Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

On Jan 30, 1:40*am, " wrote:
Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

You could try getting a long crowbar and lift up the one corner( not
too much, you have to do it easy) and put somthing solid underneath
the stringer like a brick or a concrete paver to make the steps level.
Thats what I did with my steps.

On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:40:55 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

You are on the right track. What you have to do is get some solid
support under the steps. I'd support the section and jack it back to
its proper place (put a solid block under the jack). Next I'd
excavate at least six, maybe even 12 inches, then pour in a concrete
base. Give it 24 hours and lower the stair back to the top of the
pad.

Rather than rent jacks, it may be cheaper to buy a coupleof bottle
jacks and use a 2 x 4 as the support.

Soundhaspriority wrote:
wrote in message


I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.


You're going to fill it up with more dirt?

Haven't you hillbillies ever heard of a foundation?

Go away. You're wasting all our time.


Excuse him being snotty- everyone has to start the learning process
somewhere. But he is right, dirt and a paver brick is not the correct
'foundation' for a main deck post like this. You are right about the
jacking, but there are cheaper ways to do it than rent a tall jack,
especially since you will need it for several days. A small jack, a pipe
or post, and some lumber for spreader bars, will do fine. If the needed
lift is only a couple of inches, a couple of too-tall posts, some 2x6s
for spreaders, and a sledge hammer may be enough. And then you will have
them for next time. You need to dig a hole into solid undisturbed dirt,
put down some gravel, and then pour concrete with a little reinforcement
in it, and put a bolt in the top for a bracket to hold the post. Rather
than write a book, I recommend you go to the book aisle at home depot or
a real bookstore, and look for the DIY deck and porch building books.
The pictures there will explain it better than words ever could. The
book will also tell you how to check the other posts, and the condition
and quality of the work on the entire deck. The fact that whoever built
your deck screwed up some basic like this, tells me the entire deck
needs looking at.

But having said all that, if this is the only thing wrong with the deck,
this should be something you can fix yourself, if you are up to the
physical labor, and have a way to haul the materials. Good luck, and let
us know how it turns out.

--
aem sends...

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:40:55 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

You are on the right track. What you have to do is get some solid
support under the steps. I'd support the section and jack it back to
its proper place (put a solid block under the jack). Next I'd
excavate at least six, maybe even 12 inches, then pour in a concrete
base. Give it 24 hours and lower the stair back to the top of the
pad.

Rather than rent jacks, it may be cheaper to buy a coupleof bottle
jacks and use a 2 x 4 as the support.

What he said. I wasn't fully awake when I read the first post, and
thought OP was talking about a corner post for the deck itself.

--
aem sends, overdue for coffee...

wrote in message
...
Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

3~5 cm is not a lot. Does it give a little when you walk down that side of
the stairs?

Have you placed a level on the steps? Steps should be level from left to
right and level or off level to the kick portion just a hair. Never off
level with the nose pointing down.

I really doubt you will need a rented jack to lift this enough to work. A 2x
wedged under each stinger sitting on a brick, board or block and a decent
sized hammer should provide all the lift you need. You do not want to jack
it more than necessary for fear off pulling it loose somewhere else.

If the stingers were nailed at the bottom to a flat piece of 2x stock and
that was set directly on the ground is most likely rotten causing the
deflection.

My solution would be to remove that and use a couple of 80 pound bags of
ready mix to pour a small footer under where that bottom board needs to
rest. With it removed you want this footer to be 1.5" below the bottom of
the stingers. Once it cured I would slide in a new bottom board and lower
the stringers onto it and secure them to it however I could.

It might be easier if the bottom treads are removed.

Your way might work. My way is easier and better. Total cost is less than
$25 and a few hours spread over a few days.


--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com

wrote the following:
Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.


Buy a bottle jack or a floor jack for the price of a rental.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"Mikepier" wrote in message
...
On Jan 30, 1:40 am, " wrote:
Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

You could try getting a long crowbar and lift up the one corner( not
too much, you have to do it easy) and put somthing solid underneath
the stringer like a brick or a concrete paver to make the steps level.
Thats what I did with my steps.



I agree..Just jack it up a bit and level the dirt out a bit and slide a
paver or something with a little more surface area than a brick under it
making sure it is level and it will last another 15 years by which time it
will need replacing....HTH...No need to make it more complicated or over
engineered than it needs to be...

willshak wrote in
m:

wrote the following:
Hello.

We have a wooden deck (walk out from 2nd floor) and wooden stairs down
onto our backyard.

We had it installed about 13 years ago and on one corner of the bottom
of the stairs, brick that supports deck stairs is a bit broken and
that corner is lowered down onto the ground.

(I think the reason was gradually gravity forced this corner down as
that part of soil was maybe weaker than other parts of our yard but I
am just guessing)

In terms of how far this corner went below the ground, I would say
around 3~5 cm compare to other corner of the stairs.

Originally, I was gonna call the deck/renovation specialist to fix the
problem but now I am thinking about doing it myself if possible.

I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.

To those experts, would my trial be enough or am I just wasting time?
I would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.


Buy a bottle jack or a floor jack for the price of a rental.


An automobile sissor jack has many uses. A HD sissor jack from my junked
pickup sits in the tub of big tools.