Concrete steps construction in Sunnyvale CA - even steps that sit on solid support

Most people call us when the old steps have cracked, settled away from the house or tipped so water sits on the treads, or when a remodel needs a new way up to the door. The price moves with how many steps you need, how wide they are, whether there's a landing, whether old concrete comes out first and whether poured or precast suits your entry, and the schedule usually turns on the permit check, the weather and how much removal comes first. After I've seen your entry, the estimate gives you the scope and the price in writing, and if the walk leading up to your steps is in rough shape too, we can look at both on the same visit.

We take out the old steps first and then build the support to suit the new ones. Where steps rest on the ground, we dig out and pack the subgrade, which is the soil and gravel they sit on, and where they meet a landing or the house, we tie them into it so they aren't left on loose fill. Before the forms go up, I lay out the full rise from the walk to the door and divide it into equal steps, because the building code can set riser height, tread depth, landing size, width and handrails, and a small error repeated over several steps leaves the top or bottom one noticeably off. We set rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together, pour, and give the treads a broom finish, a brushed texture that keeps its grip when wet, since a smooth, polished step outdoors is slippery. Last, we keep every exposed face and edge damp while it cures, which is the slow hardening that gives concrete its strength, and we ask you to go easy on the corners at first because young edges chip easily.

Steps often meet other concrete, so we plan them together with it. If your steps land against a new addition or porch, we can build them alongside the slab foundation building for that space, and where they need to tie into the house itself, our foundation installation work gives them something solid to connect to.

Sunnyvale asks for a Planning permit application for residential exterior changes, additions and new construction, and the city's Permit Center sets the specific requirements for each project, so the Permit Center is where your steps' requirements get settled. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections with the city and keep you informed, and if it isn't clear what your steps need, we check with the Permit Center before we start.

On jobs here we mostly meet short entries, a few steps from the front walk up to a porch or the door, and old steps that have cracked at the corners or settled away from the wall. We build them the same way in Cupertino and Mountain View, checking how the old steps were held up before we decide how to carry the new ones.