Front Stairs

While waiting for the new window to arrive, I decided to tackle some other tasks that I’ve been ignoring. First up, my horribly dangerous front stairs. Since I’m getting a roommate soon, who will unquestionably complain about them, I decided I should do something. None of the contractors I contacted over the summer got back to me, so it’s looking like the stairs won’t get rebuilt this year. I had mixed a little mortar the other week to fix the gaps around my window and it was pretty easy to work with. So I thought, why not give it a try?

First off, do you know how much a 60 lb. bag of concrete costs? $3.03, including tax. For that amount, I figured I really had nothing to lose in giving it a try. So I bought a bag and started mixing. I don’t have a cement mixer, so I just did about five cups at a time in a 5 gallon container. I ended up using all of it, which surprised me. But it was fun.

The original stair after I pulled out as many broken pieces as I could

Top view of stair after I put in all my concrete, with my duct-taped form.

Better view of my form. These were pieces I had lying around my kitchen

Final look. Is it perfect? No. Is it better? Yes.

The cool thing is that this took me about an hour to an hour and a half to do. So even if it falls apart later, I’m glad I did it. I’m hoping it will last through the winter.

After the front stair repair, I also decided it was time to finish the closet in my bedroom. And by finishing, I mean hang some poles so I could put my clothes in it. I had gone to the container store to get some really nice elfa shelving. But it seems like you have to spend time with a consultant to lay the thing out and I just wasn’t in the mood. So I saved a lot of money by going to Home Depot and just buying some brackets, a pole and some wood. For $50, I have to poles and shelves now and I’m happy.