Tired of a plain gray slab? We'll match the right stain, dye or color to it and tell you the upkeep up front.
Decorative concrete in Oxford, MS puts color or a new surface on a plain gray slab. It's done with stain or dye, with color mixed into a new pour or worked into its top, or with an overlay, a thin cement-based layer bonded over an old slab to freshen, level or restore it.
Most calls about color start one of two ways. You've got an older patio, walk or drive that's solid but plain and tired, or you're planning a new pour and want color in it from day one. Those are different jobs with different choices. A slab that's sunk or cracked from settling is a third case, because color on top won't fix what's underneath.
The price moves with the slab's size, whether it's new or existing, how much cleaning and repair the old surface needs, which coloring method you pick and how many coats go on. The schedule turns on prep. On a new pour it also turns on curing, the wait while the concrete hardens enough to take color and traffic. Your written estimate shows what the price covers and what it doesn't.
Color is the part you'll see. A few things under and around the slab decide whether it still looks good in a year, and these are what I look at before we talk stain.
If your slab has sunk, tipped or cracked from settling, stain will show every flaw instead of hiding it. Most of that damage comes from the ground underneath, not the concrete on top. We find out whether the slab is sound first, because coloring one that's still moving means paying for the work twice.
Stain soaks into the concrete instead of coating it like paint, so cracks, patches and oil spots take color differently and still show. On a new pour, control joints are the cuts that give a slab a straight line to crack along. They become part of the look, so we place them where they suit the design.
Before anything gets colored, we check where the water goes when it rains. A slab that falls toward the house or holds pooling water leaves dirt behind and wears the sealer faster in those spots. On an existing slab, that can tip the choice toward tearing it out and pouring new.
Here's who does what, from the first call to the final walk-through. I'm involved at every step, and you get the details in writing before any work starts.
Call (662) 550-8149 or send the form and tell us about your slab. Most times I'm the one who calls you back to set up a time to look at it.
I come out, measure, and look over the slab, the ground and the access. Then I send a written estimate that spells out what the price covers and what it doesn't.
Once you say go, we sort out any permit and inspections. Then we prep the ground or the old surface, pour or color, and seal.
When the work's done, I walk it with you again. We go over when you can use the surface and when the sealer will be due for its next coat.
The first thing I check is whether your slab is new or already in the ground, because that narrows the color options fast. Some methods only go into fresh concrete and others work on a slab that's been there for years. Knowing which one you have keeps us from talking about a look you can't get.
Then we talk about how often the sealer will need redoing where your slab sits. A patio in full sun with steady foot traffic wears through sealer faster than a covered porch or an indoor floor. That upkeep is part of what the color really costs you, so you should know it before you pick.
On a new pour, the color is what you notice, but the base decides whether it lasts. The subgrade, the dirt and gravel the slab sits on, gets dug out and packed instead of raked level. If the budget's tight, that's the last place I'll cut, because a nice finish on a sinking slab is money spent twice.
Color isn't only for patios. It can go into a new concrete retaining wall so the wall matches the patio beside it. It can also go into an indoor slab as part of concrete floor installation, where sun and weather aren't working on the sealer.
If your slab is flat, sound and drains, a stain or an overlay saves the cost of tearing it out. Stain lets old cracks show through, while an overlay gives you a fresh surface on top.
If the old slab sank, cracked from settling or sends water toward the house, color won't fix it. A new pour gets a proper base, and you can have color mixed into the concrete itself.
We reply within one business day, and most times I'm the one who calls you back. I come out, look over your slab and send a written estimate that shows what's in the price and what isn't. The estimate is free, and there's no pressure to book.
(662) 550-8149Who issues the permit depends on where your house is. Inside Oxford, the city's Building division takes and reviews residential permit applications, issues permits and does the inspections. Outside the city, Lafayette County's Building Department issues building permits for structures and inspects them during construction. Whether your job needs a permit is a question for that office, so we check before work starts. If it does, we handle the paperwork and line up the inspections.
The city's Building division also enforces Oxford's erosion control rules, so on a new pour we plan where the dug-out dirt goes. About 14% of Lafayette County's soil is high shrink-swell clay, the kind that swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries. That's below the state average of 19%, but it's enough that I look at the ground before I talk about color.
We're based in Oxford and work across Lafayette County and the cities around it, including Batesville, Holly Springs and Pontotoc. A lot of our color calls are for older patios and walks that are still solid but look worn, and for rental slabs that a landlord wants freshened up between tenants.
Before I started Oxford Concrete Company in 2023, I spent years doing upkeep for a property management company. I patched walks, steps, drives and slabs across a lot of rentals, and that's where I learned what makes concrete fail and what makes it last. I started this business to build the work right the first time instead of patching it later.
I come out myself to look at the job and write the estimate, and I'm on site running the work with our crew. The person who talked color with you is the one watching it go down. Landlords and property managers call us for the same reason homeowners do. They want one person handling the job and giving a straight answer.
Mississippi requires residential contractors to be licensed by the state board of contractors. We're licensed and fully insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. To get started, call (662) 550-8149 or send us the form.
If your yard steps down or a slope is pushing dirt toward the patio, a retaining wall holds the ground back and can be poured to match.
Planning a shop, basement or addition floor? A slab poured right is the place to start, and it's the point where color can go into the mix.
Our crew works across Lafayette County and the cities around it. Pick your city below to see what we usually run into on concrete jobs there.
I give you a written price after I see the slab, because prep varies more than anything else. An old patio with oil spots, patches and cracks takes more work before color than a clean new pour, and an overlay costs more than a stain. Count resealing every few years as part of the cost too. You can request an estimate to get your number.
Yes. Acid stain, water-based stain and concrete dye all work on existing concrete. Integral color and color hardener are only for new concrete. If the old surface is worn, a decorative overlay gives you a new layer to color.
Water-based stain is the pick for bright color. Acid stain stays in earth tones and soft blue-greens, while one maker says its water-based stains reach bright reds, purples, yellows and blues. Some dyes fade in sun and others resist it, so outdoor dye work starts with the dye maker's guidance. On a new pour, the same maker says color hardener gives a tougher, brighter surface than integral color alone.
A trade group's rule of thumb is every two to three years for busy, sunny areas, and four to five years for lighter traffic and indoor floors. One maker says its water-based stains need that sealer to keep their color. Ask how grip is handled too, since grit is often mixed into the sealer at each coat.
At about 70 degrees, fresh sealer usually takes light foot traffic in 3 to 4 hours. Furniture and cars wait 24 hours or more. Sealing should only go ahead when no rain or condensation is expected for 12 hours after it goes down, so the date can shift with the forecast.
Clear furniture, grills and planters off the slab, and keep cars off a driveway we're working on. Tell me about sprinkler heads, downspouts or anything else that drains onto the slab, because water running across fresh sealer is something we plan around.
Call (662) 550-8149 or send the form with the slab's age, size, where it sits and the look you want, and I can start narrowing the color options before I come out.
