Pool deck pavers over existing concrete

What sound concrete means

An overlay fails when the slab under it is already moving. Hollow sounds, wide cracks, a slab that rocks, or a deck that holds water against the house are reasons to take the concrete out. A tight broom-finish deck with a few hairline cracks and the right slope can be a candidate. HomeAdvisor's sentence is 'often,' not 'always.' The installer has to see it. We will not bless a deck from a photo on this page.

Height is the part owners miss. Pavers plus bedding add thickness. If that thickness rises above the door track or a flood vent, you have a leak and, on some beach houses, a code problem. Ponce Inlet's packet wants paved areas sloped to the interior of the lot, away from the water and the neighbor. An overlay that reverses that slope is worse than the old concrete. Measure the clearance before anyone orders a pallet.

Money, with the removal left visible

HomeAdvisor's installed travertine band is $15 to $27 per sq ft. Six hundred square feet is $9,000 to $16,200 on its table. Removal of an existing patio can reach $3,700 and is not included in that table. HomeGuide's around-a-pool band for pavers generally is $12 to $25 per sq ft, about $7,200 to $15,000 for 600 square feet, also before removal. If the overlay avoids demolition, say that in the quote as a line you are not paying, not as a discount buried in a square-foot rate. Last checked November 1, 2026.

Cages, coping, and heat

Screen cages in Port Orange and Ormond Beach mean the material comes through a gate. That labor does not disappear because you skipped the jackhammer. Coping at the waterline is its own line. Dark concrete pavers over a slab get hot. Travertine is the usual cooler surface, which is why the HomeAdvisor page talks about it for pool decks. Read the travertine comparison if heat is the reason you are redoing the deck.

Permits do not vanish because you are covering old concrete

Ponce Inlet says patios and decks need permits. Edgewater has a patio and slab permit. Ormond Beach wants a stormwater application when new impervious area is added, and a drainage plan over 1,000 square feet. An overlay might not add area, or it might if you widen the deck. Ask the city with the square footage in hand. Unincorporated lots use the county. This is not a determination that your job is exempt.

1. Tap the slab. Hollow or rocking concrete comes out.
2. Measure the door, the cage gate, and the coping.
3. Confirm the water still runs away from the house and the pool.
4. Ask the city whether a permit applies even if you are not expanding the footprint.
5. Keep removal as a visible line if you need it, using the $3,700 figure only as HomeAdvisor's ceiling example.
6. Choose a light surface if bare feet are the point.

A measuring list before anyone orders thin pavers

Take four measurements and write them on the form. First, the gap under the slider or the out-swing door, from the existing concrete to the track. Pavers and bedding have to live in that gap, with room for a threshold that does not trap water. Second, the narrowest cage gate, because a 24-inch gate turns a simple overlay into a carrying job. Third, the coping height at the water. An overlay that ends in a tall lip at the pool is a trip and a splash problem. Fourth, the low spot after a hose test. If the water runs to the house, the overlay will too unless the installer is willing to remove concrete and reset the slope. HomeAdvisor's permission to go over sound concrete assumes the concrete is actually sound and the geometry still works. The hose test is how you check the geometry without a debate.

City rules still apply when you are not expanding the footprint. Ponce Inlet wants a permit for a patio or deck even when the concrete is already there. Edgewater has a patio and slab permit. Ormond Beach cares when you add impervious area, which an overlay might not do if you stay inside the old edge. Widening the deck to the cage line can cross that city's 1,000 square foot drainage-plan trigger if the new area is large. Say whether you are covering or enlarging. A contractor who says 'no permit, it's already concrete' may be right in one city and wrong in the next. The permit guide is the index. Your building desk is the answer.

Overlay does not answer the heat question

A sound slab can accept a new surface and still be hot at 3 p.m. The pool deck heat guide separates published prices from temperature claims we will not invent. Read it before you choose a dark unit just because the slab is staying.