Slab and finish quoted as two separate lines, always
Decorative Concrete in Frisco, TX
Decorative concrete is an ordinary reinforced slab with something done to its face. The half you cannot see decides whether it lasts; the half you can decides what it looks like and how much maintenance comes with it.
- 4-inch slab, steel at mid-depth, joints planned into the pattern
- Integral colour through the mix, not dusted on the surface
- We name the finish that needs no resealing, even when it costs less
Tell us the rough size and the look you are after. Someone attends, measures, and you get the number in writing.
With decorative concrete, the finish is what you choose. The slab is what lasts
Two decorative patios can look identical on the day they are finished and be entirely different products. One is 4 inches over 4 inches of compacted base with #3 rebar chaired to mid-depth and joints cut on a plan. The other is 4 inches on grade with mesh in the dirt and joints cut wherever the saw reached.
The finish hides the difference better than plain grey does, which is exactly the problem.
So a decorative quote from us has two halves: the structural specification, in numbers you can compare against any other quote, and the finish, priced separately so you can see what the appearance is actually costing you.
No fee, no obligation.
The decorative finishes we pour in Frisco
Four finishes, one slab underneath all of them. Each is quoted separately from the structure it sits on.
Exposed aggregate
Exposed aggregate is a slab whose surface paste is washed back while the concrete is still green, leaving the stone in the mix as the finished texture. We place it on the same structural specification as any other slab — 4 inches over 4 inches of compacted base, mesh or #3 rebar chaired to mid-depth — then wash and brush the surface at the right window and seal it once cured. Every exposed aggregate quote states that the appearance is in the concrete rather than on it, which is why it carries no resealing schedule for colour.
Integral colour and stains
Integral colour is pigment mixed through the concrete before it leaves the truck; a stain is a chemical applied to a cured slab that reacts with it. We use integral colour where the whole slab should be one tone, because a chip in a coloured slab shows the same colour underneath, and stains where you want variation or are working with concrete you already own. Every coloured slab quote names which of the two it is, since only one of them survives a repair.
Saw-cut scoring and banding
Scoring is a pattern cut into the surface with a saw, either as the control joints themselves or as shallow decorative lines between them. We draw the layout before the pour so the structural joints fall inside the pattern rather than cutting across it, cut control joints to a quarter of the slab depth, and keep decorative scoring shallower. Every scored slab is quoted with the layout drawn, because on this finish the joints are the design.
Broom and trowel textures
The plainest finishes are still choices, and they are the ones with the fewest downsides. A broom finish gives directional texture and the best wet grip we can offer; a hard trowel finish is smooth and belongs indoors or under cover rather than on a slope or beside water. Every quote states the finish and, where it is sealed, whether a grit additive goes into the sealer.
A pressed pattern is stamped concrete, and the same look bonded onto concrete you already own is a concrete overlay or concrete resurfacing. Decorative work most often lands on a concrete patio or a concrete pool deck, and keeping the colour is concrete sealing. The rest of the trade is on the concrete services hub.
The spec goes on the quote before you decide anything.
What decorative concrete in Frisco has to put up with
A decorative slab meets the same soil and the same summer as a plain one. The difference is that every consequence is more visible.
A crack you cannot make disappear
Frisco sits on Blackland Prairie clay, and the dominant Houston Black soil routinely tests at a plasticity index of 40 to 60, where the building code calls a soil expansive at 15. Slabs here are loaded in bending twice a year.
The structure that answers that is identical on a decorative slab and a plain one, but the repair is not: a patch in grey concrete weathers in, and a patch in a coloured or patterned surface never matches. Planned joints are worth more here than anywhere else on the property.
Colour in full North Texas sun
An unshaded slab spends the summer under direct sun, and any appearance that lives on the surface — a stain, a dusted colour, a sealer holding a tint — is wearing while it does.
Integral colour and exposed aggregate put the appearance inside the concrete instead, which is why we recommend them on unshaded drives and open patios even though they are usually the cheaper choice.
Finishing windows in summer heat
Exposed aggregate and stamping both have to happen inside a window while the concrete is still workable, and in July and August that window is short.
Water leaves a slab here faster than it rises through it, so a decorative pour is scheduled early in the day with a retarder where needed. A finish rushed against a closing window is the one that comes out patchy.
Sealed surfaces where people walk wet
Every stained, stamped or coloured slab is sealed, and sealer over a smooth surface is what makes concrete slippery when wet.
A grit additive in the sealer is a small line on the quote and it has to go back in at every reseal. Around a pool or on a shaded path it is not an upgrade, it is the specification.
The site visit tells you which of these you actually have.
You will know when you can use it, and when it gets sealed
All three dates go on your quote in writing. On a decorative slab the sealer goes on after the concrete has cured rather than on the day of the pour, so there are two dates to plan around rather than one.
Cold weather extends every one of them. If that applies to your pour, you hear it before the truck is ordered rather than afterwards.
Curing guidance: NRMCA CIP 11, Curing In-Place Concrete.
Our quote against the typical quote
Same finish, same yard. The difference is whether the slab under the finish was ever written down.
| On the page | DFW Concrete Co. | The typical quote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | One number for the job as scoped | A per-foot range that moves on the day |
| Slab thickness | Stated in inches | Not mentioned |
| Reinforcement | Rebar or mesh, size and spacing | "Reinforced" — the entire line |
| Joint spacing | Planned and written | Cut wherever, if at all |
| Haul-off and clean-up | In the price | Added at the end |
Take our quote to any other contractor and compare it line by line. That is what it is for.
Free. No obligation. Most quotes back the same day.
How much does decorative concrete cost in Frisco, TX?
These are the 2026 market ranges with the specification each number assumes. The finishes between plain and stamped are priced at the site visit against these two ends rather than off a published rate.
| Work | What the number assumes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Poured new | ||
| Plain broom-finished slab | 4in slab, 3,000–3,500 PSI, mesh or #3 rebar, 4in base — the baseline | $7–$12 / sq ft |
| Stamped concrete | pattern, integral colour, release and penetrating sealer | $15–$25 / sq ft |
| On concrete you already own | ||
| Decorative or stamped overlay | profiled slab, polymer-modified overlay, stamped or scored, coloured and sealed | $8–$14 / sq ft |
| Plain resurfacing | profiled and primed, polymer-modified overlay, broom finish | $4–$8 / sq ft |
| Sealing or resealing | cleaned, then sealer applied at the stated coverage rate | $1–$3 / sq ft |
| Demolition and haul-off | existing 4in slab broken out, hauled and disposed of | $3–$6 / sq ft |
Exposed aggregate, integral colour and saw-cut scoring sit between the two poured-new numbers above, and where a job lands between them depends on the aggregate specified, the colour, and how much of the surface is worked. We price that at the site visit rather than publishing a rate we cannot stand behind. What moves any of these numbers: access to the pour, the size of the area, and whether an old slab has to come out first.
Free. No obligation. Most quotes back the same day.
How a decorative pour actually runs
Four steps, and the finish is chosen at the second one — on samples, not from a screen.
The site visit
We measure the area, check the grade and the drainage, assess the soil, and confirm whether a truck can reach the pour.
The written quote
One fixed price, with the thickness, the reinforcement and the joint spacing stated — the same three items the City of Frisco asks for on the survey with a concrete and driveway permit application. Yours to keep and to compare.
Prep and pour
Sub-base excavated and compacted, forms set to the fall, steel tied and chaired, then the pour. The finish is worked into the surface inside its window, and the joints are cut on the drawn layout.
The cure
The slab is left to gain strength on the schedule above, and the sealer — where the finish needs one — goes on after it has cured rather than on the day of the pour.
Walk 24–48h · car 7 days · heavy 28 days
Step one costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Decorative concrete questions people ask before they book
Who are the best decorative concrete contractors near me in Frisco, TX?
How much does decorative concrete cost in Frisco?
What counts as decorative concrete?
Which decorative finish needs the least maintenance?
Can decorative concrete be repaired if it cracks?
Do I need a permit for decorative concrete in Frisco?
Tell us what the job is. We'll price it in writing.
Tell us the rough size and what you want done. Someone comes out, measures, and you get one fixed number in writing — not a range that moves on the day. Nothing is owed if you don't go ahead.
On-site estimate is free · no obligation · most quotes back the same day.
- Free on-site estimate across the North DFW ring
- Fixed price in writing before we start
- Reinforcement and thickness stated on the quote
- Clean-up and haul-off included