Bricks on the porch steps are loose, missing or crumbling

Tell face damage from a failing core in five minutes

1. Stand back 3 steps and photograph the whole stairway, including where it meets the porch and the ground.
2. Tap each tread and riser with a screwdriver handle. A sharp ring means solid brick and mortar. A dull thud means the brick has separated from what is behind it.
3. Scrape a mortar joint with a key or a screwdriver tip. Mortar that powders out deeper than 1/2 inch is failing and needs repointing.
4. Step on each tread and shift your weight from edge to edge. Note any rock, sink or sideways movement.
5. Look into the gaps where bricks are gone. Grey concrete with tight edges is a sound core. Exposed gravel, flaking or missing chunks is a failing core.
6. Check the bottom step and the ground beside it for a gap, a tilt, or soil washed out from under the slab.

If the treads feel firm, the core looks grey and tight, and only bricks and mortar are damaged, this is a reset-and-repoint repair. If a tread rocks, the core crumbles under the screwdriver, or the stair leans away from the porch, the steps get rebuilt. Hire for this if anything moves. Steps carry people, so a stair that rocks, sinks or pulls away from the house is structural, and a mason handles it.

Repair or replace

What it costs

Runhome contractor estimates for this job, including the trip and assessment.

Can I do it myself?

Partly. Replacing a handful of loose face bricks and repointing joints on a rarely used step is a weekend job if you can mix mortar and cut a joint clean. Buy the brick match first, because new brick next to 40-year-old brick shows, and a repair that looks patched is worse than the missing brick.

Hire a mason if any tread rocks, if the concrete core crumbles, or if these are the steps everyone uses. A failed stair puts someone on the ground.

What a contractor will ask you

Have these ready and you skip the back-and-forth.

• A wide photo of the whole staircase, showing how it connects to the porch and the ground.
• When you first noticed bricks coming loose or falling out.
• Whether the concrete under the missing bricks feels solid or soft and crumbly when you press and tap it.
• Whether the damaged treads feel solid underfoot, or rock, sink and feel unstable.
• The age of the house or the porch, as best you know.
• Whether these steps are the main everyday entrance or a rarely used one.
• Whether you want the brick steps repaired, or removed and rebuilt in concrete or wood.
• Whether safety or appearance is your main worry, or both equally.

Related questions

They were like this when I moved in. Is it getting worse?

Assume yes. Every open joint and missing brick lets water into the core, and freeze-thaw cycles widen what water gets into. Damage that has sat for years is still worth pricing now, because the repair grows into a rebuild.

I can't tell what the core under the bricks looks like. Does that matter?

It decides the whole job. The brick face is finish, and the concrete behind it carries the weight. Nobody can grade that core from a photo, so a mason presses and taps it on site before quoting.

The steps feel solid, just ugly and missing bricks. Can I leave them?

You can, and nothing collapses tomorrow. Missing bricks leave sharp edges and an uneven step height, which is what trips people. Repointing the open joints is the cheap move that stops water getting in.

Should I replace brick steps with concrete or wood instead?

Poured concrete lasts longest and needs no repointing, and it costs more than repairing what you have. Wood is cheapest up front and needs sealing every few years. Ask for both prices next to the brick repair before you choose.

Do the whole steps have to come out?

Rarely. Brick treads and risers come off and go back on a sound core. A full tear-out is for stairs that move, lean, or have a core breaking apart.