Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - concrete steps

My front steps are falling apart. Big pieces of the cement are broken and I thought I could repair them with cement, but upon close examination I realized that the steps seem to be "filled" with sand/rocks and not cement all the way through as I thought they would be. I realize I can not repair them because the cement would not be able to adhere to the sand/rocks. They really started to disintegrate when I had a new refrigerator delivered and now I am very concerned about safety.

I guess my question is what are ALL the options I have here?

Someone told me they thought it would cost between $500 and $1000 to have them repoured. I don't have that kind of money. I know I will have to hire it out, but I would like to have at least some knowledge before doing so. I don't want to be a woman taken advantage of.

There are four steps before you reach the porch. They are approximately 8' long. I'd prefer some sort of cement fix, however, if wood or something else is a much less expensive option I would certainly welcome it.

Take a look at this to see if it covers what you mean. Some repairs are not too daunting.

http://www.quikrete.com/diy/RepairingSteps.html

Here is a howto on building them yourself.

http://www.quikrete.com/diy/ConcreteStepsandRamps.html

Of course, removing the old steps is not a trivial activity.

Hope this helps.

Here is a rather detailed page on building steps from wood.

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/decks/oldporch/steps/stringer.htm

Of course, the old concrete will have to go.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so so much! I did the Quikcrete repair and hopefully it will hold!

I do have one further question now. Unfortunately I used too much cement in a couple of places and did not realize it until the concrete was too dry to scrape. Now I would like to sand it down and have tried 60 grit sandpaper with a sander, and also tried a rust/paint remover wheel on my drill, but no luck. Is there anything I can use to sand down the raised places?

You can carefully work at it with a cold chisel.