Introducing the Back Stairs

There is a small set of stairs that lead from the backyard to the back of the house. They are the only way to get out of the house to the backyard and garage, so we use them pretty often. They appear to be made of concrete, covered with bricks, and we assume they are pretty old, but not original.

the stairs by the back door

So- when we first moved into the house nearly 3 years ago, the stairs were ok, but slightly uneven. The bottom two stairs were shorter than the rest, making it a little difficult to walk up without tripping- but it wasn't a huge problem.

Then, during the Big Renovation of 2014, we closed in the back porch in order to extend the back of the house and add the mudroom and halfbath. In that process, they installed the new back door at the top of the stairs so that the floor would be level with the kitchen, which meant lifting it up a bit. So now the top stair was much taller than the middle stairs, which were still taller than the bottom two stairs. This made for a huge tripping hazard.

during the renovation, the top stair is raised

note the unevenness of the stairs

It also meant that there was not a platform at the top of the stairs - you had to step up and inside in one move. Most housing codes require that there is a platform at the top of the steps because it makes things so much easier and safer. It's a pain to get up the steps and through the door in one move- but it's downright dangerous to try to go down and out in one step-- particularly when the first step is a huge one.

no platform- just a huge step down

So, on top of the unevenness of the steps and fact that there is no platform at the top - things got worse over the last two winters. Water was able to get behind and under the bricks and then freeze in the winter- breaking them loose. Now, when you step onto a stair, the bricks rock underneath you and seem to be falling off in big chunks.

big chunks of the stairs are loose

All of this was annoying but liveable, until the kid arrived. [It is amazing how much he has changed everything about my life so far.] So,  I mentioned before that we are in a nanny share, which means that every other week we take our son to the other family's house. On the mornings that I have to take him to their house - I have to get the diaper bag, the bottle bag, him and his car seat outside - (all this weighs at least 1000 pounds and makes me much wider than the door). For extra fun - he's often asleep, so I have to do this quietly and smoothly. Plus, Wally (the small, annoying cat) really wants to go outside but isn't allowed to, so he tries to take this opportunity to dash out between my feet when I open the door- so I have to move quickly.

more bricks coming loose

Are you getting a sense of the impending disaster and utter chaos that is my morning? I have not yet tripped or dropped the boy - but I feel certain that it will happen soon. With another winter coming, I'm afraid the last few bricks will come loose- making this absolutely terrifyingly dangerous. Plus, adding coats and gloves to me, plus ice on the steps just makes this a guaranteed accident waiting to happen. Replacing the stairs was previously a really low priority on the to-do list, but it suddenly catapulted itself to number 1. So- we're redoing the stairs.

danger danger!

We really don't want this to be a DIY project, so we're in the process of getting bids from the professionals. We would love to make an iron staircase, which are really common on the fronts of DC homes from the same era - but way too expensive. Instead, we're hoping for a metal staircase, which wouldn't need any upkeep - or possibly a wooden one if metal is too expensive. Stay tuned.