Sunken porch and step repair in Wichita

Signs your steps have settled

• The top step sits lower than the door threshold, so the step up into the house is taller than it used to be.
• A gap has opened between the steps and the house.
• The steps lean or tip to one side.
• The storm door scrapes or no longer lines up with the stoop.

When steps can be leveled

Poured concrete steps are heavy, but they are usually one solid block, and a block that dropped in one piece can be lifted in one piece. The crew drills through the stoop and the lower treads, fills the void underneath, and raises the whole unit until it meets the threshold again. The gap at the house can then be sealed so water stops running down the foundation.

Leveling is not the answer when the steps are cracked through into separate pieces, the treads are crumbling, or the steps are brick or block that has come apart. Those need rebuilding.

Mudjacking or foam for steps

Both work. Foam is often preferred for steps because it adds little weight to backfill that has already settled once, and the small holes are less obvious on the treads people walk on every day. Mudjacking costs less and is a reasonable choice on a set of steps over firm soil.

What it costs

HomeGuide's national data puts a set of steps of about 40 square feet at roughly $300 to $700 with mudjacking and $320 to $1,000 with foam. Steps are often done alongside a sunken front walk, which spreads the minimum charge across both. See the cost page.

Cost ranges: HomeGuide, Concrete Leveling Cost.

Where we work

We take calls from across Wichita and the surrounding towns in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.

• Wichita
• Derby
• Andover
• Haysville
• Maize
• Park City
• Bel Aire
• Valley Center
• Goddard
• Mulvane
• Augusta
• El Dorado
• Newton