Concrete pool decks in San Carlos CA - a deck that grips when wet and drains away
If your pool deck is cracked, lifting or slick underfoot, we build one that sheds water away from the house and grips under wet feet.
Do you need a new pool deck or just a new surface?
A concrete pool deck is the slab around your pool. We build them in San Carlos and the cities around it so water drains away from your house and toward any deck drains, which keeps dirty runoff out of the pool. Built right, it also grips under wet feet and can move without pulling on the coping.
Most pool deck calls we get start with a crack that keeps growing, a section that's lifted, or a deck that's slick or too hot under bare feet, and the first question is whether to resurface it or tear it out. The price mostly turns on the deck's size, whether the old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, how much base work it needs and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the weather and on curing, the days new concrete needs to harden before it takes traffic. If the deck steps down to the yard, we can rebuild those concrete steps in the same job. Your written estimate spells out the work, and if a resurface will hold up, I'll tell you that instead of selling you a new pour.
How do you know your pool deck needs work?
Most pool decks tell you they need work long before they fail. These are the things owners usually notice first, and what each one tends to mean underneath.
Cracks running across the deck usually mean the slab moved, or the joints were cut late or skipped.
Sections that lift above their neighbors catch bare toes and often point to trouble in the base below.
Water that pools on the deck or runs toward the house usually means the slope is wrong.
Loose coping stones or cracked waterline tile often mean the deck is pushing against the pool's edge.
A surface that chips, flakes or turns dusty usually started with a rushed or hot midday pour.
A deck that feels slick when wet or too hot to stand on barefoot needs a different finish.
If a lifted section is catching toes or the coping has started to rock, call now rather than waiting, because both tend to get worse with every season of use.
What happens when you call us about a pool deck in San Carlos?
Here's how a pool deck job runs with us, from your first call to the final walk-through, and who's doing what along the way.
Call us or send the form
Reach us at (650) 866-1977 or through the form, and tell us the deck's rough size. Photos of the deck, including any cracks or lifting sections, help me show up already knowing what to look at.
I measure and look it over
I usually come out myself to measure, check where the water runs, look at the coping and talk through finishes with you. Then you get a written estimate with the work spelled out, so you can see exactly where the money goes before you decide anything.
We form, pour and finish
When you're ready, we schedule the job, and our crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms, pours and finishes while I check the work as it goes. We pour in the cooler part of the day, because midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top.
We walk the finished deck
I go over the finished job with you before we call it done. We also talk through how long to stay off it while it cures and when the pool joint gets sealed.
Get a written estimate for your pool deck
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate. I come out, measure and send it to you in writing, with no pressure and no obligation to go ahead.
- Call
- (650) 866-1977
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Base, drainage and joints under a pool deck
The base is the part nobody sees, and it's the first thing people want to cut when the budget gets tight. I won't cut it, because a deck sitting on raked dirt settles with that dirt, and no finish fixes a sinking slab. We dig out to firm subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and pack the base the same way we would under a slab foundation.
Next comes the pitch. We set the forms so the deck falls away from the house and toward any drains, because a slab that sends water back at the house can't be fixed with a trowel later. Control joints are grooves we cut so the concrete cracks along a line we picked. We lay them out around curves, drains and corners so we don't leave narrow, odd-shaped panels, since those tend to crack.
The joint at the pool's edge is the one that protects the pool. Without a flexible mastic joint, a stretchy seal running the full depth of the deck along the coping, the deck's movement often knocks the coping loose and cracks the waterline tile. One pool engineering firm says that joint is normally the deck installer's job, so ask every bidder how they handle it. We plan ours so the deck can move without pulling on the coping.
Pool deck questions San Carlos owners ask
How much does a concrete pool deck cost in San Carlos?
A concrete pool deck in San Francisco usually runs about $6 to $15 per square foot installed, and that covers materials, labor and site prep. Where yours lands depends on the size, how much old concrete comes out, how much base work it needs and the finish you pick. The written estimate I send after measuring gives you the San Carlos number for your deck.
Should I resurface or replace my pool deck?
Resurface only if the slab underneath is sound, because an overlay bonds to the old concrete and leaves whatever is wrong below it in place. It suits a stable deck with cosmetic damage like fading, staining, spalling, which is chipping or flaking, a worn texture or cracks narrower than about 1/4 inch. If sections are heaving, the slab is sinking, cracks run across the whole deck or the base has washed out, plan on replacing it.
What is the best finish for a concrete pool deck?
The best finish grips under wet bare feet without getting too hot to stand on in the sun. Broom, textured, exposed aggregate, coated, overlay and decorative finishes all differ in grip and surface heat, and a broom finish gets its grip from fine ridges dragged across the wet concrete. Very dark finishes can get uncomfortable in the sun, so when I suggest a finish, I weigh grip and heat before looks.
Who should build my pool deck in California, and can I find out who the subcontractors are?
A concrete contractor licensed by the Contractors State License Board is the trade that forms, pours, places and finishes flat concrete work like a pool deck. State law counts a pool deck next to your home as home improvement, so you can ask your contractor to disclose any subcontractors, with each one's name, contact information, license number and classification, and the main contractor stays responsible for the project. We're fully licensed and insured, and when a job needs a permit, we settle with you who pulls it before work starts and write that into the contract.
How long does a new concrete pool deck have to cure before the pool joint is sealed?
One coping maker's guide says to wait at least 30 days after a poured deck before caulking the joint at the pool's edge, so the concrete has time to cure and shrink. Sealing it too early can leave a joint that pulls apart as the slab settles in, and we go over that timing with you at the final walk-through.
How do I maintain the expansion joint around my pool deck?
Check the joint once a year, and redo the caulk whenever it cracks, pulls away or wears out, which is what one coping maker's guide recommends. Most elastomeric caulks, the rubbery sealant used there, last five to ten years, and keeping that joint flexible is what lets the deck move without pushing on the coping.
Related concrete work around the pool
Concrete steps construction
If your deck steps down to the lawn or a lower patio, rebuilding the steps alongside the new deck keeps the heights and the finish matched.
Slab foundation building
If a pool house, cabana or equipment shed is going in near the deck, it needs a slab built to carry a building, not just bare feet.
Book your pool deck estimate before swim season
Call (650) 866-1977 or send the form while the pool is quiet, so the new deck has its curing time behind it before the first swim.
Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM