The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. (Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). Is that a reasonable idea? Or is there a better way
to repair it?

On Feb 25, 5:56*am, wrote:
The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. *(Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. *Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). *Is that a reasonable idea? *Or is there a better way
to repair it?

Seems reasonable to me, it is going to be time consuming and dusty,
you could use an abrasive wheel in an angle grinder, & that might be
quicker, but that would likely be even dustier

wrote:
The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. (Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). Is that a reasonable idea? Or is there a better way
to repair it?

You only see it from the basement? Do you spend a lot of time in the
basement? If "yes" and "no" I'd just leave the thing alone.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Feb 25, 5:56*am, wrote:
The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. *(Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. *Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). *Is that a reasonable idea? *Or is there a better way
to repair it?

Hammer drill is too slow. Get a 'zip gun' or air hammer with a small
spade bit. Harbor Freight has them for $7 and up and they will eat
away the offending masonry (if you must) very well. Rent an air
compressor if you don't have one, and get one with some muscle. The
zip guns use quite a lot of air and will overpower a little portable
pancake type in a hurry. Wear safety goggles, too.

Joe

wrote:
The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. (Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). Is that a reasonable idea? Or is there a better way
to repair it?

If there is an opening between basement and the space under the front
porch, it is likely an old coal bin. (any evidence of a plugged-up hole
on the side of the porch, down low?) If there is no opening, what you
are seeing are probably the tie points between the basement wall and the
porch foundation, done by a lazy mason. If the porch is solid, and there
are no leaks in basement, I wouldn't screw with it. If it isn't finished
space, but it bothers you that much, build some utility shelves with an
recessed plywood back, to go in front of it. How far do the bumps stick
out from the plane of the wall?

A picture would help- can you post one somewhere, and post the link back
here?

--
aem sends...

wrote:
The front "steps" to our house is a poured concrete thing. (Don't
know what to call it---it's really not so much steps (though there are
two of those) and more of a raised concrete rectangle a few feet on a
side.)

Inside on the basement, where this thing intersects the exterior wall,
there are bricks, cinder blocks, etc, which aren't square and protrude
from the wall.

A handy friend said what happens is that when people make the front
steps thing, they use some kind of fill, and the cluttered masonry is
just them doing a crappy job of organizing the fill.

It's fine functionally, but it looks like crap. Instead of just
smoothing it out with cement or whatever, he suggested first trimming
it with some kind of small jack hammer-like thing (I think he said a
"hammer drill"). Is that a reasonable idea? Or is there a better way
to repair it?

What you describe is called aggregate, and it won't go away easily. I had
to remove our front stoop to build a porch, and it was resistant to leaving
for sure. After trying many things, I ended up spending five hours on a
rented jackhammer (big sucker), and even that just chipped away enough that
I could build the porch over it. It sounds like what you have - a pile of
crap in soft cement surrounded and shaped with finish concrete - a stoop and
a couple of steps. There is nothing to get a tool into - it just slips off
one piece of brick onto the next piece of stone and never really gets a
bite.

If you're just concerned about what protrudes into your basement, box it in
somehow so it doesn't show.

k