How Much Does a Patio Cost in Winnipeg?

When I'm in the market for something, I often just want to get a feel for pricing. I don't want to hear "oh well we can't give you an idea of price because every project is different". Of course that's true with landscaping – every project really is different and it is hard to give ballparks. Never-the-less, this article is meant to give you a rough idea of costs.

In the most general terms a patio could cost anywhere from $6.00 to $60.00 per square foot. That's an extremely wide range! Let's zoom in a bit more and break those numbers down a bit.

The major factors that will determine the actual cost are:

your choice of finish material
size and complexity of design
location of the patio>.

Materials

There is an ever-increasing range of materials that can be used for your patio. Manufactured concrete pavers or slabs are the most popular because of the range of colors and styles and the ease of installation. Concrete products, if purchased from local manufacturers are engineered to withstand our harsh climate and will last for many years with minimal maintenance.

Patio finish materials can be put into the following categories:

gravel or crushed stone: $10.00 to $25.00 per square foot
concrete pavers or slabs: $20.00 to $60.00 per square foot
natural stone: $25.00 to $90.00 per square foot

Those prices include professional installation and all materials underneath the surface.

Let's dig into why there's a range within each of the materials.

Size

Small patios are generally more costly per square foot than larger patios. A tiny 8' by 8' bistro patio cannot be built as efficiently as a more generously sized 18' by 25' patio. Larger patios allow the use of larger equipment for excavation and moving materials, whereas a smaller patio may have to be built using mostly hand tools.

Complexity

Simple rectangular shapes tend to be the simplest to build, so they'd put you closer to the lower end of the price range for the materials you want. More complex shapes will add about $4.00 to $6.00 per square foot, but it can be easily worth it if it produces a more interesting, beautiful and functional space.

Location

The location of your future patio has a significant impact on the cost because it determines the type of equipment we can use in its construction. Easy machine access improves our efficiency. If the patio you are planning is located in your fenced in back yard with no access for heavy equipment, it might cost $6.00 to $8.00 per square foot more than the identical patio built in a more accessible location. We have become quite adept at getting a small loader into some unlikely places, but if that is not possible, our crew will put in some long days doing the excavation with shovels and wheelbarrows.

Here are the dimensions of our smallest loader:

60" wide
128" nose to tail
77" high

If we can get this machine in, your landscaping costs are going to be a lot lower.

Some Examples

I'll give a few examples of some projects to give you an idea. Since we do 90% of our work using concrete pavers, I will assume a mid-range paver like the reliable and beautiful Roman paver made by Barkman Concrete:

Roman paver brick steps with landscaped plant bed

Bistro patio – 8' by 8'

An 8' by 8' Bistro patio located in a small back yard without access for any large machinery.

After excavating to an 8 inch depth we would place and compact a 6 inch deep base of crushed stone. After final grading to ensure drainage away from any buildings, the Roman pavers are set in place and locked together using polymeric sand.

Because of the amount of hand work required, this quaint little patio comes in near the top of the range at $60 per square foot for a total cost of about $3800 before taxes.

A project such as this would only take our crew about a day to complete.

Mid-sized patio – 250 square feet

A mid-sized patio in a larger back yard.

It is large enough to accommodate a patio table with 6 chairs. This design includes some interesting curves which blend with the shapes of the adjacent garden beds. We are able to get a small loader into the back yard to do the digging, but all materials have to be carried along the side of the house. This reduces efficiency and also requires some repairs to the side yard when the patio is complete.

Cost: $36 per square foot = $9000.

This would be a two-day project.

Grand patio – 800 square feet

This includes a large central patio area that provides an eating area along with room for a barbeque and some additional chairs or loungers. A short walkway leads to a secondary patio that is a perfect spot for a fire pit or a gazebo to shelter you from the sun. Once again we have lots of curves which increases the complexity of the job, but since this is new construction on a corner lot we have easy access for machinery and materials, and we don't have to worry about repairs to an existing lawn.

Cost: $24 per square foot = $19,000

A patio this size would be four days, start to finish.

These are rough guidelines, but I hope they'll give you an idea of what to expect.