Masonry filter - what type of blocks to use on front steps?
March 25, 2017 5:27 AM Subscribe
Our front steps are crumbling to dust - what type of block should we use to replace them?
Our front steps are falling apart and we are having them replaced. There are about 10 steps that are presently made of unilock pavers and look pretty ugly in my opinion. The real problem, though, is that there are wing-walls on both sides of the staircase that are made of a cast block made to look like limestone. The block is crumbling, mostly where the block faces up against the paver steps. (To picture it - if you put your hand flat on one of the steps and moved it to either side end of the step, you'd run into the wing-wall block, which would be totally falling apart where it abuts the step.) I've been told that the block is falling apart because of moisture or salt damage or both. I've been told that the block should have been sealed better. We're in Chicago and the climate is not nice to cast blocks, I guess.
Here's the question: if we are going to reconstruct the steps and keep them in basically the same look/style because it fits with the house, is there something we can use for the wingwalls that would hold up better? Could we use actual limestone block, or is that crazy expensive? Is there a manufactured product that holds up better than whatever the basic thing is at Home Depot? I don't think we can use brick because it wouldn't match with the overall look/style - need something more like stone or block. The blocks are about the same dimensions as a cinder block.
Our front steps are falling apart and we are having them replaced. There are about 10 steps that are presently made of unilock pavers and look pretty ugly in my opinion. The real problem, though, is that there are wing-walls on both sides of the staircase that are made of a cast block made to look like limestone. The block is crumbling, mostly where the block faces up against the paver steps. (To picture it - if you put your hand flat on one of the steps and moved it to either side end of the step, you'd run into the wing-wall block, which would be totally falling apart where it abuts the step.) I've been told that the block is falling apart because of moisture or salt damage or both. I've been told that the block should have been sealed better. We're in Chicago and the climate is not nice to cast blocks, I guess.
Here's the question: if we are going to reconstruct the steps and keep them in basically the same look/style because it fits with the house, is there something we can use for the wingwalls that would hold up better? Could we use actual limestone block, or is that crazy expensive? Is there a manufactured product that holds up better than whatever the basic thing is at Home Depot? I don't think we can use brick because it wouldn't match with the overall look/style - need something more like stone or block. The blocks are about the same dimensions as a cinder block.
Our front steps used to be brick with slate treads. It was rebuilt using random size stone for a sort of New England stone wall look, still with slate treads.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:43 PM on March 25, 2017
posted by SemiSalt at 1:43 PM on March 25, 2017
Sounds like salt damage. You can get CMU (Concrete masonry units, there is no such thing as "cinder blocks" anymore) with "Dri-block" additive in the mix. They'd likely outlast you.
A good mason can "reface" block - since they are hollow inside, you remove the face of a damaged block, and cut the face off a good block and mortar/grout it in. This is very common in the schools we build, the electricians are forever forgetting to run wiring inside the block as it is going up, so they channel it out, install conduit, and the mason patches the block. You can't even tell when it is done well.
CMU block comes in lots of patterns, including stone face like I think you have.
There are also cast stone blocks, a step up in quality and price. You can google cast stone block as easy as I can.
Really, salt is poison for so many building materials. Once it gets in a porous material like your block, it is just a matter of time. Block gets wet, salt goes into solution. Block starts drying from the outside surface, the salt crystallizes just below the surface and powders the material. There are ways to treat this in a building conservation setting- poultices - but it sounds like the damage is already beyond what you can accept.
It would do the same exact thing to limestone or any other porous hard material.
posted by rudd135 at 3:51 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
A good mason can "reface" block - since they are hollow inside, you remove the face of a damaged block, and cut the face off a good block and mortar/grout it in. This is very common in the schools we build, the electricians are forever forgetting to run wiring inside the block as it is going up, so they channel it out, install conduit, and the mason patches the block. You can't even tell when it is done well.
CMU block comes in lots of patterns, including stone face like I think you have.
There are also cast stone blocks, a step up in quality and price. You can google cast stone block as easy as I can.
Really, salt is poison for so many building materials. Once it gets in a porous material like your block, it is just a matter of time. Block gets wet, salt goes into solution. Block starts drying from the outside surface, the salt crystallizes just below the surface and powders the material. There are ways to treat this in a building conservation setting- poultices - but it sounds like the damage is already beyond what you can accept.
It would do the same exact thing to limestone or any other porous hard material.
posted by rudd135 at 3:51 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Mid at 5:54 AM on March 25, 2017