Porch Steps Replacement

**Crumbled_pavement** · April-14-10, 04:40 PM

Crumbled_pavement is now literally crumbling. I have two steps to my front porch that are crumbling pretty badly. I need to have them replaced but I have no idea what the price range would be or who would be a good company to contact for an estimate. It is times like these that I come to the wonderful DetroitYes family for advice. Can someone recommend a good company for concrete step replacement?

I attached a picture of the steps so you can see what I'm working with.

Thanks!

P.S.: Thanks Kraig for the recommendation on the water heater. I went to Atlas plumbing and picked up one. They were prompt, courteous, and the water heater works great!

**DetroitPlanner** · April-14-10, 06:18 PM

The good news is that they appear to be standard and not custom. This means you should be able to get these from some concrete supplier. The biggest issue you have is that these suckers are heavy and most folks won't have a vehicle big enough to transfer them to your home. Check the yellow pages for concrete blocks or concrete suppliers if you have a vehicle that you can load a lot into. If not you should check the concrete contractors, and don't forget to get several comparable quotes.

**Jimaz** · April-14-10, 06:21 PM

What a coincidence. Our next door neighbor just replaced our similar three front steps. He gave us a deal at $450 but I think he cheated himself so I gave him some extra.

It was a really tough job. He had to take them down with a sledgehammer. There's a short brick wall on each side and one wall was leaning from a root growing under it. He dug out the root, leveled and braced the wall. He had to saw off a bit of the new steps to fit between the walls. Hard work but he did a great job.

I'll email him a link to this thread in case he's interested.

**Fury13** · April-14-10, 07:10 PM

Whatever you do, do NOT get stock steps and a riser from Home Depot or Lowe's. Those cheapos will crack before their time. Get a porch/masonry construction specialist to come out and give you an estimate, with quality materials involved.

**lo_to_d** · April-14-10, 07:33 PM

Make sure you have the concrete sealed or they will look like that again in a few years.

DC48080 · April-14-10, 07:56 PM

And don't use any salt on those steps in the winter, that sure looks like salt damage.

Use calcium chloride or just scrape the ice off with a scraper. Those steps aren't very large, it won't take much time at all to scrape them.

**Det_ard** · April-14-10, 08:33 PM

Those don't look bad enough to replace. They can be fixed for 1/10th the price of replacement.

http://www.rd.com/how-to-patch-chipp...icle18283.html

**Eastside** · April-14-10, 08:45 PM

Try Sabiston Builder Supply on 8-mile and Hoover - 586-755-0110. It's a concrete place that sells steps.

Good Luck!

**REL** · April-14-10, 08:47 PM

Crumbled_pavement,

I'm sorry your life is falling to pieces. Wish you a speedy recovery!

**Crumbled_pavement** · April-15-10, 03:49 PM

Thanks everyone. I will take all advice into consideration and let you know what I decide.

Originally Posted by REL

Crumbled_pavement,

I'm sorry your life is falling to pieces. Wish you a speedy recovery!

Awww, thanks. I knew someone out there cared about Crumbled.

Originally Posted by Det_ard

Those don't look bad enough to replace. They can be fixed for 1/10th the price of replacement.

http://www.rd.com/how-to-patch-chipp...icle18283.html

I'm not sure these steps can be repaired at this point. The inside of the steps are hollow. They are not solid steps. I will read your link and determine if they can be repaired. I'm not so much worried about how the steps look as I am about safety. I would hate for the steps to break under someone and cause injury.

**Sarah** · April-15-10, 04:07 PM

I sent you a private message... just had similar work done and I found a guy on Craigslist that did a great job at super price.

**pffft** · April-16-10, 08:18 AM

A lot of folks in my neighborhood replace those crumbling concrete steps with brick/paver steps, have you thought of doing that?

Fury is right, don't go with Home Depot type "standard" steps, you need a masonry expert...

**PeterhuntPrincess** · April-16-10, 10:07 AM

I have very similar steps, except mine are limestone. I was told that they are much better/ stronger than the concrete ones, and that I should have someone correct the shifting issue from below, and then reset them. I guess that someone is a masonry specialist. Do you all agree?

**JStone** · April-16-10, 10:43 AM

Speaking of concrete...

Does anyone know if I can get/pay the city to replace this portion of my curb. I want to eradicate the only remnants of the evil driveway within an urban historic neighborhood and replace it with just a curb.

That or does anyone "have a guy" that could do this?

**Crumbled_pavement** · April-16-10, 11:33 AM

Pffft and PeterhuntPrincess, would you guys mind posting some pictures? I did some internet surfing and I have an idea of what you guys are talking about but I'm trying to visualize it with the way my house/porch looks. Some of the limestone step pictures I found are more extravagant than my house/neighborhood is and I don't think they would look right. I saw some nice brick/pavers though.

Thanks!

**PeterhuntPrincess** · April-16-10, 12:40 PM

C_P, my steps are nearly identical to yours. They sit in front of a brick bungalow with a typical bungalow style porch with aluminum awning. I have pics at home so I will upload if needed but I'm not saying to build up and around with the bricks, which would make for quite a presentation in front of a modest home. If you look on the sides the bricks that hold the steps up should be deteriorating. The only way that they can get detached is to have movement between the steps. Yes, rock salt does help with the deterioration of the joints, but I believe these steps were never solid as they looked. Mine are literally two large pieces of limestone sitting atop a brick foundation, and hollow in the middle like yours.