Concrete patios and lanai slabs for Sarasota County homes
Broom, exposed-aggregate and colored slabs sized for the cage you have or the one you're planning, sloped to a drain instead of to the sliders.
- Typical size
- 12×20 to 20×30 ft
- Spec
- 4 in., 4,000 PSI, fiber; thickened sections for kitchens and spas
- Time on site
- 2 to 5 working days
- Planning range
- $8 to $13 per sq ft broom; $11 to $17 exposed aggregate or colored
What does a concrete patio or lanai slab cost in Sarasota?
Published Sarasota-area pricing on September 10, 2026 puts a broom-finished patio slab at roughly $8 to $13 per square foot installed, exposed aggregate or integrally colored slabs at $11 to $17, and a 12-by-20-foot lanai extension at about $2,000 to $4,000 before any cage work. Adding a screen cage, a roof or an outdoor kitchen base is priced separately.
Published Sarasota-area pricing read on September 10, 2026 (see data and methods). Planning ranges, not quotes.
How long does a patio slab take?
Two to five working days: base and forms the first day or two, a morning pour, joints cut the same afternoon, then cure. Furniture goes back after 3 days, a screen cage after 7. Rain in the first two hours after the pour is the one weather risk, which is why summer pours start at 7 a.m.
Scope options
- New backyard patios, from a 10-by-12 pad to a 600-square-foot entertaining slab.
- Lanai floor extensions beyond the existing cage, with a new cage base line.
- Screened-room and under-roof slabs that carry a future cage or roof, with the anchor line reinforced.
- Finishes: broom, smooth trowel (shaded areas only), exposed aggregate, integral color, or a light-reflective topcoat.
- Thickened pads for hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, grill islands and generator-adjacent equipment.
Price factors
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Finish | Broom lowest; exposed aggregate and color add $3 to $5 per sq ft |
| Access | Wheelbarrow-only backyards add labor; pump truck adds $600 to $1,200 |
| Drains | Lanai floor drain $300 to $700 |
| Thickened sections | $150 to $400 each |
| Tying to existing slab | Dowels and matched finish, $200 to $600 |
The spec for a Sarasota patio slab
Four inches of fiber-reinforced 4,000 PSI concrete on 4 inches of compacted crushed base, control joints at 8 to 10 feet, an isolation joint at the house slab, and a slope of 1/8 inch per foot away from the sliders or toward a floor drain. Where the slab will carry a cage, the perimeter gets #3 bar so the anchors hold in wind. On lots east of I-75 where the wet-season water table is under 10 inches, the base goes to 6 inches and the subgrade is proof-rolled first.
Finish choice is a heat and slip decision as much as a look. Broom is the safest wet-slip finish and the cheapest; exposed aggregate with light stone stays visually cool and hides stains; smooth trowel belongs under a roof, never around water; integral color in light tones keeps the surface temperature down compared with charcoal.
Permits and HOAs
An uncovered at-grade patio in unincorporated Sarasota County is often below the permit threshold, but a slab that carries a cage, a roof or an outdoor kitchen isn't. Charlotte County permits every slab. Communities from Palmer Ranch to Wellen Park treat a patio extension as an exterior modification that needs ARC approval before anyone digs. See permits and HOA guides.
What goes wrong
- Lanai floors pitched toward the house.
- Joints cut a day late across a 20-foot panel.
- A grill island set on a 4-inch slab that wasn't thickened.
- Smooth trowel around a pool or spa.
- A cage anchored into a slab edge with no steel.
Maintenance
Reseal colored and exposed-aggregate slabs every 2 to 3 years; broom slabs need only a penetrating sealer on coastal lots. Keep the house-slab joint sealed and keep irrigation heads off the surface.
Comparisons
Patios from the provider's crews
Provider photos; Suncoast jobs added as documented.
Three lanai jobs and what each one needed
- A Talon Preserve extension beyond the builder cage. New slab poured beside the old on its own base, dowelled, pitched to a new floor drain, finish matched across both with a thin overlay so the joint reads as a line.
- A 1978 Meadows lanai pitched at the sliders. Sound slab, wrong slope. It came out anyway, because you can't tilt a slab, and went back with a drain at the cage edge.
- A downtown courtyard behind a Rosemary District townhouse. Fourteen by sixteen feet, wheelbarrow access only through the house, poured from a buggy in the alley at 7 a.m.
Day by day
- Day 1: layout, excavation or slab prep, base compacted, forms set.
- Day 2, morning: pour, finish, joints cut.
- Days 3 to 4: cure, furniture back after day 3.
- Day 7: cage or roof anchors, if any.
Questions we get about this
Does exposed aggregate stay cooler than a broom finish?
Slightly, when the aggregate is light and the matrix is light; the texture also feels cooler underfoot because less skin touches the surface. It isn't a substitute for a light color. The temperature study will measure it against broom concrete.
Can a lanai extension be poured over the old screened floor?
If the old slab is sound and the new floor can stay below the door threshold, an overlay works; otherwise the extension is poured beside it with a dowelled joint, and the finish is matched with an overlay across both.
How thick is a patio slab?
Four inches, on 4 inches of compacted base. A hot tub, an outdoor kitchen or a heavy grill island gets a thickened section or a separate pad sized for the load.
Do I need a permit for a patio?
Often not for an uncovered at-grade slab in unincorporated Sarasota County, yes in Charlotte County, and yes anywhere the slab supports a roof, a cage or a structure. The permit hub has the offices.
What slope does a lanai floor need?
1/8 inch per foot away from the house is the minimum; under a screen cage a floor drain lets the floor stay flatter. A lanai that drains toward the sliders is a lanai that floods the living room in a September storm.
City pages for this service: Nokomis & Laurel.
Send the dimensions and whether a cage or roof is planned.
How this work fails here, and what a warranty should cover
A contractor who can name the ways their own work fails is usually the one whose work does not. This is that list for this service in Sarasota County.
| Failure | Cause | What prevents it | Workmanship warranty? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A lanai that drains toward the sliders | Slope set by eye, or matched to an already-wrong existing slab | Levelled slope away from the house or to a floor drain at the cage line | Yes |
| A grill island cracking its slab | An outdoor kitchen set on 4 inches with no thickened section | Thickened footing under any concentrated load, poured monolithically | Yes |
| A cage anchor pulling out at the edge | Anchors set in a slab edge with no steel | #3 bar around the perimeter where cage columns land | Yes |
If an estimate for this work does not mention the third column at all, the gap between it and a higher quote is probably that column. The general terms are on the warranty page.
Last reviewed September 10, 2026 by the Sarasota Concrete editorial team (author name pending owner input).