Cracked, crumbling or sinking front steps? We build poured or precast concrete steps that fit your entry and are planned around a Post Falls winter.
Concrete steps construction in Post Falls means building a new set of steps at your door. They're either poured on site in forms or made off-site as a precast set and trucked in, and the right choice comes down to your entry, your budget and how each kind handles a cold winter.
Most calls about steps start the same way. The old set has cracked, chipped at the edges or pulled away from the house, and usually the ground underneath moved first. A poured set gets rebar or wire mesh inside, steel that keeps cracks from pulling apart. A precast set comes hollow and in fewer sizes. If the steps belong to a bigger build, we can plan them alongside your slab foundation building or foundation installation.
The price moves with how many steps you need, how tall and wide the set is, whether it's precast or poured, and how much old concrete has to come out first. The schedule mostly depends on the weather, the ground and the permit check for your address. Idaho requires contractors to register for any job over $2000.00 in materials and labor unless they're exempt, so it's fair to ask anyone you talk to, and we're licensed and insured. Once I've seen your entry, the estimate gives you the figure for your steps.
Reach us at (208) 981-9070 or through the form, and we'll get back to you and set a time for me to come out. Let us know if the old steps are still there, because tear-out is part of the plan.
I look at the spot, ask how you use that door and what's underneath it, and we talk through precast against poured for your budget and our winters. Then I put together an estimate that lays out the type, the scope and what's included.
We check with the building office for your address about what permits the job may need, and when the office says one is needed, we handle the application for our part of the work. Then we pick pour days around the weather and the ground.
I'm on site with our crew from tear-out through the finish, which includes a broom finish, a brushed texture that gives your feet grip on wet or icy days. Before we leave, we go over the curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength, and how you'll get in and out until it's ready.
On a poured set, most of the work happens before the concrete shows up. We dig out and pack the subgrade, the ground the steps sit on, because a base that's only raked level settles along with the dirt. We check that water runs away from your door. Then we form and pour when the day isn't at its hottest, since midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top. A precast set needs that ground ready before it goes in, too.
Post Falls has its own numbers worth knowing. The city's design criteria list a concrete strength for porches, slabs and steps, so it's fair to ask any contractor whether the mix they're quoting meets it. They also list a frost line depth of 24 inches. That's a good thing to bring up when someone explains the base for your steps.
What a steps job can include:
If your steps sit level, stay tight to the house and only have a chipped edge or two, a repair may be all they need. When they've sunk, tipped toward the house or cracked clean through, the ground under them has usually moved, and patching the top won't fix the ground. I'll tell you which one you've got while we're standing there, and if it's a patch job, I'll say so.
The biggest swings come from choosing precast or poured, how many steps there are, how tall and wide the set runs, and whether old steps have to be broken out and hauled away. Base work adds cost you won't see once the job's done. If the budget's tight, that's the last place I'd cut, because a nice finish sitting on a base that settles is a set of steps you'll end up replacing.
I started Post Falls Concrete in 2020. I come out to see every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew for the work. I'd rather take the time to explain what's under your steps and where the water goes than leave you guessing, because I want you able to ask good questions, of us or of anybody else you're talking to.
Your front door is how you get in and out, so we plan a way through while the work's going on. We keep the mess to the work area and clean up before we leave. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Call before the ground freezes, and we'll have more room to plan a poured set around the weather.
Tell us how many steps you have and whether you're leaning precast or poured. We reply within one business day, and I'll come out for a free estimate with no pressure and no obligation.
Concrete steps across the US usually cost about $100 to $500 per step, and that's a national range for the work, not our price. Precast sets are priced by how tall and wide they are. For a poured set, ask whether the quote includes the framing and the rebar or mesh, since those are usually part of the material cost. I'll give you a Post Falls figure once I've seen your entry.
Precast is the cheaper choice for a standard entry, and poured is the one to pick when your entry needs an unusual size. Precast costs less because the sets are hollow and easier to assemble, but one cost guide notes they sit on the ground surface, so they're vulnerable to frost heave, the ground pushing up as it freezes. I'll talk through your entry, your budget and our winters with you before you decide.
They can, but the first couple of days decide how it goes, because concrete that freezes before it's strong enough is damaged for good, with lower strength, a scaling surface and early wear. Cold-weather concrete guidance says that at 50°F or above, concrete typically gains that early strength in about 48 hours, and that concrete placed on frozen ground is likely to settle unevenly and crack as it thaws. So we plan pour days around the weather and wait until the ground under your steps has thawed.
The City of Post Falls Building Division issues the permits and does the inspections, and it doesn't book set morning or afternoon times, so the job has to be ready that morning. For a pour, giving the city the pour time lets the inspector try to work within it, so we pass that along.
Concrete steps last 30 to 40 years with proper care and upkeep, so the care starts the day they're poured. A packed base and water running away from the steps help, and so does dealing with small chips and cracks before water works its way in.
Use sand instead of deicing salt on new concrete steps for their first winter. Cold-weather concrete guidance says salts shouldn't go on new concrete that first winter and recommends sand for traction, so keep a bucket by the door.
We're based in Post Falls and build concrete steps in Spokane Valley, Coeur d'Alene and other cities nearby. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
