A Step in the Right Direction

The first time we looked at our house, we noticed one of the steps had a chip on the right corner and some cement was softening on the underside of the left corner.  It wasn't the prettiest sight ever but we figured we'd make due and eventually get it replaced when the time came.

Throughout the summer, the crazy step held up pretty well.

July 2010--Cutting down the awkward, unnecessary and bent handrails

Around Halloween, we noticed the step had started to chip some more so we had an estimate done.  The price was significantly higher than we could justify spending on a new step so we decided we'd save up our money and have it done next Spring.

Wellllll...needless to say the step didn't survive the winter too well. By late February, this is what it had turned into. I hated stepping on the stupid thing out of fear that the entire step would just crumble down to the ground!

We had another company come do an estimate and it was MUCH more in line with what we expected a step to cost AND the price was ten times better.  The company wasn't the fastest--in fact, it took them more than a week to get the cement poured after they removed the step and framed out everything.  But after living with the crazy step for almost a year now, we had gotten pretty used to telling our visitors, "Watch out for the step!"

This past Friday, they came and poured the cement.  Something looked different but I couldn't put my finger on it...

 
I showed the above picture to my parents this weekend and turns out--we now have 3, not two, steps! 

The subcontractor came back this morning to remove the framing and this is what we have:

It already looks SO much better and I'm sure it will make the mailman's day when he delivers to our house today!  The guy is out there sanding it down and putting the finishing touches on it...it's amazing what you get excited about once you become a homeowner ;-)