On Mar 16, 12:41*pm, Elam wrote:
On Mar 16, 11:56*am, wrote:





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.

Hi. *Thanks for replying.

The front step is actually pulled away, revealing the decay.

The base foundation looks good(from what I can see), no crumbling and
the slab cap is in fine condition. *It's really only the individual
cinder blocks. *T. *I've had a couple of contractors out to look at it
and they've both said its simply a matter of replacing the
cinderblocks. *I can't really afford to demolish the whole thing right
now, anyway.

The question is, how many blocks? If it's most of them all the way
around, it would seem to me it's less work to demo the whole thing and
start over. The top slab is of no great value or complexity, it's
just a simple small concrete pour. Plus, if you do it right it will
last a very long time. If you fix/replace say 1/3 of the blocks,
which isn't trivial, you still have what's left and that may not be in
that great shape or last much longer either.






I am planning on putting a slate veneer on it when it's done, although
with Michigan winters, it may not last too long.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -