Concrete Patios built out of concrete should be constructed out of 4 inches of 2000 psi concrete with ½ inch rebar placed every 24 inches on center going in both directions. The Soil under should be well compacted.

Brick Traditional brick patios should be built over a 4-inch concrete slab. The bricks are now set in a mortar bed and leveled one at a time. Then all the spaces between the bricks are filled with a grout. This is can be rather expensive because one is building two surfaces.

Interlocking brick patios are far more economical because they are set in sand instead of in mortar over concrete.

Flagstone is a generic term for thin flat rock that is used for paving flat surfaces. Flagstone is named from the location of the quarry it comes from. Arizona red is a reddish sand stone; Pennsylvania blue is a grey blue. The cost of the stone is proportional to the shipping distance. It is best to pour a concrete slab and set the stone in mortar on the slab. However, in the interest of economy the stones can be set directly over the soil. They will move and shift over time and will have to be readjusted from time to time.

Stamped Concrete A stamped concrete patio should first be prepared with 4 inches of concrete with ½ inch rebar going both ways. The "stamping' happens after the concrete has been poured and just before it sets up. There are several methods of stamping. The most common is to use a rubber mat like material with the desired pattern molded into one side. The molded pattern is placed down on the concrete leaving the desired pattern in the concrete. The procedure is repeated over the area to be stamped. Control joints are placed in the concrete in the effort to have the cracks follow the joints. This does not always happen and the cracks can appear anywhere in the newly finished concrete. Concrete is usually colored before it is poured. There are standard colors that can be added to the concrete at the ready mix company as it goes into the truck. The colors are not 100% predictable and may vary slightly from the color chosen.