House maintenence (the bikes are fine)

[Jess from VA]

I have a 3-level split with the basement about half-way below surface.

The back basement walkout is 6 steps.

Like everything else in this house, the concrete and block is old, crumbling some, no tiebacks on the outside wall, so it's tried to cave in (a little).  The stairs have sagged back a bit, so all 6 retain some water.  It used to have a metal safety railing, but I threw the corroded thing away.   At least the drain is still working well.  I have been concrete patching, sealing, caulking, and waterproof painting it for 33 years.

I did it again today (scraped, chinked, caulked, painted).   Should be good for another 5 years.

It ought to be entirely torn out and redone with poured form, not block, but no machinery can get back there, and it would cost a fortune today.

The fun never stops.   

[scooperhsd]

I get you. I'm in the middle of fencing in the backyard, using field fence for areas that aren't currently fenced. I also need to replace the "car gates" with something that fits better, remove the carpet from the basement floor, have somebody that waterproofing check it out / fix that, then have it sealed. Then I need to replace the shed I keep the lawn tractor and generator/ propane in. Then there is the attic ... It never ends....

[Serk]

As the saying goes.... A Man's House is his Hassle...

[Jersey mike]

I have a 3-level split with the basement about half-way below surface.

The back basement walkout is 6 steps.

Like everything else in this house, the concrete and block is old, crumbling some, no tiebacks on the outside wall, so it's tried to cave in (a little).  The stairs have sagged back a bit, so all 6 retain some water.  It used to have a metal safety railing, but I threw the corroded thing away.   At least the drain is still working well.  I have been concrete patching, sealing, caulking, and waterproof painting it for 33 years.

I did it again today (scraped, chinked, caulked, painted).   Should be good for another 5 years.

It ought to be entirely torn out and redone with poured form, not block, but no machinery can get back there, and it would cost a fortune today.

The fun never stops.   

I’m not sure if this would help your steps but there is a company around here, they may be national I’m not really sure but they do work on concrete slabs that settle. Apparently (I believe) they inject an expanding foam under the slab and that raises it back to its original height and supports or fills the void that caused the slab to collapse. I have no idea if it’s possible for that to work with your steps.

[Jess from VA]

they inject an expanding foam under the slab and that raises it back to its original height

Except I'm pretty sure that would open up all the cracks and crumbles I've been repairing and sealing all these years and greatly hasten the demise of the whole thing.

My tax and spend county had a crew in my neighborhood this Spring doing that same thing to our old sidewalks; bore holes, inject foam, level sidewalk.  They worked for days, then just quit after doing about a sixth of our walks, leaving the worst heaves and uneven walks untouched.

My prior owner used some kind of self leveling coating on those stairs to level them up, but most has chipped off over the years, adding to the decrepitude.  

As I live under 4 100yo oaks with a 30yo heavy landscape, I use my Stihl 600 backpack blower almost daily to tidy up and blow debris into the corners for cleanup (screw the rake), I also use the blower (on idle) to clear retained water on the stairs down to the drain.  I have an aluminum awning over the walkout, but the stairs still get wet.

I went out late afternoon and put a 2d coat of waterproof white on the walkout, and it's looking great.  I am not a fan of working on my hands and knees on concrete bending over and painting as I go up the stairs.

This is one of my least favorite periodic maintenance jobs, but it got to the top of the list.  

I also hacked and chopped the tops out of an old dogwood and crepe myrtle which got terribly sunburned from the summer heat.  You're supposed to wait until winter for heavy pruning, but it's much easier to clean all that up when green, than wait for the slow fall mess of dead leaves.  Two full dumpers for pickup today.  

[scooperhsd]

As the saying goes.... A Man's House is his Hassle...

[Serk]

We did the foam injection (That sounds bad) on the sidewalk, stairs and brick mailbox in our front yard 5? maybe 10 years ago? So far so good, it worked really well in our situation.

[Jess from VA]

We did the foam injection (That sounds bad) on the sidewalk, stairs and brick mailbox in our front yard 5? maybe 10 years ago? So far so good, it worked really well in our situation.

How old is your house?  I bet it's not 65yo like mine. 

And it probably had much better initial construction than mine too. 

[Serk]

Built in 1997, but the sidewalk by the front street was just ASKING to sink, the house is below street level so the rain just pushes the soil out... This is the sidewalk (along the top of the stone retaining wall) that we had foamed (OLD picture, but first I found handy)

[Jess from VA]

I love stone walls.  Up here in No VA I ride past old (civil war era and earlier) stone walls the farmers pulled out of their planting fields all the time.  And to keep horses and cows in.



Up here in code happy Fairfax County, they would probably make you put up a handrail so dummies didn't fall off the sidewalk.

Removing my walkout handrail was a violation of code, but my backyard is all behind solid fence and landscape.

Only once in 30+ years did I catch someone in my back yard and I jacked him up.

Dude, I'm just trying to read your meter.  (pre electronic sending units)

Then you ought to be wearing some kind of uniform or identifier, and knock on my door first.