Concrete pool decks in San Fernando CA - a deck that grips wet feet and drains well
Deck cracked, slick or too hot to stand on? We pour pool decks on a packed base, with planned drainage and a finish bare feet like.
What goes into a good concrete pool deck in San Fernando?
A concrete pool deck is the flat concrete our crew forms, pours and finishes around your pool. In San Fernando we build it to grip wet bare feet, stay comfortable in the sun and send water away from your house and out of the pool.
Most folks call us with a deck that's cracked along the pool, sunk at a corner or gone slick, or with a new pool that needs concrete around it. The price moves with the deck's size, the finish you pick, how much old concrete has to come out and how much base work the ground needs. The schedule turns on any permit and on curing, the wait while fresh concrete gains strength before anyone walks on it. If the deck meets your back door or yard at a different height, we can plan concrete steps into the same job. Here in California, the state licensing board puts forming, pouring and finishing flat concrete like this under its concrete contractor class, which is separate from the class for building the pool itself, and we're licensed and insured. We're based in San Fernando and work in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and plenty more cities nearby, and your estimate lays out what your own deck will take.
How do you know your pool deck needs replacing?
A pool deck usually tells you when something's wrong underneath. You'll see it in the cracks, the low spots and where the water goes. These are the signs we get called about most around San Fernando.
Cracks running out from the pool edge usually mean the ground underneath moved or the joints didn't do their job.
A corner or section sitting lower than the rest usually points to loose dirt settling under the slab.
Water that puddles, runs toward the house or drains back into the pool means the slope needs rethinking.
A deck that feels slick when wet has usually lost its texture or picked up a glossy sealer.
Concrete too hot to stand on barefoot in summer usually comes down to a dark finish or coating.
Chipping, flaking or a dusty top coming loose usually means the surface was weak from the day it was poured.
If a crack keeps widening or a lifted edge has turned into a trip spot, give us a call now rather than waiting until swim season.
What happens after you call about a pool deck?
Here's how a pool deck job runs with us, from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who's showing up and when.
Call or send us a message
I come out myself to see the deck, measure it and hear what you have in mind for the finish. Photos of the current deck and a rough size in square feet help us get started.
Get a written estimate
Your estimate spells out the prep, the work and the cleanup. That way you can see what the base work costs next to the finish before you decide anything.
Set the date and permits
Once you're ready, we pick a date, pull any permit the job calls for and work with the city through plan check and inspections. San Fernando inspects Monday through Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30, so we plan the pour around those mornings.
Pour, finish and walk through
Our crew forms, pours and finishes the deck with me on site, then cleans up. We walk the finished deck together before we pack up, and I'll go over the curing wait before you use it.
Get a free on-site estimate for your pool deck
We reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out to measure your deck and hear your ideas. The estimate is free, and there's no obligation.
- Call
- (818) 806-6170
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Pool deck finishes, base and drainage choices
With the finish, we start with your bare feet. A broom finish, fine ridges dragged into the fresh surface with a stiff broom, gives good grip and keeps things simple. Exposed aggregate, where the small stones in the mix show at the top, adds texture. Stamped and colored concrete can look like stone or tile, and I'll walk you through how each one feels wet and in the afternoon sun.
Here's the trade-off I'll name up front. You can't see the base once the concrete is poured, so it's the first thing people want to trim, but a fancy finish on loose dirt won't stay pretty. We dig out soft soil and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, just as we would for a slab foundation. We add rebar, steel bars that help hold cracks tight. I learned that hauling base as a helper, and it stuck.
We plan the water before we ever order concrete. We set the slope and any deck drains so water heads away from your house instead of back into the pool. On hot days we pour early, because concrete that dries too fast at midday ends up with a weak, dusty top. Then we cut control joints, the grooves that give shrinking concrete a planned place to crack, right on time so the slab doesn't pick its own lines.
Pool deck questions we hear around San Fernando
What does a concrete pool deck cost in the Los Angeles area?
Basic concrete pool decking in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $8 to $15 per square foot. Pavers, natural stone or stamped concrete cost more per square foot than plain concrete, and tearing out an old deck or doing extra base work adds to the total. Our own price for your deck comes in the written estimate after I've seen it.
Which pool deck finish grips best for bare feet?
A textured finish usually grips better than a smooth or glossy one, which is why so many pool decks get a broom finish or exposed aggregate. If you want stamped concrete, ask which sealer goes on it. One industry article warns that standard film-forming acrylic sealers fill a stamped surface and leave a plastic film that sharply cuts traction when wet.
What causes a pool deck to crack?
A lot of pool deck cracks start in the ground, because the filled soil around a new pool shell can settle later and crack the deck unless it's placed and packed well. The deck and the pool can also move differently, so one guide advises following the pool designer's joint details at the edge so each can shift on its own. When you compare bids, give the base work as much weight as the concrete's thickness.
How do I keep a concrete pool deck from getting too hot?
Skip very dark finishes, because they can get uncomfortable to stand on in the sun, and finishes and coatings vary in how hot they run. Weigh how a finish feels in the afternoon along with how it looks, and I'll bring that up when we talk colors.
Who reviews construction plans in San Fernando?
San Fernando's Building and Safety Division reviews all construction plans in the city. Its permit list names building permits and a pool drain permit but doesn't mention pool decks, so ask the Building and Safety counter whether your deck needs one. The counter is at City Hall, open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, and you can reach it at (818) 898-1227.
What is the best way to drain a concrete pool deck?
Plan the drainage before the pour, so water leaves the deck away from your house and dirty runoff stays out of the pool. Depending on the design, the deck slopes away from the pool or toward deck drains, and you and I settle on which one before any concrete goes down.
Other concrete work that goes with a pool deck
Concrete steps construction
When the deck sits higher or lower than your back door or yard, new concrete steps tie the levels together and give wet feet a steady way across.
Slab foundation building
Planning a pool house, cabana or equipment shed beside the deck? It needs a slab foundation poured on the same kind of packed, well-drained ground.
Talk to us about your pool deck
We pick up every day from 8 AM to 9 PM at (818) 806-6170, or you can use our contact form, so have the deck's rough size, a few finish ideas and photos of the current deck handy and we can get into specifics on the first call.
Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM