A Simple Guide to Repairing Your Concrete Steps

If you live in an older house, you probably have concrete steps somewhere, probably in the yard or maybe in the basement. These steps may also have seen better days. Not only do they look quite unsightly, but they can also be very dangerous, especially for children and the elderly. Concrete is a strong material for road maintenance, but the elements go with anything, especially if the steps are outside your home. The good news is, as long as the damage isn’t too bad, you should be able to fix the problem yourself. As long as your own skills in these types of jobs are better than average.

How long?

A few days should be plenty of time for the job, just make sure you have the correct tools and materials before you get stuck.

Tooled Up?

If you do repair work regularly, you probably already have most of these. You will need glasses, a chisel, a mallet, a normal hammer, and a wheelbarrow. Also, the following will be more than useful: a concrete float, a trowel, a shovel, and a paintbrush.

Materials

You will also need enough concrete and also some bricks, boards, nails, and some bonding agent. A few two-by-four tables will also be very useful for the work that you are about to begin.

Time to act!

Use your chisel to remove crumbling concrete and use the mallet to chisel the gap widely down to solid concrete. Try cutting a V shape between the step and the riser and clean the debris with a broom. Use a garden hose to rinse the notch well with water.

Recast preparation

Use the boards to shape a shape around your target step and hold them in place using the bricks you have ready to go. Use more boards to close the ends of the steps. Nail a two-by-four piece into each of the boards to hold the shape in place properly.

Get ready to pour!

Read the instructions for concrete mixing carefully and prepare the truck for the mixing stage. You will need to add the correct amount of water and use a shovel to mix the concrete properly. Before pouring, you will need to apply the bonding agent to the edges with a brush.

Here we go!

Fill the cavity of the edges with the concrete and spread it with the trowel. Then you need to repack the concrete on the edge with the trowel. Level the top of the new concrete so that it is the same height as the old concrete that is still in place. You must repeat this process for each step that has been damaged by corrosion. The concrete float should be used to smooth the edge for a final, level finish.

Get ready!

You will know when the concrete has set because the film of water on the surface will have been absorbed. Use a plastic sheet to cover the steps and wait a week before using them as steps again. Leave the wooden boards in place until the concrete has completely set; now you can enjoy your steps once more!

To avoid accidents, it is important to repair your concrete steps as soon as possible. Look for an experienced professional, who is an expert in concrete cancer repair Melbourne or elsewhere.