Cement Step Repair in One Day

How do you perform cement step repair? After a long winter I had to fix a crumbling cement step but it only took me one day. Cement step repair isn't that hard and with a few tips you'll get your curb appeal back in less than 24 hours.

This video shares a ton of different tips and tricks on how to get your steps looking brand new. And after a long winter you'll likely need to do some cement work.

#cementcrumble #cementrepair #cementstep

0:01 Prepare crumbling cement
1:30 Apply concrete bonding adhesive
2:00 Place the form and ready your supplies
3:02 Mix the cement
3:43 Trowel the cement into the form and level it out
4:42 Remove the form and fill in the void
5:37 Round the edge and smooth using a sponge
6:12 Finishing touches

Disclaimer:
Videos produced by Home Repair Tutor are provided for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Home Repair Tutor does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this site and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this site. Viewers must be aware by doing DIY projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and Home Repair Tutor cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. Home Repair Tutor cannot claim liability with all applicable laws, rules, codes and regulations for a project.

[szazulyk]

I am a cement finisher and have been pouring concrete since 1974. That's a good video however there was a few things I would like to suggest. First of all you should have used the edger before you took off the wood that would give you a nice clean Edge along the top to follow once the wood was off. Also before you took off the wood and you were pouring the concrete you should tap the face of the wood with a hammer. That would have gotten rid of most of the honeycombing. That's what it's called! It was good that you used the sponge at the end and you did a nice job🖒

[libertarian]

RapidSet CementAll or Mortar Mix along with a bag or two of flow control would be pourable and rock hard in an hour; while RapidSet doesn’t need/require a bonding agent it can be used. I like the pourable flow as it gets into every nook and cranny whereas stiffer concrete mixes and those with larger aggregates can have voids when used as patchers, if not vibrates or settled in. Nice step by step though I’d add rinsing, washing, or spraying water on the concrete both to get the dust off as well as to aid with bonding though that, in part can be mitigated by the bonding agent. For bonding to old concrete I find wetting and a mix in bonding additive gives better results than a paint on style bonding agent; I usually only use paint on bonding agents on painted, sealed, or non-porous existing concrete. There are flow additives which help make concrete flow without adding additional/extra water which can weaken concrete.

[geladio]

i have done this same thing on some of my properties as well. It's beem over three uears now, and they still look excellent.

[curbscape]

Good video I agree with all of it but I would not use water to mix my cement. I would use the bonding agent instead of water it works great. You can also us it to skim coat if you have a low spot on a sidewalk. Did it 6 years ago it sticks and has worked great in Colorado winter and summers.

[AdamHaycee]

I took down our porch and was left with a battered looking concrete slab base. I've been thinking of repairing it in this way and then using tiles to finish off as a decent sized front door step. This video is spot on for my idea

[dozzn]

Now that’s what I call a step by step tutorial 🤪

[MegaToe]

thanks for the PAM idea, ive done small cement projects but never a stair till now. It makes prefect sense. I'm surprised I never thought of that

[jarredstevenswalls]

Craig, I'm a concrete contractor, and if I were in your shoes I would rent a concrete saw that will cut at least 75% of the depth of the slab, cut it at a right angle off your house, preferably so the existing cuts are all spaced out evenly, snap a chalk line and remove an entire section. Use tap-con screws to fasten a 2x4 to the masonry below having the top flush with the bottom of the small ledge. Then after you establish the height of the slab, fasten a 2x10 to the 2x4. This will be your form with a matching ledge. Then you can simply order one cubic yard of a residential mix with air for exterior use. Pour it wet enough for you and a buddy to handle and screed the concrete immediately with a straight 2x4 and float the surface a few times, then if you have a steel trowel, trowel the surface slick then pull a broom in a straight line if it needs a broom finish, if not, just keep troweling until you have your desired look. * make sure to round over the edges, use any electric tool that will vibrate (I use a square palm sander) and vibrate the edge of your form to reduce "honeycombs" also apply an oil so your forum will come of after pouring. Plus you don't need sealer. I only use that on decorative concrete, or places like a garage where oil will spill and penetrate the concrete surface. That was a long comment... Uhhh, good job guy on video! Stevens Concrete Llc, N. C.

[goldblueberries]

Your video is just what I needed to see. I have a small repair coming up. Thank you

[marielynn]

Thank you! And good for you being so young and having rentals!

[matthewsmith]

I am not very handy, but with your instruction, this seems very easy. Thank you very much for such a great tutorial!

[mijalic]

Great job. Thank you for your time and effort to make this video and share it with us. Greetings from Croatia.

[richjohnson]

Ok I watched all the step repair videos on U-Tube.
This is the best one. Thanks Jeff tomorrow I think I can do it right.

[traviswolf]

Thanks for your video - I will be tackling this project today.

[michaelkammert]

FYI they have a Kwik-Crete mix that includes the bonding agent and saves an entire step. This mix also makes it unnecessary to keep the surface moist and covered.

[JasonSmith-qkce]

Good detail. I like the thoroughness. The brick and wood idea to hold the caste in place is a good idea. It would be nice to know timing of things per different intervals.

[patmac]

Great vid. With a repair that large, I'd reco polymer additive to reduce shrinkage and add edge stregnth

[arthur-rizo]

Using Pam is a great idea. I'm rebuilding the front steps to my house. Right now it's 4' x 4' and about 10" high. I'd like to enlarge it to 5' x 4'. Just one level high.

[ladyR]

Thank you for posting....you are very good with explaining and demonstrating the steps.  I'm going to try to fix my porch step before it gets too cold~!

[sandeepmitra]

Hi Jeff - your video indeed helped me a lot to fix my crumbling stairs at the front of my house. I would really appreciate if you answer these questions: (1) After the Quikrete quick setting cement is dried, I can see some fresh cracks in the stairs. how can these be fixed? (2) how to use the sealer and how many days one should wait before using the sealer? (3) Is is recommended to use resurfacing cement to smooth out the cemented / concrete area? Kindly advice.