Paver patios and lanai floors for Sarasota County
New patios, lanai floors and extensions, including overlays on slabs that pass five tests and tear-outs on slabs that don't.
- Typical size
- 200 to 600 sq ft
- Spec
- 4 in. base, 1 in. bedding, 2-3/8 in. pavers or 1-1/4 in. stone
- Time on site
- 3 to 5 working days
- Planning range
- $13 to $16 concrete pavers; $20 to $26 stone
What does a paver patio or lanai floor cost in Sarasota?
Published Sarasota-area pricing on September 10, 2026 puts installed concrete pavers at roughly $13 to $16 per square foot and travertine at $20 to $26, so a 400-square-foot patio runs about $5,500 in concrete pavers and up to $10,500 in stone as a planning range. An overlay on a sound lanai slab is at the low end because there's no excavation.
Published Sarasota-area pricing read on September 10, 2026 (see data and methods). Planning ranges, not quotes.
How long does a paver patio take?
Three to five working days for a typical patio: excavation or slab prep, base in lifts, bedding, laying and cutting, compaction and polymeric sand, plus a dry day. A lanai overlay on a sound slab can be done in two days.
Scope
- New backyard patios with a soldier-course border and a seat wall if wanted.
- Lanai floors under an existing cage, sand-set or thin-set over the slab.
- Lanai extensions beyond the cage with a new base and a matching pattern.
- Side-yard and courtyard patios on small keys lots.
- Fire pit and outdoor kitchen surrounds (see walls and outdoor living).
The overlay tests
| Test | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Sound with a hammer | Solid ring | Hollow |
| Cracks | Hairline, no offset | Offset or wide |
| Slope | Away from the house | Toward the house or ponding |
| Threshold | Pavers plus bedding stay 1 in. below the door | Floor would rise to the door |
| Drainage | Water leaves the lanai | Cage traps water with no drain |
Spec
New patios: compacted subgrade, 4 inches of crushed base in two lifts, 1 inch of screeded concrete sand, pavers, edge restraint on the base, polymeric sand. Overlays: pressure-washed slab, thin-set mortar or a 1-inch sand bed with a perimeter curb, and a drain at the low side of the cage. Light colors for heat; textured faces for wet grip near a pool.
Permits and HOAs
An at-grade patio that doesn't change the lot's impervious cover is often below the permit threshold in unincorporated Sarasota County and permitted in Charlotte County; extensions that push the lot over the 50 percent impervious limit are a zoning question. Associations from The Meadows to Wellen Park need an ARC application for any extension. See permits and HOA guides.
What goes wrong
- Overlay over a hollow slab.
- Floor raised to the door threshold.
- Bedding sand used to level a low base.
- No drain under a cage that traps water.
- Dark pavers on a sunny lanai.
Comparisons
Paver patios from the provider's crews
Provider photos; Suncoast jobs added as documented.
Three patio jobs and what each one needed
- A Meadows villa lanai, sound but ponding. Linear drain first, then travertine sand-set with a perimeter curb and a bullnose step at the slider.
- A South Venice side yard beside the septic tank. Ten by fourteen feet of pavers on 4 inches of base, drawn around the drain field from the county's septic record.
- A Rosemary District courtyard with a tight threshold. Porcelain thin-set over the existing slab to keep the floor an inch below the door.
Day by day
- Day 1: excavation or slab prep; drain cut in if needed.
- Day 2: base in lifts, bedding, laying begins.
- Day 3: laying and cuts finished, compaction, polymeric sand.
- Day 4: dry day, furniture back.
- Day 30: sealing.
Questions we get about this
When can pavers go over an existing lanai slab, and when must the slab come out?
Over: the slab rings solid, drains away from the house, has no offset cracks, and the pavers plus bedding keep the floor below the door threshold. Out: hollow spots, offset cracks, a pitch toward the sliders, or a threshold too tight. The tests take twenty minutes on site.
How big should a paver patio be?
A dining set needs about 12 by 14 feet; a lounge area another 10 by 12. Sarasota patios that get used are the ones with shade, so plan the paver area around where the shade falls at 4 p.m.
Sand-set or mortar-set on a lanai?
Sand-set over a compacted base for new patios; thin-set over a sound slab for overlays where height is tight. A mortar bed on sand is the combination that fails.
How long does a paver patio take?
Three to five working days for 300 to 500 square feet, plus a dry day for the polymeric sand.
What does a paver patio cost?
Roughly $13 to $16 per square foot in concrete pavers as a planning range, $20 to $26 in travertine, so a 400-square-foot patio lands near $5,500 to $10,500.
City pages for this service: Fruitville & Bee Ridge, South Venice & Venice Gardens.
Send a photo of the slab or the yard and the height of the door threshold.
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? |
|---|---|---|---|
| An overlay that moves underfoot | Pavers over a slab that sounded hollow | Five tests before quoting an overlay | Yes |
| Water trapped under a cage | No drain where the screen enclosure holds rain | Linear drain at the low side, discharged away from the house | Yes |
| A patio that stains under an oak | Tannin from leaf litter left on light pavers | Sealer and a cleaning interval on the care sheet | No |
Read the right-hand column as a specification rather than as a disclaimer. Everything in it is something a scope of work can commit to in one sentence. The general terms are on the warranty page.
Last reviewed September 10, 2026 by the Sarasota Concrete editorial team (author name pending owner input).