An Alabama patio has to survive two things: the clay under it and the sun over it. Most planning guides only cover one.
Size: the most common regret is "too small"
A table with four chairs eats over 100 sq ft by itself once people push back from the table. Add a grill zone and a couple of loungers and a genuinely usable patio starts closer to 250–300 sq ft. Lay it out with a garden hose on the grass and walk around your imaginary furniture before you commit — a slab can't be un-poured.
Placement: chase the shade, not just the view
In July, a west-facing patio with no shade is a griddle from 2pm on. Track where shade actually falls at 4–6pm — the hours you'll really sit out there. Sometimes shifting a patio ten feet, or planning it around a future covered section, is the difference between a patio you use and one you look at through the window.
Slope and water: the part that touches the house
A patio against the house has to shed water away from your foundation, always. Roof runoff and gutter discharge are also how clay along one patio edge gets soaked and swollen while the rest stays dry — which is how patios tilt. Downspout placement is a patio decision. We treat it as one at the walk-through.
Finish: broom, honestly
We do a standard broom finish: clean lines, honest texture, real traction when it's wet. We don't do stamped or decorative work — flatwork is what we do, and a broom finish on a properly prepped base will still be flat when trends have moved on twice.
Under all of it: the same rules as every slab
Compacted base, steel in the middle of the slab, joints on a plan. And you see the photo proof before the truck comes — patio pours don't get a pass on the process.
