Front and side steps are the first masonry visitors touch, and they take a beating from weather, salt and foot traffic. A cracked tread or a rocking nosing is not just untidy; it can make the way into your home unsafe.
Masonry Step Repairs in Toronto
Goldstar repairs, resets and rebuilds brick, stone and concrete steps on homes across Toronto. We also work on porch landings, side walls and the cheek walls that frame a flight of steps.
Common Problems With Masonry Steps
- Cracked or broken treads and risers
- Loose or missing nosings at the front edge of each step
- Steps that have dropped or tilted away from the house
- Porch landings with a gap opening against the wall
- Crumbling mortar and loose brick on side walls
- Surface scaling caused by de-icing salt
Winter does most of the damage. Water gets into joints and hairline cracks, freezes and pushes the masonry apart. Salt spread for safety speeds up the decay of concrete and brick faces, so problems grow quickly once they start.
Repair or Rebuild?
Not every tired set of steps needs replacing. Before recommending anything, we check the base the steps sit on, the condition of the joints and how the landing connects to the house wall.
When the structure is sound, a targeted repair often does the job. That can mean resetting loose nosings, replacing cracked units, repointing open joints or rebuilding a single damaged tread.
When the steps have settled, split or pulled well away from the building, patching simply delays the problem. In that case we take the flight down, deal with the base and rebuild it so it sits level and stays firm.
New Steps and Porch Landings
We also build new masonry steps and landings in brick, natural stone or concrete. Each flight is laid out for comfortable, even rises and treads, with each step pitched slightly so rainwater runs off rather than pooling and freezing.
Materials are chosen to suit the house. We match existing brick where we can, so new steps look like they have always belonged there, and we tie landings in carefully to the main wall.
Safety and Everyday Use
Uneven rises are a common cause of trips, especially in the dark or on icy mornings. When we repair or rebuild, we aim to keep every step the same height and depth so the flight feels natural underfoot.
A firm, level landing at the top gives room to open the door and stand safely. Where a railing is fitted, we make sure the masonry around its fixings is sound, so the handrail stays solid.
Steps as Part of the Wider House
Steps rarely fail on their own. Side walls and boundary walling near the entrance may share the same problems, and we can look at those under our brick and masonry walls service during the same visit.
Cracked brick or loose stone elsewhere on the property is covered by our masonry repairs service, and open joints on nearby walls can be renewed through repointing.
Book a Masonry Steps Estimate
Steps cracked, loose or pulling away from the house? Call Goldstar on (437) 243 1908 to arrange a masonry steps estimate in Toronto.
