DIY Network

Front Step Revamp: Demolition From "Rock Solid" episode DROC-113

The front of your house is the face it presents to the world -- your steps should do it justice! In this episode of Rock Solid, Dean and Derek are called in to restore the front entrance of a beautiful Cape home. They’ll remove a cracking, shifting and weather-worn slate platform and in its place build a new multiple bluestone platform with a cobble riser.

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	Before demolition
	The front step after Derek and Dean's revamp

Materials:

Safety glasses
Chisel
Hammer
Heavy-duty crowbar
Heavy sledge hammer
Spade shovel
Mixing hoe with holes
Wheelbarrow
Trowel
Pencil
6' Level
Rubber mallet
Grinder with diamond blade
Measuring tape
Jointers
Paint brush
String
Rebar
Mason sand
Type S cement
Cobblestones (new or used)
Bluestone treads
Multiple bluestone

NOTE: measurements can change with each project -- Dean and Derek recommend bringing your measurements and desired dimensions to the quarry and they’ll determine the quantity of material needed for the project.

Slate is a great choice of material, perfect for walkways, garden accents, and some flooring, but it’s not necessarily the best material for New England front steps. Concrete doesn’t stick to its smooth edges (causing cracks later) and it’s slippery when wet. Dean and Derek start by demolishing the existing slate and concrete platform.

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• They pop up the existing slate stones with hammers and chisels (figure A) and demolish the concrete with a heavy duty sledge hammer and crowbar. Dean and Derek want to keep the same approximate dimensions of the old platform -- they’ll only demolish enough to create a new platform with the same dimensions.

• The goal in this project is to create a platform measuring seven inches high and about seven inches below the front door’s threshold (the threshold is about 14 inches off the ground and steps should be around six or seven inches high). Dean and Derek demo enough (figure B) so that when the width of the materials and mortar are added up, seven inch heights are created. The platform will be created from bluestone treads around the edges (measuring 2 inches), cobblestones (measuring 5 inches), and a 1/2" inch mortar joint -- if the cobbles are set slightly below grade, this will give the seven inch height for both the platform and threshold. The sides (which don’t have the cobblestone risers) and the center (made of 1-inch multiple bluestone) should be demoed to create a surface that, when the material is added, is level. As you demo, check your measurements with a measuring tape.

• Dean and Derek uncover a couple of pleasant surprises. First, they find out that the area where the original platform met the house has tin flashing. If the area between your platform and house doesn’t have it, Dean and Derek recommend flashing installation. Whether it's rubber or tin, flashing will save your house’s foundation by preventing rot. Second, they discover that the old platform base isn’t solid concrete, but a base with a separate solid concrete chunk at the front. Rather than demo the front of the old concrete base back five inches (the width of the cobblestones), they’ll just remove this front piece (figure C) -- it’s a little wider than they need but they’ll just fill the area behind the cobbles with concrete and junk.

With the demo done, Dean and Derek take a trip to the quarry to pick out their material!