Concrete Patios in Country Hills, Plant City

How big a patio fits behind a 1,567 sq ft house

Country Hills homes are modest. The 2026 tax roll puts the median living area at about 1,567 sq ft on a lot of roughly 6,000 sq ft. That makes the back yard the place to find extra living room, and a backyard patio is the simplest way to claim it. Start with what will sit on the slab. Measure the table and chairs you own, add room to pull chairs out, and keep a clear path from the slider so nobody walks through dinner to reach the grill.

A 14 by 20 foot patio slab is 280 sq ft, roughly $2,240 to $3,920 at our per-foot range. A broom finish keeps it at the low end. Stamped work gets priced on its own. The concrete patio service page walks through the build start to finish, and our Country Hills neighborhood page has the plat history, Royal Hills Park and the other jobs we price here.

Ponding on A/D ground and where the runoff should go

Close to half the Country Hills acreage, about 45 percent, is low depressional ground of the Basinger, Holopaw and Samsula soils. The USDA survey gives it hydrologic group A/D, a 90 percent ponding frequency and groundwater at ground level. Spartman Branch, the stream USGS maps across the platted area, runs through that low ground. Is your yard on that unit? Then a patio is a drainage job before it's a concrete job.

Think of a slab as a roof laid flat on the ground. Every inch of rain that lands on it has to go somewhere, and the right answer is away from your foundation. We can pitch the patio so water sheets off the outer edge and keep downspouts from emptying onto it. We also set the finished height so the lawn still drains past it. What you don't want is that water landing on the lot behind you. Bringing in fill or sending runoff a new way can need a nod from the City of Plant City's stormwater staff, and we'll flag that on the quote when your plan calls for it.

Not every yard is that wet. Fort Meade loamy fine sand, about 12 percent of the area, is rated not limited, and Candler fine sand is rated excessively drained. Two houses in the same subdivision can sit on very different ground. A test dig at the visit can show what your own lot holds. Our guide to building on sandy soil covers base prep in more detail.

Concrete Pricing

Below are our ranges for patio work in Country Hills. Once we've seen the yard, you get a free written estimate.

Ranges, not a quote. Fill on a low yard, a vapor sheet and permit fees all move the total. After a look at the yard you get the free written estimate, and the written quote lands within 48 hours.

Plastic under the slab only if the room may get air conditioning

Could your patio ever turn into a screened or enclosed room? Say so before forms go in, because one code rule hangs on that answer. Section R506.2.3 of Florida's residential code skips the 6-mil polyethylene sheet under patios and other flatwork that aren't likely to be enclosed and heated later. If the room could someday be air-conditioned or heated as living space, the sheet goes under it from day one, with seams lapped at least 6 inches. There's no sliding it in after the pour.

The plastic changes pour day as well. NRMCA warns that concrete placed right on a vapor retarder needs extra care in finishing and curing to avoid cracks in hot weather, so those pours suit the cooler hours. A screen-only porch that stays open to the air doesn't trigger the sheet. Will a screen company mount a frame on the slab edge later? Get their requirements before we pour, so the edge is ready for them.

Termites are a separate question. The R318 termite rules in the code are written for new buildings, not a stand-alone patio. If the slab will butt against your back wall, ask your pest control company before the pour date whether the patio affects your current treatment or service plan.

What to Expect, Start to Finish

1. Send the address and a sketch

   Whether you're on Lindsay Anne Court, Bloom Drive or Eastwind Drive, your address lets us check the parcel on the flood map. A rough sketch of the patio helps too.

2. Free visit in the back yard

   We mark the outline and can dig a test spot. Then we note where downspouts and water go and check how a truck reaches the back.

3. Written quote in 48 hours

   Size, finish, base work and any vapor sheet each get their own line, and the permit steps are spelled out.

4. Pour and clean-up

   We time the forms, pour, finish and curing around the afternoon storms, then leave the yard clean.

Zone AE, the floodway and the $7,500 permit question

FEMA panel 12057C0268H puts about 32 percent of the platted Country Hills ground in Zone AE and another 10 percent in the regulatory floodway, with about 58 percent in Zone X. Those shares include ponds and common tracts, so look up your own parcel on FEMA's map before you plan around them.

Why does it matter for a patio? Under HB 803, a state law that took effect July 1, 2026, a single-family job under $7,500 that isn't structural can go without a permit. It still needs written approval, though, and it never applies on a parcel that touches a flood hazard area. Our typical patio range is $2,500 to $6,500. That means the flood map decides whether the exemption is even worth asking about. Hillsborough County's exempt-work page spells out the same flood exclusion.

Each Country Hills plat, out to State Road 574 on one side and North Turkey Creek Road and North Forbes Road on others, lies within city limits, so your permit comes from the City of Plant City Building Department. The city's FAQ requires permits for structures and names driveways and walkways outright. Call the department to confirm what your patio slab needs. Contracts over $2,500 also need a Notice of Commencement on file with the County Clerk before day one, per Florida Statutes 713.13. You'll see those steps listed on the written quote.

Hot concrete underfoot from June to September

The National Weather Service describes the Tampa Bay summer as dew points above 70, highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s and frequent showers and thunderstorms from late May into early October. A bare slab in full sun gets hot on bare feet. The fixes are simple. Put the patio where the house shades it in the afternoon, or plan for a roof or screen cover. Leave room for an umbrella base or a shade post.

Heat shapes pour day too. NRMCA explains that plastic shrinkage cracks form when surface water evaporates faster than bleed water rises, and wind over 5 mph, low humidity and high temperatures speed that up. To fight it, use sunshades or windbreaks plus a fog spray or evaporation retarder. Then start curing right after finishing and keep it going at least 3 days.

Want a pool deck next to the patio? We can price it on the same visit. Close by, we also pour patios in Walden Woods, Magnolia Green and Walden Lake, and our Country Hills driveway page covers the front of the lot.