Masonry & hardscape contractorin Acton, MA

What the work on a job like the Acton deck involves, so you know what you are looking at before anyone gives you a price. For pool decks in general, materials and coping options, see our pool deck page.

Breaking out the old concrete

Cracked concrete can't be fixed by setting pavers over it. The cracks keep moving, the slab may already be tipping toward the pool, and stacking a new surface on top raises the deck at the coping and at any door. So the first step is breakout: the slab is cut away from the coping and the house, broken up, loaded and hauled off. How much access there is for equipment and a container affects how that day goes, so it comes up at the estimate.

The base is what fights frost

Massachusetts ground freezes and thaws many times a winter. Water held in soft soil swells when it freezes and pushes up whatever sits on it. A paver deck stays flat because soft soil comes out and crushed gravel goes in, spread in thin layers and compacted each time, with a thin bedding layer on top for the pavers. The right depth depends on the soil and how wet the yard is, which is why it gets decided on site, not from a chart.

Water has to run away from the pool

The finished deck needs a gentle pitch away from the water, small enough that you don't notice it underfoot, so rain and splash-out drain to the lawn or a drain instead of back into the pool or toward the house. If the old concrete held puddles, say so at the estimate; that tells us where the grade needs to change.

Coping, spa and step edges

Where the new deck meets the pool is the detail people notice. Sometimes the existing coping stays and the pavers are cut tight to it; sometimes the coping is worn enough that replacing it at the same time makes sense. A raised spa, steps into the pool, the house foundation and the lawn edge each need their own transition, and every open edge needs a restraint so the pavers can't creep. A contrasting border, like the charcoal one in Acton, also hides the cuts and frames the water.

Why large-format pavers

Bigger units mean fewer joints, so the deck looks calmer and there are fewer places for sand to wash out or weeds to start. They are heavier and less forgiving of a lumpy base, so the base work matters even more. Ask about texture, since a pool deck is walked on wet and barefoot, and about color, because darker pavers hold more heat in the sun. We work with makers such as Unilock and Techo-Bloc, and you can see samples at our Woburn yard.

How an estimate visit works

We walk the deck with you, measure it, look at the coping, the spa, where water sits and how equipment can reach the yard, and talk through paver styles. Then we price the job; there is no price list, because breakout, base and edge work vary from yard to yard. Because Acton is a longer drive for us, sending a few phone photos and rough measurements with your estimate request helps us come prepared. More on materials and coping is on our pool deck page.