A patio on the Grand Strand sits a few inches off the back of the house on the same sand the house is on, and it fails for the same reasons driveways do: the builder's backfill against the foundation settles, the downspouts dump water at its edge, and the slab tips toward the house or sinks at the corner. We cut to grade, compact the subgrade and a base course, pour four inches of air-entrained concrete with fiber reinforcement, slope it a quarter-inch per foot away from the house, isolate it from the foundation with an expansion joint so the two can move separately, and cut control joints so the inevitable shrinkage cracks run in straight lines where nobody sees them. Downspouts get extended past the edge.
The finish is yours to pick: a plain broom finish is the cheapest and the grippiest when it's wet; a broom field with a smooth-troweled border looks a step up for a few hundred dollars; stamped and colored patios in slate, flagstone or wood-plank patterns are another level again. Raised beach houses on Pawleys and the north end often want the patio under the house, which means a slab poured around the pilings and sloped to a drain. Fire pits, outdoor kitchens and hot tubs get a thicker, reinforced section where they sit, planned before the pour rather than after.
What's included
Graded away from the house
Quarter-inch per foot, downspouts extended, no water pooling against the foundation.
Compacted base
Subgrade and base plate-compacted; no slab on the builder's loose backfill.
Isolated and jointed
Expansion joint at the house and the porch, control joints where the slab wants to crack.
Any finish
Broom, smooth border, exposed aggregate, stamped and colored, sealed for beach sun.
Thickened for loads
Six inches with rebar where the hot tub, the outdoor kitchen or the fire pit sits.
HOA drawings
A plan and a plat for the architectural committee where the community requires it.
Concrete patios cost in Myrtle Beach, SC
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Broom-finish patio, 12 × 16 ft (192 sq ft) | $1,500 – $2,600 | 4 in, fiber reinforced, graded |
| Patio with smooth border, 300 sq ft | $2,400 – $4,000 | Two-finish look |
| Large patio, 500 sq ft | $3,500 – $6,000 | Broom; stamped is more |
| Stamped and colored patio, per sq ft | $12 – $20 | Pattern, integral color, release, sealer |
| Under-house slab for a raised home, 600 sq ft | $4,500 – $8,000 | Poured around pilings, sloped to a drain |
| Thickened pad for a hot tub or kitchen | + $400 – $1,200 | 6 in with rebar |
| Remove an old patio | $1.10 – $1.80 / sq ft | Plus landfill |
These are 2026 Grand Strand ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — removal, base, thickness, reinforcement, finish, joints, the permit and its inspections — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about concrete patios
Do I need a permit for a patio?
In unincorporated Horry County a patio slab at grade — like a driveway or sidewalk under thirty inches above grade — is exempt from a building permit. Inside the cities a covered patio, a roof or anything structural needs one, and HOAs almost always want to approve the plan. We check before we quote.
How close to the property line can a patio go?
County zoning setbacks are for structures; an at-grade slab is generally allowed closer, but a covered patio counts as structure and in the SF6 districts that's 7.5 feet from the side line and 15 from the rear. Steps and landings can extend three feet into a setback. We check your district.
Will a patio crack?
Concrete shrinks as it cures and will crack somewhere; control joints decide where. A patio with joints every eight to ten feet and an expansion joint at the house shows hairline cracks only in the joints. A patio without them cracks across the middle.
Can you tie a patio into my pool deck or driveway?
Yes — doweled into the existing slab so they move together, with the joint sealed, and the finish matched as closely as weathered concrete allows.