Renovating a concrete staircase yourself(?)

[grinneby94]

Sure, I'll see when it happens 🙂

Okay, hope it happens soon 😜

 

[Kristina J]

Since we haven't decided yet if we're going to build a staircase or not, we decided on a quick renovation of the existing porch steps.

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Brushed off growth and anything loose with a wire brush. Then mixed some regular fine concrete to fill in cracks and where larger pieces that had weathered away were missing. After a couple of coats with house foundation paint, it was good enough.
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Looks so nice! Are the paint and repairs still holding up today, several years later? Would you recommend doing the same with an entrance staircase that gets daily foot traffic?

 

[Keiller]

It turned out so nice! Does the color and repairs still hold up today, several years later? Would you recommend doing the same with an entrance staircase with daily use?

No, we've had to repair and touch it up almost every summer, depending on how harsh the winter has been. One year an outer corner broke, but that was probably due to insufficient skill in repairing a hundred-year-old concrete staircase. The paint hasn't really withstood heavy wear and tear either, so that has needed touch-ups as well.

I would love to build a new porch staircase, but it's not something you tear down one afternoon and build new the next day. Not on your own, anyway.


It's also the only entrance to the house, so it can surely get complicated to live there if you were to do it all yourself 😃

 

[Kristina J]

No, we have had to repair and improve almost every summer, depending on how harsh the winter has been. One year, an exterior corner froze and broke, but that was probably due to a lack of expertise in repairing a hundred-year-old concrete staircase. The paint also hasn't withstood much wear, so that has had to be improved as well.

I would love to build a new porch staircase, but it's not something you can tear down one afternoon and build new the next day. Not by myself, at least.

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Additionally, it's the only entrance to the house, so it could certainly become chaotic to live there if one were to do everything themselves 😃

Thank you for wanting to respond, it was valuable information. No, repairing a concrete staircase that lasts over time is probably not the easiest, at least not for us amateurs,