single best value move on a tired slab, and it is what most builders skip because tearing out and repouring bills more. Industry guidance puts it at roughly 90 percent of jobs: if the substrate is sound, resurfacing beats replacement on cost.
| Overlay work | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Resurfacing and overlays, installed | $4 to $25 per sq ft |
| Spray texture, pool deck and patio | Low end of that range |
| Scored or stamped overlay | Middle of that range |
| Hand troweled decorative and stone look | Upper end of that range |
| Typical contractor project minimum | $850 to $3,500 |
- It works when the slab is sound. Surface wear, discoloration, spalling, dated broom finish, or a patio that simply looks cheap are all good candidates.
- It does not work on a failing slab. Heaving, sinking, or wide structural cracks mean the concrete is moving, and a coating over movement fails at the same lines. That slab comes out.
- Existing cracks get treated, not ignored. How a crack is prepared before the overlay goes down is the difference between a repair that disappears and one that reappears in a year.
- It is faster and cleaner than demolition. No jackhammers, no hauling out broken concrete, no re excavating a base, and far less disruption to the yard around it.
- Seal it and mean it. The sealer is what protects the color and the surface. Plan on resealing on a schedule, the same way you would maintain any decorative finish.
Ask any overlay bid one question first: is my slab a candidate, and why. A contractor who walks the patio, looks at the cracks, and tells you honestly that it needs to come out instead is the one worth hiring.
Concrete pricing in DFW
| Work | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Plain or broom finish, installed | $4 to $10 per sq ft |
| Stamped, one pattern one color | $10 to $14 per sq ft |
| Stamped with border and colors | $14 to $20 per sq ft |
| Stamped, multi pattern hand colored | $20+ per sq ft |
| Patio, 10 by 10 | $800 to $1,200 |
| Driveway, 20 by 40 | $4,000 to $6,000 |
These are typical installed ranges for the Dallas and Fort Worth market, covering excavation, base, reinforcement, concrete, and finish. Stamped work sits between plain concrete and pavers, which run about $10 to $23 per square foot installed, because stamping is poured in one pass instead of set piece by piece.
Concrete work around the house
- Driveways and extensions. New pours, replacements, and the extra parking pad or turnaround that makes a narrow driveway usable.
- Patios and slabs. Broom finish, exposed aggregate, or stamped, sized and sloped so water leaves the house instead of pooling at it.
- Walkways and steppers. Poured paths, and the cut steppers set in gravel that read cleaner than a solid ribbon of concrete.
- Steps and landings. Where a grade change meets a door, and where bad work shows up fastest.
- Footings and pads. The concrete nobody sees, under a retaining wall, a patio cover post, an outdoor kitchen, or a hot tub.
- Curbing and edging. Poured edges that hold beds, gravel, and turf in place instead of letting them migrate into the lawn.
Two questions separate a real bid from a cheap one. How thick is the pour, and where do the control joints go? A contractor who answers both without hesitating has already thought about your slab. One who waves it off has not.