Decorative concrete in Hoover AL - a finish that suits your slab and your yard
Tired of a plain gray slab or a worn-out patio? We pick the color and texture to suit your slab and how you use it.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What can decorative concrete do for a plain or worn slab?
Decorative concrete in Hoover is concrete built or refinished with a finish you're meant to see, like a stain, a stamped pattern, a texture or exposed stone, so your patio, walk or floor looks like part of the house instead of plain gray.
Most people who call A&B Hoover Concrete Construction about this either have a new patio or walk coming and want more than gray, or have an older slab they'd like to dress up without tearing it out. The price moves with the size of the area, the finish you pick, how much prep the surface needs and whether the slab gets rebar, the steel inside that holds cracks tight. The schedule turns on the permit check, the weather and curing, the wait while fresh concrete gains strength before anyone uses it. If a pattern is what you're after, our stamped concrete page goes deeper, and your own number comes from an estimate that spells out what's in it.
How can you tell your slab could use a decorative finish?
A plain gray slab
Your patio or walk is sound and level but looks like a parking spot, which usually means it got a basic broom finish, the light scratch texture that gives your shoes some grip. Nothing is failing, but color or texture is easier to plan now than after the furniture, planters and grill have moved in.
Chipping or flaking on top
When the top skin of a slab flakes off in patches, it usually goes back to how it was poured or finished, often in midday heat that left a weak, dusty surface. Left alone, the flaking spreads, and a slab that has lost too much of its top gets harder to cover with anything decorative.
Cracks or a sunken corner
Cracks running across the slab, or a corner that has dropped and holds water, usually mean the ground under it settled or the joints were cut late or skipped. New color won't fix that, and the longer a slab keeps moving, the more likely it needs work underneath or a new pour before any finish goes on.
How we do decorative concrete, from the ground up
On a new slab we start where you can't see, digging out and packing the subgrade, what the slab sits on, and setting the grade so water runs away from your house. That's the trade-off I'll always bring up, because when a budget gets tight the base is the first thing people want to cut, and I'd rather you pick a simpler finish than put a pretty one on ground that settles. On an older slab we look over the cracks before we promise anything. Then we choose the finish with you, and if it's a stain we do a small test patch first, because stain color depends on how each slab reacts and I want you to see the real color before we commit the whole area. After that we prep the surface, put down the color or the pattern, cut control joints on new pours so the slab has a straight place to crack, and seal it.
Decorative work often sits next to other jobs. On a sloped yard a stained or stamped patio may need concrete retaining walls to hold the ground beside it, and if you want that look indoors, it starts with concrete floor installation.
Get a decorative concrete estimate for your slab
We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate at your place is free, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
- estimates@concretehoover.com
- Based in
- Hoover, AL 35216
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens when you call about decorative concrete in Hoover?
Here's how a decorative job runs from your side, from the first call to the last walk-through, with me there to explain each part as it happens.
Call or send the form
Reach us at (205) 325-9006 or through the form, tell us a little about the slab, and we'll set a time for me to come see it. You don't need a color picked yet.
Walk the slab together
I walk the site with you, look at the ground, where the water runs and any cracks, and talk through which finishes your slab can take. The estimate spells out what's in it, so you can see what the base, the prep and the finish each cover.
Sort the permit, set the date
Once you're ready, we sort out the permit side with the building office. Then we set the pour or the stain day around the weather.
Walk the finished work together
When the work is done, we walk it with you before we pack up. I'll tell you when it's ready for feet, furniture and cars.
Why Hoover homeowners call A&B Hoover Concrete Construction for decorative work
The owner walks your job
I come out myself to look at the job and talk it over with you, and I'm on site with our own crew when the work happens. The person who helped you pick a color is the one watching it go down.
In business since 2020
I came up as a helper on a small crew, hauling and raking, and learned this trade one pour at a time. I still take the time to tell you what we're doing and why, so you understand your own job.
Fully licensed and insured, every job
We're fully licensed and insured. The City of Hoover requires every general contractor and subcontractor to hold a city license plus any state licenses the work calls for, so it's a fair question for anyone you get a bid from.
If you've got a slab you'd like to dress up, send us a few details and I'll come out and look at it with you.
Decorative concrete, walls and patios in Hoover
The City of Hoover requires a building permit before any construction work starts, and residential projects go through its Inspection Services Department. Whether your particular decorative job needs one isn't something I'll guess at, so before we schedule anything we check with the building office for your address, and when a permit is called for, we handle the paperwork and leave room in the plan for the inspections. On a bigger project the state can come into it too, since Alabama's Home Builders Licensure Board counts anyone building, remodeling or improving a home on a job over $10,000 in labor and materials as a residential home builder, for work that falls under its rules.
Much of Hoover is hills and valleys cut by creeks, so a lot of the patios and walks we see sit on a slope, with water heading toward them from somewhere uphill. We look at where that water goes before we pick a finish, and we see the same kind of sloped lots on jobs in Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook.
Questions about decorative concrete in Hoover
How much does a stamped concrete patio cost in Hoover, AL?
A stamped concrete patio in the Birmingham area usually costs about $8 to $16 per square foot, and that's the area's going rate, not our price. A patio with reinforced concrete runs a little more per square foot than one without, and the pattern, the color and the prep under it move the figure too. Your own number comes from the estimate, and the work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
What is the best stain color for an outdoor concrete patio?
For an acid stain outside, the rusts and browns are the ones to choose, because green and blue acid stains are meant for indoor use only. Their copper turns black when it meets moisture, so we steer outdoor acid stain toward the warm shades. If you've got your heart set on another color, we'll talk through the other stain types at the estimate.
Can you put a decorative overlay over a cracked concrete patio?
Sometimes, but only on a slab that has stopped moving. One overlay maker's instructions warn that structural cracks, and cracks in an old slab that's still shifting, may show back through its thin decorative topping. That's why we check the old cracks first and tell you plainly if the slab needs repair or replacing instead.
Do I need a permit for decorative concrete in Hoover?
The City of Hoover requires a building permit before any construction work starts, and the rule applies to homeowners as much as to contractors. As we said above, we check what your address needs before we schedule and handle the paperwork when a permit is called for.
Is a sealed stamped patio slippery when it's wet?
It can be, since at least one stamped concrete sealer maker warns that its sealer can get slippery when wet, especially on smooth surfaces. Around pools, steps and shady walks, we'll talk through a pattern or texture with more grip before you settle on a look.
How do I get ready for a decorative concrete estimate?
Have a rough size of the slab, where it sits on your lot, what shape it's in now and any color ideas you've got, photos included. That's enough for me to walk the site with you and talk through which finishes make sense, and you can reach us at (205) 325-9006 or through the form.
Related concrete work for decorative projects
Concrete retaining walls
A stained patio on a sloped Hoover yard often needs a wall beside it to hold the soil back and keep dirt and runoff off the new finish.
See the service Concrete retaining wallsConcrete floor installation
If you'd like stained concrete inside the house, it starts with a floor poured flat and clean enough to take color evenly, in a basement, sunroom or addition.
See the service Concrete floor installation
Cities we serve around Hoover
A&B Hoover Concrete Construction is based in Hoover, AL, and we work in Birmingham, Pelham and many of the cities around them. These 12 cities have their own page, but they're not the only places we pour.
Hoover, AL
Set up your decorative concrete estimate
We answer the phone seven days a week, early mornings and evenings too, so call (205) 325-9006 or send the form whenever it suits you.