---
title: "How to Build a Patio: Pavers or Concrete, Step by Step"
description: "How to build a paver or concrete patio step by step: size and setbacks, impervious limits, excavation, base, drainage and inspections, with the city rules to check first."
url: https://yespermit.com/how-to-build-a-patio/
updated: 2026-10-13
language: en-US
---

# How to build a patio

To build a patio, choose the size within your setbacks and impervious surface limit, have utilities located, excavate, compact a gravel base, set edges, then lay pavers or pour concrete with a slope that never sends water onto a neighbor's lot. La Grange Park, Illinois, for example, asks for at least four inches of compacted gravel under concrete.

*Updated October 13, 2026. Every regulatory fact below links to its official source.*

## Key facts

- The setback. Stafford Township, New Jersey, requires internal walkways and patios to be at least three feet from any property line.[^2]
- Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the other hand, lets open and unroofed patios sit anywhere on the lot, including in setback areas.[^6]
- Say your lot is 8,000 square feet and your city caps impervious surfaces at 40 percent, the Lake Stevens limit for lots developed before April 2020.[^3]
- In La Grange Park, adding 250 square feet or more of impervious surface would also call for engineer-sealed storm water plans.[^1]
- Wilton Manors, Florida, asks for a sealed survey prepared within the last two years.[^5]

**We handle the permit. You build.** All-in, until approved: $399 (Fall 2026 launch price, valid through November 30, 2026; regular price $499), approved or your money back ([conditions](https://yespermit.com/guarantee/)): [order](https://yespermit.com/all-in/). Prefer to file it yourself? [Permit Kit](https://yespermit.com/permit-kit/), $349.

## Pavers or concrete?

Both make a durable patio. The practical differences:

| | Pavers | Poured concrete |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Base in La Grange Park, Illinois | 4 to 6 inches of compacted base[^1] | At least 4 inches of clean compacted gravel[^1] |
| Inspection in La Grange Park | Base inspection, then final[^1] | Pre-pour inspection, then final[^1] |
| Impervious surface | Counts in full, unless built as permeable pavers: Lake Stevens credits those at 50 percent[^3] | Counts in full |
| Repairs | Individual units can be lifted and reset | Cracks need patching or replacement |
| DIY friendliness | Slow but forgiving | Fast, but the pour leaves no second chance |

## Plan the size before you dig

The size of a patio is decided by three numbers, not by the catalog.

**The setback.** Stafford Township, New Jersey, requires internal walkways and patios to be at least three feet from any property line[^2]. Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the other hand, lets open and unroofed patios sit anywhere on the lot, including in setback areas[^6]. Find your own rule before you stake the outline.

**The impervious surface budget.** Many cities cap the share of the lot covered by hard surfaces. Lake Stevens, Washington, shows how to do the math: add the area of the house and other structures to the area of driveways, walkways, porches, patios and parking areas, then divide by the lot size[^3]. Its own example lot of 23,958 square feet carries 10,600 square feet of impervious surfaces, or about 44 percent[^3]. If your lot is near the limit, a permeable paver patio may be the only one that fits[^3].

**The drainage.** La Grange Park forbids pitching a patio, driveway or walk so that it forces runoff onto neighboring properties[^1]. Plan the fall of the surface toward your own yard or a drain.

## A worked example: will the patio fit?

Say your lot is 8,000 square feet and your city caps impervious surfaces at 40 percent, the Lake Stevens limit for lots developed before April 2020[^3]. That is 3,200 square feet for everything hard: roof, driveway, walks and patio. If the house, garage and driveway already cover 2,950 square feet, you have 250 square feet left. A 16 by 16 foot concrete patio, at 256 square feet, does not fit. Built with permeable pavers, which Lake Stevens counts at 50 percent[^3], the same patio counts as 128 square feet and does. In La Grange Park, adding 250 square feet or more of impervious surface would also call for engineer-sealed storm water plans[^1].

## Materials and tools

- Clean crushed gravel for the base, plus bedding sand for pavers.
- Pavers, or ready-mix concrete with forms and reinforcement as your plans specify.
- Edge restraints for pavers.
- A plate compactor (rentable), string lines and stakes, a long level, a screed board, a shovel and a wheelbarrow.
- For concrete: floats, an edger and a groover for control joints.

## Step by step

### Check the permit and the survey

Find out which permits apply: some cities require a building permit, others a zoning permit, others nothing for an uncovered slab. Stafford Township asks for two copies of the survey showing the patio, its distance to the property lines and the total existing and proposed impervious area[^2]. Wilton Manors, Florida, asks for a sealed survey prepared within the last two years[^5].

### Locate buried utilities

Have the underground lines marked before digging. Wilton Manors puts it on the contractor: the contractor is responsible for having underground utilities located and is liable for any damage to utility lines, sidewalks and roadways[^5].

### Stake the outline and set the grades

Stake the corners, run string lines at the finished height and give them the planned slope. Measure your setbacks once more from the property line, not from the fence.

### Excavate

Dig out the soil to the depth of the base, the bedding and the pavers or slab. Remove roots and soft spots so the base sits on firm ground.

### Build and compact the base

Spread the gravel in layers and compact each one. La Grange Park requires at least four inches of clean compacted gravel under concrete and a four- to six-inch compacted base under pavers[^1]. In that village, the base is inspected before the pavers go down[^1].

### Lay the pavers or pour the slab

For pavers: set the edge restraints, screed the bedding sand, lay the units in your pattern, cut the edges, compact and sweep joint sand in. For concrete: set the forms, call the pre-pour inspection where your city requires one[^1], then pour, screed, float, edge and cut the control joints.

### Think about a roof now

If a patio cover may come later, decide now. In Colton, California, a patio slab without an overhead structure needs no building permit, but footings poured in the slab for a future cover require a foundation-only permit[^4]. Pouring them now under that permit avoids cutting the new slab later.

### Final inspection and records

Where the patio is permitted, finish with the final inspection[^1]. Keep the survey with the impervious calculation: your next project on the lot will need the same numbers.

## Mistakes to avoid

- **Draining onto the neighbor.** It is prohibited outright in La Grange Park[^1].
- **Forgetting the impervious limit.** In La Grange Park, adding 250 square feet or more of impervious surface also requires storm water plans signed and sealed by a licensed Illinois engineer[^1].
- **Building into the setback** where your town does not exempt patios[^2].
- **Skipping the base inspection** before the pavers hide it[^1].

## Do you need a permit to build a patio?

Sometimes. Colton exempts a patio slab without an overhead structure from the building permit[^4], while La Grange Park requires a permit for all new and replacement concrete, asphalt or brick paver projects[^1] and Stafford Township requires a zoning permit for impervious surfaces such as a concrete patio[^2]. The patio permit page compares the rules and the fees.

## How we can help

The All-in offer finds your city's real patio rule, with the links, draws the survey-based site plan with your setbacks and impervious area worked out, and prepares the forms and the fee, then follows up with the city until the permit is approved. If a roof is part of the plan, the same file covers the patio cover.

## Common questions

### How thick should the gravel base be under a patio?

Follow your city. La Grange Park, Illinois, requires concrete to sit on at least four inches of clean compacted gravel, and asks for a four- to six-inch compacted base under driveway, patio and walkway pavers.

### Are pavers or concrete better for permits?

Neither is exempt by nature, but permeable pavers can help with impervious limits. Lake Stevens, Washington, counts permeable pavers at 50 percent toward the impervious surface allowance, while a concrete slab counts in full.

### How close to the property line can a patio be?

It varies. Stafford Township, New Jersey, requires internal walkways and patios to be at least three feet from any property line, while Ann Arbor, Michigan, lets open, unroofed patios sit anywhere on the lot, including inside setback areas.

### Should I add footings now for a future patio cover?

Only with the right permit. In Colton, California, pouring footings within a patio slab for a future patio cover requires a foundation-only permit, even though the slab alone does not need a building permit.

## Get it done

**We handle the permit. You build.** All-in, until approved: $399 (Fall 2026 launch price, valid through November 30, 2026; regular price $499), approved or your money back ([conditions](https://yespermit.com/guarantee/)): [order](https://yespermit.com/all-in/). Prefer to file it yourself? [Permit Kit](https://yespermit.com/permit-kit/), $349.

## Sources

[^1]: [Village of La Grange Park, Illinois, Driveway, Patio and Walkway Permit application packet (2025)](https://lagrangepark.org/DocumentCenter/View/3076/Driveway-Patio--Walkway-Application-Packet-2025), checked October 13, 2026.
[^2]: [Stafford Township, New Jersey, Zoning Permit Instructions for Impervious Surfaces](https://www.staffordnj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/96/Impervious-Surfaces-PDF), checked October 13, 2026.
[^3]: [City of Lake Stevens, Washington, Permeable Hard Surface Fact Sheet](https://www.lakestevenswa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10474/Permeable-Hard-Surface-Fact-Sheet), checked October 13, 2026.
[^4]: [City of Colton, California, Information and Submittal Requirements for Residential Patio Covers (rev. 07-20-16)](https://coltonca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/258), checked October 13, 2026.
[^5]: [City of Wilton Manors, Florida, Community Development Services, Driveway, Walkway, Patio, Deck, Pool Deck checklist (rev. 5/17/2023)](https://www.wiltonmanors.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3869/Driveway-Walkway-Patio-Deck-Pool-Deck-51723), checked October 13, 2026.
[^6]: [City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ordinance ORD-19-17, amending Section 5.18.1 of the Unified Development Code (2019)](https://a2gov.org/media/z5ajmjyt/ord-19-17-approval-notice.pdf), checked October 13, 2026.

---

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