Old deck cracked, slick or pulling at the pool edge? We build a new one that grips wet, bare feet and is planned for hard freezes.
A concrete pool deck in South Lake Tahoe is the slab we form, pour and finish around your pool. Your family walks on it wet and barefoot, so it has to grip, drain away from the house and hold up through hard freezes.
Most calls start with a deck that's cracked, sunk away from the pool edge or slick the minute it gets wet. Sometimes the pool is new and needs a deck around it. Either way the job underneath is the same. We dig out to firm ground and pack the base. Then we set forms so water runs away from the house, pour, and finish the top so it grips bare feet.
The price depends on the size of the deck, how much old concrete has to come out, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick. The schedule mostly depends on the weather. I'd rather tell you to wait for a better week than pour in bad conditions and have you pay for it later. Your written estimate shows what's included and what isn't.
A good-looking deck can fail within a couple of winters if the work under it was rushed. These are the three things I check first, because they decide whether the slab stays put.
The subgrade is the ground the slab sits on, and it decides whether a deck stays flat. We dig out soft soil and pack the base instead of raking it level, because loose dirt settles and takes the concrete down with it. If the budget gets tight, cut back on the finish before you cut the base.
Before we set forms, we work out where water will run off the deck. It has to fall away from the house, and toward any deck drains if the pool has them, without washing dirty water into the pool. A deck that tips the wrong way puddles, ices over in winter and sends water toward your foundation.
Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves with the cold, so it will crack somewhere. Control joints are shallow grooves we cut so it cracks in a straight line we chose. We plan where they go and cut them on time. If a joint is cut late or skipped, the slab cracks wherever it likes.
It's a short process, and you deal with me from the first call through the pour. Here's who does what, and when.
You call (530) 307-5972 and I pick up myself. Tell me what's going on with the deck or the new pool, and we'll set a time for me to come out and look.
I walk around the pool, ask what the deck has to carry and check the slope, the house and the pool edge around it. You get a written estimate that shows what's included and what isn't.
Once you say go, we take care of the permit side and get buried lines marked before anyone digs. We pick a pour date the weather allows, dig out, pack the base and form it. Then we pour with me on site.
Once the finish is done and the joints are in, I walk the deck with you. You get plain care instructions for the new concrete and for the joint along the pool edge.
I start with the finish, because a pool deck is the one slab your family walks on wet and barefoot. We talk through the look you want with that in mind. I'll steer you away from anything slick, even if it looks good in photos. A deck that looks great and sends someone down hard isn't a deck I want to build.
Next is the edge. The coping is the cap along the top of the pool wall. We plan the joint where the deck meets it so the deck can shift with the cold without pulling on the coping. That joint keeps the deck moving on its own instead of dragging the pool edge along with it.
If the deck steps down to the yard or up to a door, we can build the concrete steps as part of the same job so the finish carries through. If you're planning a pool house or pump shed beside it, that needs a slab foundation, and it gets the same careful base work as the deck.
In summer we start pours early, because concrete finished in the midday heat dries too fast on top and can turn weak and dusty later. After that it needs time to cure, the slow hardening that gives it its strength. The chairs and the foot traffic stay off until it's ready.
If the base has failed under most of the deck, patching just moves the problem around the pool. A full replacement lets us fix the base and the slope everywhere and keep one finish all the way around.
When one corner has sunk and the rest sits flat and drains right, we can cut out that part and repour it. It costs less, but new concrete won't quite match the color of the old.
Send the form and I'll get back to you within one business day to set a time to come look at your pool. The estimate is free, done at your property and written out, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(530) 307-5972The City of South Lake Tahoe's Building Division issues building permits and does the inspections for construction in the city. It checks work against the state building code, TRPA regulations and city ordinances. The Building Division decides whether your deck needs a permit. If it does, we work out which office it goes through and help you file it before work starts. When something isn't clear, we ask the City instead of guessing.
The local stormwater program says runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways and walkways "must be captured and infiltrated into the soil before it can leave the property." A concrete deck is a hard surface too. When we plan the slope, we think about where its water ends up, not just that it runs away from the house.
Most pool decks we see in South Lake Tahoe and the cities around it have been through years of freezing and thawing, piled snow and winter salt. The usual trouble is a base that settled, leaving a slab that tips toward the house or pulls away from the pool edge.
I came to concrete after years in other work and learned it on a finishing crew. I started this business in 2021, so we've been at it 5 years. I still answer the phone myself. I'm also the one who comes out to look at your pool and write the estimate.
A small crew of experienced form setters and finishers does the work, and I'm on site for the pour. We're licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. We're known for doing the dull prep work properly, the base and the drainage, and for straight answers on cost and timing.
If your deck is cracking, sinking or slick, call (530) 307-5972 or use the estimate form on this page. Tell me what bothers you about the old one. I'll come walk around the pool and tell you plainly what it needs, even if that means waiting for better weather.
A deck that sits higher or lower than the house or yard usually needs steps, and pouring them with the deck keeps the texture and color consistent.
A pool house, pump shed or outdoor kitchen nearby needs a slab that carries real weight, built on a base prepared just as carefully.
Our crew works out of South Lake Tahoe, so the freezes, snow and steep lots there are what we build for every day. If you're nearby and not sure we come out your way, call and ask.
A textured finish is the safest. That means a broom finish, with fine ridges dragged into the wet concrete, or exposed aggregate. Broom strokes grip better when they run across the way people walk. One publisher suggests small or polished stones for bare feet. It also advises a penetrating sealer, because any glossy film sealer cuts grip. Very dark finishes can get uncomfortably hot in the sun.
It holds up best when the mix has entrained air. These are tiny bubbles spread evenly through the concrete that relieve the pressure of freezing water. For an outdoor slab that freezes, ask every bidder whether their mix has it. De-icing salt is linked to surface scaling, the most common kind of frost damage, so think about how you'll handle ice in winter.
Yes, as long as the fresh concrete is protected. Concrete industry guidance calls it cold weather work when the air falls, or is expected to fall, to 40°F or below while the new concrete still needs shelter. Concrete poured then still reaches its intended strength if it's mixed right, placed and protected properly. So ask any bidder how they'll protect a cool-season pour.
Ask for their license number and look it up on the state licensing board's site, which is what the City advises. A concrete contractor license covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing flat concrete work, and that's what a pool deck is. Permits go through the City's Building Division, as covered above.
Most often the deck moved and dragged the pool edge with it. A pool engineering firm calls for a flexible mastic joint between the deck and the coping, running the full depth of the concrete. Without that joint and its upkeep, deck movement often loosens the coping and tile. One coping maker advises checking the joint yearly and recaulking when it cracks or pulls away. It notes that most of these caulks last five to ten years.
I don't put a number on a pool deck until I've seen it, because the ground under the old one often matters as much as the size. Exposed aggregate, decorative work and added steps raise the price. A plain broom finish keeps it lower. The written estimate shows you exactly what's in it.
Have the pool's rough size, what's wrong with the current deck, the finish you have in mind and when you're hoping to have it done. If water sits anywhere after a storm or the deck tips toward the house, show me where. That tells me a lot about the base before we dig.
Call (530) 307-5972 or send the form, because a deck tipping toward the house sends more water against your foundation with every storm it goes unfixed.
