On Mar 16, 11:18*am, Elam wrote:
Hi all,

I have a crumbing porch. First, a couple of pictures:

http://param.us/porch/porch1.jpghttp...rch/porch2.jpg

Now, I have zero experience with concrete, hence the question marks.
I'm assuming that I need to chisel/remove the damaged cinder blocks
( pretty much all of them ), one at a time, fit a new one in, and slap
mortar in between the top slab and the porch cap. Or, instead of
mortaring the gap, find a suitable replacement cinder block. *Is this
correct? If so, is there a preferred method? ie do I start from
foundation base and work my way around counter/clockwise?

And should what about stability? The mortar is pretty deteriorated
around the entire porch. Is there a way to support the porch(stakes
etc) while I complete repairs?

Any advice is much appreciated.

- Elam

I'd call that a front step, not a porch. It's impossible to evaluate
the whole thing from the couple of pics. But from what I see, it
looks so deteriorated that from a practical standpoint you are
probably going to be better off demolishing what is there and starting
over. You need to find out if there are adequate footers to support
it. If so, you can get rid of eveything above that and rebuild. If
not, start with proper footers

You may want to consider putting in slate, stone, or maybe stamped
concrete for the top surface to give it a nicer look.