Decorative concrete in Walnut Creek CA - color and pattern over a solid base
Tired of a plain gray patio or worn walk? We add color or a stamped pattern to a new pour or a sound slab.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Should I resurface my old patio or pour a new decorative slab?
Decorative concrete in Walnut Creek is flatwork, the patios, walks and driveways that sit flat on the ground, finished with color or a stamped pattern. We either pour it new or lay an overlay, a thin new layer bonded to the slab you already have, and which one fits depends on the shape your old slab is in.
At Walnut Creek Concrete Works, most calls for this come from homeowners in Walnut Creek and the East Bay cities around it with a plain gray patio they're tired of, a walk that's worn smooth or a stamped slab that's lost its color. The price moves with the size of the area, whether we pour new or overlay what's there, how much work the base needs and how many colors and patterns you pick. The schedule turns on the prep, any permit the job needs and curing, the wait while the concrete hardens enough to use, and your estimate writes out each part so you can see where the money goes.
How can you tell your slab needs more than a new color?
Plain or faded surface
The slab is solid but gray, stained or worn smooth, and you want it to look like part of the yard. That's a looks problem, not damage, so there's no rush, and it's the one case where an overlay can make sense.
Color flaking or chipping
Patches of color or coating are coming off in chips, usually where people walk or water sits. That usually means the surface layer wasn't put on right or never bonded, and the longer it goes, the more of it lets go.
Cracks running clean through
A crack that crosses the whole slab and keeps getting wider usually means the ground or the slab itself has moved. Color won't stop that, and leaving it lets water get underneath and open it further.
A section sinking or lifting
A corner that's dropped or lifted, or pooling water where there never used to be any, usually points to a base that settled because it was never packed. That slab is headed for a tear-out and a new pour, and the trip edge only gets worse while you wait.
How we do decorative concrete
If you want to cover an old slab, I check that it's solid before anything else, because an overlay won't fix a slab that's heaving or broken through, and when it isn't sound I'll tell you a new pour is the better use of your money. On a sound slab we clean and prep the surface so the new layer bonds, then lay the color and pattern. On a new pour we dig out, pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and set rebar, the steel bars that hold the slab together if it cracks, then pour, color, stamp and cut control joints, the planned cuts that give the concrete a straight line to crack along instead of a random one. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you pick one color and a simpler stamp than thin out the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's what decides whether the finish holds up.
A decorative patio on a sloped lot often needs a concrete retaining wall to hold the ground behind it, and we plan the wall and the slab together so one doesn't undercut the other. Indoors, a colored floor for a garage, shop or addition starts with the slab itself, so that comes under our concrete floor installation work.
New stamped pour
This suits a slab that's cracked through, sinking or lifting, or a spot where there's no concrete yet. It costs more than an overlay, but you get a new base under the new finish, which is the only real fix for a slab that's moving.
Overlay on a sound slab
This suits a solid slab that just looks tired, because the new layer renews the surface without a tear-out. It won't fix anything underneath, so it's only worth doing when there's nothing underneath to fix.
Color hardener
Hardener is worked into the surface while it's fresh and leaves a denser top that stands up better to wear, and it lets you have two or more colors from one load of plain concrete. It takes more time and skill to put on than mixed-in color, and a poor job can come loose later with weather and foot traffic, so who applies it matters.
Integral color
Integral color is mixed into the concrete, usually at the plant, so the color runs all the way through. The shade depends on the mix, so it's easiest to keep even on a smaller patio or walk with one color.
Get a written estimate for your decorative concrete
We reply within one business day. Then I come out, look at the area and any old slab, and give you a free written estimate with no obligation.
- Based in
- Walnut Creek, CA 94596
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about decorative concrete?
Here's how a decorative concrete job goes with us, from your first call to the walk-through when it's finished.
Call or send the form
Call (925) 532-0140 or use the form, and tell us roughly how big the area is and whether the work reaches the sidewalk or driveway approach. Photos of any existing slab help me see what I'm walking into.
I come look at it
I check any old slab, ask how you'll use the space and talk through colors and patterns with you. You get a written estimate with each part of the job spelled out, so the base work isn't hidden inside one number.
We line up permits first
If a permit, an engineer or a designer is part of the job, we get that sorted before we put you on the schedule. Work on Saturdays and city holidays in Walnut Creek needs an after-hours permit from the city, so a weekend pour gets planned around that.
We build it and walk it
My crew and I do the work, from the base to the final finish, with me on site. When it's done, we walk it with you and go over what it needs to keep looking right.
Why Walnut Creek homeowners call us for decorative concrete
I look at every job myself
I come out to every estimate, and my crew does the work with me on site. The person you talk colors and base work with is the one standing there the day we pour.
Learned on East Bay crews
I taught myself concrete on small jobs, then learned the rest working on crews around the East Bay before starting this business in 2023. That's why I'll give you the hard news up front instead of finding it out after the pour.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're fully licensed and insured. That covers you and your property while the crew is working at your house.
The color is what you'll notice, but what's under it decides how long you'll like it. Ask for an estimate and I'll come look at your slab.
Decorative concrete and driveway approaches in Walnut Creek
City rules usually come in when the work leaves your yard or moves a lot of dirt. Any work in Walnut Creek's public right of way, like a driveway approach, sidewalk, curb or gutter, needs an encroachment permit from the city, and so does staging that needs traffic or people steered around it. Grading over 50 cubic yards needs a Site Development Permit, so a big regrade before a new patio adds its own permit step. If your job needs one, I tell you at the estimate and we handle the application with the city.
Around here we see a lot of older patios and walks that people would rather dress up than tear out, and a fair number of sloped yards where the ground has to be dealt with before any color goes down. We meet the same calls on jobs in Lafayette and Pleasant Hill, and the first question is always whether the slab under the old surface is still sound.
Questions about decorative concrete in Walnut Creek
How do I know if my old concrete patio can be resurfaced?
An old patio can take a decorative overlay only if it's structurally sound and the surface will bond with the new layer. Heaving, settling and cracks that go clean through stay right where they are under an overlay, and treating them as fixed is the most expensive mistake on this kind of work. I check yours at the estimate and tell you which way I'd go.
How much does stamped concrete cost in Walnut Creek?
A cost guide for San Francisco puts stamped, reinforced concrete patios at about $12 to $20 per square foot, and that's the closest figure we have for the area. Your price in Walnut Creek depends on the size, the base work, whether it's an overlay or a new pour and the colors and pattern you choose. The estimate gives you the number for your job.
How often does stamped concrete need to be resealed?
Stamped concrete is resealed every 2 to 3 years, in two thin, even coats. One heavy coat bubbles, turns white and makes the slab slick when it's wet, so thin coats keep a patio or walk safer underfoot. If yours has gone cloudy or slippery, that's usually the sealer, not the concrete.
Do I need a permit for a decorative concrete walk or driveway in Walnut Creek?
Walnut Creek lists walks and driveways 30 inches tall or less, not built over a basement or story, as work that needs no building permit. Anything that reaches the sidewalk or driveway approach still needs the encroachment permit mentioned above, and patios aren't named on that list. I'll tell you at the estimate what your job needs, and we file it if it needs one.
What causes a new stamped concrete patio to crack?
Concrete shrinks and moves as it ages, so any slab can crack, and the cracks that ruin a stamped patio usually come from a weak base or joints nobody planned. On stamped work the control joints can be cut into the pattern's grout lines, so the cracks follow the design instead of cutting across it. That's why I lay out the joints with the pattern, not after it.
What contractor license covers decorative concrete work in California?
California's C-8 Concrete Contractor classification covers contractors who form, pour, place, finish and install flat and other concrete work, which includes a stamped or colored slab. It's fair to ask anyone bidding your job what license they carry.
Concrete work that often goes with a decorative slab
Concrete retaining walls
If your new patio sits where the yard drops away, a poured wall holds the slope back so the ground under the slab stays where it belongs.
Concrete floor installation
For a colored floor inside a garage, workshop or addition, the slab is poured with the finish in mind, so the color and the surface are planned together.
Service areas for decorative concrete in the East Bay
Walnut Creek Concrete Works is based in Walnut Creek, CA, and does decorative concrete across the East Bay. The 12 cities below have their own pages, from Concord to San Ramon, and they aren't the only places we work.
Send us photos of your old slab
A few photos and a rough size usually let me tell you on the first call whether an overlay is worth talking about or you're looking at a new pour.