Concrete Patios & Stairs in Kingston, WA

Patios & stairs in Kingston: what to know

The building brochure gives patios a typical no-permit size, which is under 2,000 square feet. Inside a shoreline or critical-area buffer the rule changes: a permit is needed whatever the size, even for a slab under eighteen inches high. Footprint and buffer status are therefore settled before pricing, because either one can change the answer.

Earth movement around the slab falls under the grading brochure revised July 23, 2025. Once the earth moved reaches 150 cubic yards, a permit is required unless a building permit already covers the work. The brochure also lists exempt activities, and those hold only where the disturbed area stays below one acre. Each patio’s cut and fill is totaled no matter which exemption a crew believes applies.

Permits and rules in Kingston

Before pricing, we verify the footprint in square feet, settle whether a buffer applies, and total the cut and fill. A patio reaching 2,000 square feet is no longer in the typical no-permit size band, so that case goes to county staff, and their written answer governs. Replies still awaited stay pending on the estimate and are never treated as settled.

Rules change and vary by parcel, so we confirm the current requirements with the city before we start.

How we approach it

Log the footprint in square feet ahead of the quote
Look at buffer status before any formwork begins
Add up cut and fill against the 150-cubic-yard figure
Carry each unanswered county item as pending on the bid

For the full process, see our Concrete Patios & Stairs page.

Building in the cold months? See our guide to winter concrete pours.

Our patios & stairs work, serving Kingston

Examples of our work. We build patios & stairs in Kingston and the cities around it. See all of our work

Questions from Kingston homeowners

Does a Kingston patio smaller than 2,000 square feet need a county permit?

Typically not. A patio under 2,000 square feet usually needs no permit under the building brochure. A shoreline or critical-area buffer changes that answer, because a permit applies there at any size, including low slabs. We check the footprint and where the buffer lies, and we ask county staff to confirm the outcome in writing.

What volume of cut and fill sets off a county grading permit at a Kingston patio?

The line is 150 cubic yards of earth moved, and it applies only where a building permit does not already cover the work. Listed activities, including excavation for utilities and landscape installation, are exempt when the disturbed area is under one acre. Cut and fill across the slab, along with regrading next to it, are added together and reported as one figure.

Could a Kingston patio beside the water need a buffer review?

Yes. Inside a shoreline or critical-area buffer, a permit is needed regardless of size, including slabs set low to the ground. We measure the slab’s distance to the buffer edge and ask county staff to confirm where that edge sits before a quote is finalized.