Sidewalks & Steps in Parma, OH

Sidewalks and steps take the hardest use and the most salt of anything at a Parma home. The front walk, the side walk back to the garage, and the stoop at the door get shoveled and salted all winter, and many of them date from when the house was built in the 1950s or 1960s. When a slab heaves or the steps start to crumble, they stop being a cosmetic issue and become a trip hazard.

Public walks and private walks

If your house sits on a street with a public sidewalk, there are really two walks: the public one along the street and the private one from it to your door. The public section usually falls under city rules for width, thickness and slope. We check what applies to your street before we schedule public walk work, so the new sections meet the requirements the first time.

Why walks heave and sink

Tree roots are a common cause of a lifted sidewalk on older streets, where street trees have had decades to grow. Frost is the other. Water collects under a slab with a poor base, freezes and pushes it up, then lets it down unevenly in spring. Sections that rock or have a lip of half an inch or more are worth fixing before someone catches a toe.

Steps and stoops on older homes

Poured stoops from the 1950s often show the same problems: the front edge of each tread crumbles, the stoop pulls away from the house, or the whole thing settles and tips. Small damage can sometimes be patched, and HomeGuide puts typical step repair at $300 to $800. When the stoop has separated or the concrete is soft through, we replace it. New steps are formed with even rise and run, finished with a broom texture for grip, and set on a compacted base or footings sized to the job. Railings can be reset in the new concrete.

Signs walks or steps need replacing

• Lifted or sunken sections with a lip at the joint
• Wide cracks or broken corners
• Surface flaking from salt
• Steps pulling away from the house
• Treads that crumble at the edge or hold water
• Uneven step heights that make people stumble

How we build walks

We remove the old sections, cut back roots where it is safe for the tree, set a compacted stone base and pour air-entrained concrete with a slight cross slope so water runs off. Joints go in at regular spacing. A broom finish provides grip on wet or icy days. Walks are sealed before the first winter.

Caring for walks and steps

Use a plastic or rubber-edged shovel. Choose a deicer that is easier on concrete, use sand for the first winter on new work, and reseal every few years. Keep downspouts from discharging onto steps and walks, where the water freezes into ice.