Concrete pool decks in South Gate CA - a deck that grips wet feet and stays flat
Cracked, slick or too hot to stand on? We pour pool decks that give bare feet grip and send water away from the pool.
Do I need a new pool deck, or will a coating do?
A concrete pool deck is the flat concrete around your pool. In South Gate, CA we form, pour and finish it for people who'll cross it wet and barefoot, so it has to grip and stay comfortable underfoot before it has to look good.
Most people call when the old deck has cracked, lifted at a joint, gone slick or started holding puddles, and the first thing to settle is whether it gets torn out and repoured or coated over. That choice moves the price more than anything else, along with the size of the deck, how much base work the ground needs once the old concrete is out and the finish you pick. It moves the schedule too, since a coating is a shorter job than a full pour plus curing, the days new concrete needs to gain strength before you use it. If the deck also has to meet a back door that sits higher, new concrete steps add to both, and I'll give you your own figure in a written estimate once I've seen the deck.
What goes into our concrete pool deck work
Grip and heat underfoot come first on a pool deck, then looks, and the rest of the job is about keeping it flat. If you're leaning toward a coating, I check whether the old deck is still moving before anything else, because that decides whether a coating is even on the table. On a repour, our crew breaks out the old concrete, digs down to the subgrade, which is just the dirt the slab sits on, and packs a base so the new deck doesn't settle with the dirt underneath. We set the forms so water runs away from the house and dirty runoff stays out of the pool, lay rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, and pour early in the day, since a top that dries too fast in afternoon heat ends up weak and dusty. We cut control joints, grooves that give the concrete a place to crack where we chose before it picks its own, then finish the surface for bare feet. If the budget gets tight, I'd keep the money in the base and save on the finish, because nobody sees the base after the pour, but it's what decides whether the deck stays level.
A pool deck usually runs into other concrete. When the pool sits below the back door, we build concrete steps down to it and plan them with the deck so the levels line up. If you're adding a pool house or a back room, that starts with slab foundation building, and we lay it out so the slab and the deck drain away from each other.
Pool deck permits and concrete work in South Gate
The city typically requires building and construction permits for any home improvement, repair, alteration, construction or demolition, and its permit page names pool or spa installations and most excavations among the projects that usually need one. So before we break out your old deck, I check with Building and Safety, which runs the permit counter, and when the job needs a permit we pull it and work through the inspections with them. If a company or an LLC owns the property, the city says you'll need a licensed contractor.
A lot of the decks we tear out around here are older ones poured right up against the house, sometimes sloped toward it, with joints that were never cut, so the cracks wander wherever they like. We're based in South Gate and work in the cities around it, and we run into the same tired decks on jobs in Lynwood and Huntington Park.
How a pool deck job works
Call or send the form
Call (213) 643-0035 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Tell me roughly how big the deck is and whether you're thinking new pour or coating.
I look at the deck myself
I check the ground, where the water goes, what's going to sit on the concrete and, if you want a coating, whether the old slab is still moving. You get a written estimate with the scope, the finish and the price, so you know the number before anything gets broken out.
We pull the permit first
If the job needs a permit, we pull it with the city or county office for your address. In South Gate the Building and Safety counter takes walk-ins Monday to Thursday, 7:30 am to 2:00 pm, and City Hall is closed Fridays, so permit errands land early in the week.
Pour, finish and walk through
Our own crew preps, forms, pours and finishes the deck, and I'm usually on site with them. When it's done, I walk the deck with you and show you where the joints went and why.
A free written estimate for your pool deck and steps
Expect a reply within 1 business day. Then I come out, look at the deck, the ground and the drainage, and write you a free quote on site. It's obligation-free, so you can take the number and think it over.
Questions before you book a concrete pool deck
How much does a concrete pool deck cost in the Los Angeles area?
A concrete pool deck in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $4 to $10 per square foot. Tear-out, base work and the finish decide where in that spread your deck lands, and I put your own number in writing after I've seen it.
What is the best concrete finish for a pool deck?
The best finish is the one that grips wet feet and doesn't get too hot, so compare broom, textured, exposed aggregate, coating and overlay finishes on traction and heat underfoot before you think about color. They vary on both, and very dark finishes can get uncomfortable in the sun, which matters when people cross the deck barefoot. A broom finish, fine grooves dragged across the wet concrete, is the plain option most people know for grip.
Will my new concrete pool deck crack?
Yes, a concrete deck will crack somewhere, because concrete shrinks as it dries and moves as the temperature changes. Joints are there to limit the cracking and control where it shows up, so ask any contractor where your joints will go, and I'll show you ours before we pour.
Can a coating fix my cracked pool deck?
No, a coating isn't a structural finish, so cracks in the deck underneath will eventually show through it. A deck that's still moving, settling or has several wide cracks needs structural repair first, with the coating after that repair and not in place of it.
How long does a pool deck coating take compared to a new pour?
By one concrete blog's figures, a coating goes on in 1 to 2 days, while a full pour takes 5 to 7. The coating sits on whatever is already there, so the extra days of a pour are what buy you a new base and new joints.
How do I maintain a concrete pool deck?
The main upkeep is keeping the joints sealed, both the contraction joints across the deck and the seal where brick coping meets the concrete. Those seals keep water out of the joints and from under the slab, so keep an eye on them and reseal where they've pulled away.
Why South Gate homeowners call Advanced South Gate Concrete for pool decks
The owner on your job
I come out to write every estimate myself, and I'm usually on site while our own crew preps, pours and finishes. The person who priced your deck is the one checking the base before concrete covers it.
13 years of flatwork
I started out pouring walks and patching driveways for neighbors in South Gate, and we've been in business since 2013. A lot of those years went into fixing other people's mistakes, which is why I watch the base and the joints closest.
Licensed papers you can see
In California, a contracting job of $1000 or more needs a contractor with a current license in the classification for that work, and the state's concrete classification covers forming, pouring and finishing flatwork. We're fully licensed and insured, and since the city asks contractors for their license card, ID and workers comp, ask us for the same and we'll show you.
Your satisfaction, guaranteed. Request your on-site estimate or call (213) 643-0035, and I'll come take a look at the deck.
Work that often goes with a pool deck
Concrete steps construction
If your back door sits higher than the pool, a solid set of concrete steps gets wet feet down safely without a step that rocks or drops.
Slab foundation building
A pool house or back room needs its own slab foundation, and planning it with the deck keeps the levels and the drainage working together.
Get your pool deck and steps quoted
Call (213) 643-0035 or send the form with the rough deck size, photos of any cracks and the finish you like, so I show up to your free on-site quote already knowing whether to look at a coating or a repour.
