Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - Need help repairing steps
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PatsFan
06-21-07, 05:21 AM
Hello,
I was wondering if some folks that know more about masonry might be able to help me out with my front steps. I bought a house last fall that had some damage to the grouted cracks on the front steps. Now that it's warm enough (and hopefully, dry enough) I'd like to do some repairs.
The stairs are brick stringers & risers. They have some flagstone (bluestone, I think) treads. After 4 steps (about 30 inches) there is a small (5' x 5') landing, which then proceeds into my front door.
The brick appears to be fine. The flagstones themselves likewise appear to be fine (a little bit of flaking but nothing serious). The concern I have is the large cracks in the grout (it's crumbling out in popcorn sized pieces). The previous homeowner already went the repair-grout road and it didn't appear to help too much. So I'm going to pull the flagstones up and try to do them right. Now mind you, we only want 2 years, 3 tops, out of these stairs because the long term plan is to put a front porch on out there.
Anyway, I pulled the step treads back and noticed that there is mortar under them. No problem, I just have to chisel all the old mortar out, clean up the brick, then lay another pad of mortar and set the tread back on. Once dry, I'll need to grout the crack at the back where the tread meets the riser. (I think, please correct me if I'm off base).
It "looks" like at the landing, they didn't actually lay cement down. The steps went from being 18"x3' rectangles to 3'x3' squares, bordered by the smaller rectangles. In sliding the border rectangles out, they appear to be sitting on just sand. Is this normal? Do I need to pull the whole kit & kaboodle out and lay a mortar pad for the landing stones, or can I get away with just regrouting the cracks?
Last question... the railings (there are none). I think it's a big safety hazard, especially since I'm in New England and get lots of snow & ice, that there's no railings on the steps or landing. I'm thinking the wrought iron railing may be the cheapest and easiest way to go (don't want to set wood posts into contrete footings just to dig them up in 2 years). Since it's bluestone treads all around, should I dig a post hole and cement the post into the stone or should I put anchors (I think they're called redheads) into the stone and just bolt the posts to the anchors? Thanks for any help you can offer.
If you want, I can post a picture(s) tonight.
I was wondering if some folks that know more about masonry might be able to help me out with my front steps. I bought a house last fall that had some damage to the grouted cracks on the front steps. Now that it's warm enough (and hopefully, dry enough) I'd like to do some repairs.
The stairs are brick stringers & risers. They have some flagstone (bluestone, I think) treads. After 4 steps (about 30 inches) there is a small (5' x 5') landing, which then proceeds into my front door.
The brick appears to be fine. The flagstones themselves likewise appear to be fine (a little bit of flaking but nothing serious). The concern I have is the large cracks in the grout (it's crumbling out in popcorn sized pieces). The previous homeowner already went the repair-grout road and it didn't appear to help too much. So I'm going to pull the flagstones up and try to do them right. Now mind you, we only want 2 years, 3 tops, out of these stairs because the long term plan is to put a front porch on out there.
Anyway, I pulled the step treads back and noticed that there is mortar under them. No problem, I just have to chisel all the old mortar out, clean up the brick, then lay another pad of mortar and set the tread back on. Once dry, I'll need to grout the crack at the back where the tread meets the riser. (I think, please correct me if I'm off base).
It "looks" like at the landing, they didn't actually lay cement down. The steps went from being 18"x3' rectangles to 3'x3' squares, bordered by the smaller rectangles. In sliding the border rectangles out, they appear to be sitting on just sand. Is this normal? Do I need to pull the whole kit & kaboodle out and lay a mortar pad for the landing stones, or can I get away with just regrouting the cracks?
Last question... the railings (there are none). I think it's a big safety hazard, especially since I'm in New England and get lots of snow & ice, that there's no railings on the steps or landing. I'm thinking the wrought iron railing may be the cheapest and easiest way to go (don't want to set wood posts into contrete footings just to dig them up in 2 years). Since it's bluestone treads all around, should I dig a post hole and cement the post into the stone or should I put anchors (I think they're called redheads) into the stone and just bolt the posts to the anchors? Thanks for any help you can offer.
If you want, I can post a picture(s) tonight.