Stone doorstep broken by builder

NoisyGiraffe

stuart45 said:

If you are going to use steel dowels, fix them into the main part of the cill, throw away the broken piece and shutter up and cast a new concrete piece on. Good idea to use a bonding agent on the join.

FreeBear said:

stuart45 said: If you are going to use steel dowels, fix them into the main part of the cill, throw away the broken piece and shutter up and cast a new concrete piece on. Good idea to use a bonding agent on the join.

And use stainless steel dowels for a permanent fix. Regular mild steel will rust eventually and cause the step to crack. It might take 50+ years for the pins to rust though..

Thanks both. I'm not sure whether he's going to be willing to cast new concrete in place, he seems more keen on using the step he's already got to replace. I will ask about this though.

Just in case he's not willing, what's the best course of action for a permanent/long lasting repair with him cutting out the top of the step and replacing it? 

stuart45

Casting a new piece isn't a big job for a builder, and cutting out the old one close to the door, and then cutting the new one to fit might be as much.
Ideally the cill should go into the brickwork each side. When he beds the new cill, I wouldn't have too much of an overhang, in case people stand on the edge and tip it

Section62

NoisyGiraffe said:

Just in case he's not willing, what's the best course of action for a permanent/long lasting repair with him cutting out the top of the step and replacing it? 

Just to echo stuart45's post, the best overall solution would be to cut the existing step back to be flush in line with the door frame (slightly undercut if possible) and then cast a new step in-situ with stainless steel dowels into the wall and the remains of the step under the door to anchor it in place.

The advantage of having the step cut back to the door frame is it will help break the continuity between the step outside and the floor on the inside... which would help prevent any future problems with cold or damp penetration.  For that reason I'd also try to add some DPM if feasible.

The most important thing is keying the step into the existing structure so it doesn't come loose and wobble when stepped on.  This can be really dangerous.

stuart45

The method described by Section62 would be the best, and as the builder damaged the cill it's fair to expect a good repair, rather than what is cheap and easy for him.

NoisyGiraffe

@stuart45 and @Section62 thank you both so much, really helpful!