Our stairs were in a similar state of disrepair, however, we did not have brick covering them, so they became an eyesore and a hazard. Our stairs were over a cellar-type area in our house and letting a lot of water in.

We are DIYers too, but elected to hire this out. We found a masonry guy to rip it out and repour stairs, then put our brick wing walls back. It is probably easier for a contractor to rip out and rebuild to current code.

But I don't think it is a crazy thought to try to repair what is there, especially if you can verify that it is sound (would check on this before proceeding) and since it is going to be covered with brick.

Thanks for your response. We are leaning toward repair, resizing treads, and covering with brick. The stairs haven't moved in 100 years, end walls removed with jack hammer long ago. It is an eyesore for sure. I am excited about having it finished! Did you put brick on your stairs or just the walls?

Keep in mind that if you lay brick on top of the existing concrete, your bottom step will be way too tall and your last step will be way too short. That might be the reason for starting from scratch.

We will add a lower step, extending to accommodate for the height. Thanks for the comment though; sometimes the details we miss are so OBVIOUS!

Did you see my "Need Help with the Ugly Porch" post about a month ago?

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2994355/need-help-with-this-ugly-concrete-porch?n=17

Be glad you don't have glued down indoor/outdoor carpet!!!

I used a Concrete Patch mixed with concrete bonding agent to patch and smooth over where the original concrete had spalled. Then I painted it all with Porch paint.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_10428-286-990201___?productId=3521300&pl=1&Ntt=concrete+bonding+primer

Money was a major issue in my project too. I was pretty happy how it turned out.

What a nice job you did! It makes such a difference; I hope he gets an offer quickly. Thank you for posting, I will show my husband.

Thank you. All in the cost was less than $150.00 including the new step, concrete patch, paint etc.

Another way to look at it is that it can be a temporary fix for you until you are ready to spend more money to do something nicer.

Yes, that is what I was thinking; a step towards our desired finish. Thanks again.

I don't like brick rowlocks as steps. I've never seen them perform long term.

Wow Casey, thoses look great. I am not sure what the PO did with ours but it's failing. It's not on my current list of to-do's but sometime in the next year I hope to get to it. Not sure what I will do, but I would love to do away with them.

Three of the top front bricks have already come loose, and others are starting to come feel loose too. We think that water got down in between the mortar/bricks and the freeze thaw cycle popped them out.

If the concrete base is sound remove the topping and install full width stone slabs of the right height to avoid top and bottom irregular risers.

Joseph Corlett, I am not surprised to hear this. We spent the weekend on a home & garden tour of historical houses, and I walked through the town taking lots of pictures of very old brickwork. I saw a good number of rowlocks, but didn't speak to all homeowners about history of repairs. Warmer climate though, we have freezing temps here. We had planned header I believe, but thanks for the information.

Casey, Wow, what a job! We know those handmade bricks; our house is old, but we aren't in that league! What a beautiful job. Thank you for the pictures. I have learned a lot from you through years of lurking!

Crazysmom, That sucks! What else can you say. I am so sorry for you. My uneducated guess is wrong or improperly mixed mortar and maybe salvaged brick too? And perhaps the foundation was in a state of disrepair similar to ours. That is what I am trying to avoid. It looks like it should be easy to remove ; ) Thank you for sharing.

For stairs to walk well, they each need to be the exact same height including the first and last, especially for safety reasons - irregular steps are a safety hazard. Your DH will need to remove the exact amount from your current stairs that will be replaced by the mortar and brick. Does he really want to have to blast away the depth of the brick from each step? He will also have to be certain that the treads aren't angled downward toward the house so that they trap water.

It seems to me that there is much less work in removing the whole thing and redoing it.

NHBabs:

Code allows up to a 3/8" deviation between risers. Excessively deviant risers ruin your gait which induces falls.