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Scoring On A Concrete Patio

by Ethan
(Fort Wayne, IN)

Q. Can you have too much scoring on a concrete patio? Will the patio crack more if you score it too much?

A. The answer to this should be no. You should only be scoring the concrete, not cutting into it unless the patio has no control joints yet. A scored lined doesn't need to be more than an 1/8 inch deep. This is not deep enough to cause a crack.
If this is a new patio that needs control joints, then they should be about 1 inch deep for a 4 inch thick patio. Cutting more control joints will cause the patio to crack more but you won't see the cracks unless the concrete begins to separate. But a properly installed patio should have rebar or reinforcement to prevent that.