Cracked, sinking or crumbling front steps? We pour new ones or set precast steps on a base packed hard enough to carry them.
Concrete steps construction in Rancho Cucamonga means either forming and pouring new steps in place or setting precast steps, which arrive as hollow units, on a base packed hard enough to hold them. Truecast Rancho Cucamonga Concrete is based in Rancho Cucamonga and builds both kinds for homes here and in cities across the Inland Empire.
Most calls start with steps that have pulled away from the house, cracked across a tread or settled so one step sits higher than the rest. Usually the concrete on top isn't the real problem. The dirt underneath was never packed and has been settling ever since, so good new steps start with the ground, not the forms.
The price turns mostly on poured versus precast, then on how many steps you need, how wide the entry is and how much old concrete we break out first. The schedule turns on any permit the job needs and on the weather, because I'd rather move a pour than rush one. Your written estimate lists what's included, so you can see where the money goes.
You deal with the same people from the first look to the last walk-through, and here's how that goes.
I measure the entry, look at what the old steps are sitting on and ask how you use them, whether it's a busy front door or a side door to the yard. I've been doing this since 2013, and this is where I tell you straight whether poured or precast makes more sense for your house.
You get it on paper, with the method, the number of steps, the tear-out and the cleanup listed. If something is included, it's written down, so nothing is left to guess on pour day.
We're licensed and fully insured, and our own trained crew does the work with me on site. Once you say go, we handle any permit the job needs, set the forms, pour when the day suits it and walk the finished steps with you.
I start by helping you choose poured or precast, weighing what each costs against the sizes each one comes in, because that choice sets everything after it. Poured steps get formed, poured and finished right at your door, on a base we've dug out and packed. For precast, we pack the base hard before the steps go in, as one maker's install guide stresses, because those units are heavy and sink into loose dirt. Either way, the base is the one place I won't trim the budget, since nobody sees it on day one but it decides whether the steps settle, and a nicer finish on top can't make up for a soft base.
Steps usually tie into something bigger. If the landing at the top is cracked too, or you're adding a room that needs steps to reach it, we also do slab foundation building and foundation installation, and it's simpler to plan the steps and what they connect to as one job.
This is the order the work goes in for poured steps, and where precast steps differ.
We remove the old concrete and haul it off, and I look at what it was sitting on. Soft or washed-out dirt usually explains why the old steps sank or pulled away from the house.
The subgrade, the dirt the steps sit on, gets dug out to firm soil and packed, not just raked level, so it doesn't keep settling under the new steps. We also set the steps to shed water away from your door instead of toward the house.
We build the forms to your entry and set rebar, steel bars that hold the concrete together and keep cracks from spreading, then pour in the cooler part of the day because midday heat dries the top too fast and leaves it weak and dusty later. If you chose precast, this is the day the steps go onto the packed base.
The treads get a broom finish, a light brushed texture so they grip when they're wet, and curing starts once the finishing is done, keeping moisture in so the concrete hardens strong. Then we pull the forms, clean up and tell you when the steps are ready to use.
Send the form with how many steps you have, how wide the entry is and a photo of the steps you've got now, or call (909) 552-8210. We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out, measure and leave you a free written estimate. There's no pressure to book.
(909) 552-8210Across the US, poured or precast concrete steps usually cost about $100 to $500 per step, and that's the national market's range, not our price. Precast prices depend on the height and width of the steps, and for poured steps the framing and the steel inside usually count as part of the material cost. For a price on your own steps, I'll come out and write you an estimate.
Pick precast if a stock size fits your entry and price matters most, and pick poured if your entry is wide, tall or an odd shape. Precast steps cost less, but poured steps come in a larger range of sizes, so the extra money buys you steps built to your exact entry.
Concrete steps last 30 to 40 years with proper care and upkeep. That span assumes steady care, so plan on looking after them, and know that concrete can crack. What we control is underneath and on pour day, which is why the base and the timing get so much of our attention.
The city's Building and Safety Department handles permits in Rancho Cucamonga, and it takes all applications online. If your job needs one, we apply for it and keep track of it, so you don't have to.
In California, this kind of work falls under the state's C-8 concrete contractor license, which covers forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing concrete, and the state contractors board tells homeowners to ask to see the contractor's pocket license. Someone without a license can only take on minor work within the state's $1,000 limit, and only when the job needs no permit and they hire no one to help. The state also won't let a licensed concrete contractor claim an exemption from workers' compensation, even with no employees.
We build steps in the cities around Rancho Cucamonga too, including Upland, Ontario, Fontana and Chino. Most of the steps we replace are at front doors and side doors down to a garage or yard, and the work is the same wherever you are.
Call (909) 552-8210 or send a photo through the form, so I show up already thinking about whether poured or precast fits your entry.
If your steps are cracking, sinking or pulling away from the house, give us a call and I'll come take a look.
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