Comfortable, slip-resistant patios made for Arizona living.

Outdoor concrete leads a hard life in the desert. It bakes in the sun all summer, absorbs sprinkler water and its minerals, collects leaf and pollen stains, and soaks up any grease that escapes the grill. Over time a patio can look blotchy, faded and cracked — even if it’s structurally sound.

A patio coating gives the concrete a fresh, even finish in a color that complements your home. More importantly, it seals the surface so future spills and stains stay on top, where they can be rinsed away. With the right texture, a coated patio is also safer to walk on when it’s wet from the pool, the hose or a summer storm.

We coat covered patios, open patios, pool decks, front porches and entries, walkways, carports and outdoor kitchens. Covered patios are the most common starting point, since they’re protected from the harshest sun and offer the widest range of color choices.

Most failed patio coatings we’re asked to fix share a handful of causes. An interior epoxy was used outdoors and turned yellow and chalky. The surface had no texture and became slick when wet. The coating was applied over an old sealer it couldn’t bond to. Or it was rolled straight across expansion joints and cracked along them within a season.

We avoid each of these by choosing outdoor-rated, UV-stable materials, grinding away old sealers, building texture into the finish and detailing every joint properly. None of these steps is expensive at installation time, but together they make the difference between a coating that lasts and one that peels.

Around a pool, the surface needs to grip wet feet without being rough on skin. We blend a fine grit into a pale top layer and try a sample patch with bare feet before finishing the entire deck. The coating also needs to tolerate chlorine or salt water, which our outdoor systems are designed to handle.

Salt-water pools in particular benefit from a sealed deck. Salt can crystallize inside bare concrete and gradually wear the surface. A coating keeps salt on top, where a quick rinse removes it. We also detail the edges carefully where the deck meets the pool coping and drains.

For much of the year, the patio is the most-used room in many Sun City homes. Mornings and evenings from fall through spring are perfect for sitting outside, and a fresh, comfortable surface makes the space far more inviting.

Summer monsoons bring sudden downpours and dust. Textured, sealed surfaces drain and rinse clean easily. Front entries and walkways are worth considering too — a coating with good texture provides secure footing at the front door, and it gives the home’s entrance a crisp, cared-for look.

Because many homes here are single-level, the step from the house to the patio is often small or even flush. We’ll take care to keep thresholds smooth and avoid creating any new lips or edges at doorways.

Upkeep amounts to clearing leaves with a blower or broom and giving the slab a quick hose-down now and then. For grill grease, use a mild degreaser and a soft deck brush. If you use a pressure washer, keep the nozzle at a wide fan setting and a comfortable distance from the surface.

Put rubber or plastic glides on metal furniture legs, and set potted plants on feet or saucers so water doesn’t pool beneath them. With that minimal attention, a coated patio will look good for many years.

Outdoor coatings are best applied when temperatures are moderate and the forecast is dry. Fall, winter and spring are ideal in Sun City, and that happens to be when most people want to use their patios. In summer, we schedule work for early mornings and keep a close eye on monsoon forecasts, rescheduling if a storm threatens before the coating has cured.

If you’re planning a gathering or a holiday visit, let us know when we schedule. We’ll build in enough cure time so the patio is ready before your guests arrive.

The path to your front door sets the tone for the whole home. A stained, cracked walkway or a faded entry slab can make an otherwise well-kept property look tired. A coating gives these areas a crisp, uniform finish that matches or complements the patio, and the texture provides secure footing in all conditions.

Entries also make good small projects if you want to see how a coating looks before committing to a larger patio. Many customers start with the front entry and return later for the patio or garage once they’ve lived with the finish.