Precast Concrete Steps Shifting

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daveswoodhauler

daveswoodhauler

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
May 20, 2008
1,847
Massachusetts
Ok, someone here has must have run into this...so, here goes:

Have a one piece precast concrete step unit on the front of the house....seems to be sagging and pulling away from the house.
Basically, there is appx a 4-5" gap at the top, and a smaller one at the bottom.
Its the front door, so doesn't get much use.
I tried using some PT 4X4's to act as a lever to jack up the front so I could put some blocks under it...doesn't sag as much, but still
not happy with the results.

Other items I have tried. Putting a small piece of 4X4PT wood and used my 2002 Subaru Forester with trailer hitch to try to push the step back into place....not enough horses, but had to give gumpy a shot at it (gumpy is the name for the car)
Wife got a good chuckle out of it and shook her head.

Any ideas versus getting a crane/hoise to set her back into place?
 
You might want to try baby steps.. Get a pick-up load of gravel, dump it around the three exposed sides. Get a 16' 2X4 for a lever and a piece of firewood for a fulcrum. Lift each corner just a little bit at a time while somone tamps gravel underneath. Go to the next corner and repeat the process. Over and over and over. This will slowly walk that critter back into position. each time you release your pry it will compact your gravel. This is not a fast process but you don't need to excert lots of muscle power.
Brad
 
I got into leveling some outside fuel oil tanks last summer, they were set on concrete block and bricks back in the day and had sunken to the point they were in need of some attention. I used a floor jack, laid a short 2x4 under the end of the tank and put the floor jack under there, jacked it up one end at a time, dug out and replaced block/brick and then left the jack down for the tank to settle back onto it's new footing.

I would try the same with your steps. You have to think through it a bit but what I would probably do is dig out under one side at a time and lift 'em with a floor jack then put some 2x4 shims or whatever under there, then do the other side, that'll maybe also let you slide the step into place easier. You'll want to firm up where the step is sitting to as they have obviously sunk into the ground. Maybe dig out a foot or so when ya got 'em jacked up and throw some stone in there trying to tamp it down if possible. When ya get 'em where ya want em, jack 'em up again, remove the shims, and let em down.
 
Had the same problem with a set of them buggers once...
Jacked it back into position & because the subsoil was clay,
it shifted again within 2 years...Damn NY winters....
Rented a jack-hammer & destroyed em...
Dug down 4 feet & planted Sono-Tubes, built a pressure treated deck
& framed a big ole covered front porch on it...
That sucker is as plumb & level as the day I built it in '98...
Looks a WHOLE lot better than that damned cast crete, too...
 
Take a long PT 4x4 and cut it into a pair of wedges. Treat the cut with end cut preservative. Pound the wedges under the two sides toward the house. Repeat with more wedges if necessary.

If frost moves it, the solution is to put in helical screw piles below the frost line. They make screw piles that can jack up a sinking foundation or leaning chimney.
 
I agree, youi will need a bottle jack and time. It can be done but do it carefully! If it moved once it will move again unless you can dig up the front and do sonet tubes like someone said.
 
My father leveled a 100 sq ft shed on a concrete pad. Used a big bottle jack to raise a corner a bit over level then pushed pea gravel underneath using a long flexible stick. It can also be done with mud jacking but for a small job like stairs it might not be economical.

Kevin.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to go with the bottle jack and 4X4 route....might take some tiem, but a little here and there should get to me where I want to be.
Also, any thoughts about perhaps sliding some round metal pipe under the middle, and having it rest on perhaps 2 large/flat blocks on either side...try to roll it back. (with help of the bottle jack and 4X4s of course)
Again, thanks for the help
 
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