The Back Stoop 2024 Part 1

Porches

Second Remodel 

Eight years after its last rebuild, weather, loose decking and aging railings tell me it's time to tackle the back stoop again.

The back stoop here at 173 seems to have been a ongoing project ever since we came here in '97.  It's been painted a couple times and back in 2016 was almost completely remodeled.  I made new railings, sanded the decking down to bare wood,  and completely refurbished the steps and the doors. And it turned out looking pretty good.  But, after finally putting the siding on the lower half of the back porch, like I should have done years ago, we thought it was time to give the back stoop yet another makeover.  Let's get into it.

Why Remodel It Again?

It really all started with the railings. Back in 2016 I replaced the railings that were here when we arrived at 173 in '97.   A couple years ago I noticed a few of the railings were growing some kind of fungus.

It seemed kind of weird but at the same time they had their own beauty.  

So, I wasn't really in a hurry to replace them.   At the same time,  I was noticing the beginnings of some rot on a couple rails... first indication of time for a change. 

This next picture shows a couple more reasons why it was time to remodel the back stoop.  If you notice the decking, particularly on the left, you'll see that there was a lot of buckling going on, which really was just a result of the screws that held them in place had long since rotted out and boards were effectively just laying there...unattached, so obviously it was time to fix that!  The other thing you might notice is the cinder blocks were missing bits of mortar and were in need of re-pointing.

Starting With the Easy Part

I figured I would start with repointing the cinder blocks.  So, for the second time in just a few weeks, I moved those incredibly heavy steps out of the way so I could get at the foundation.  In hindsight,  I probably should have done the repointing before I put the steps back the first time, but either way... here we are! 

 

Usually when I do any concrete work here at 173, I buy a 50 pound bag of concrete...use about 3 pounds of it, and have the rest sitting around for a few years till I find some use for it.  This time I found a small 3 pound bag of mortar which was still too much but far easier to store away in its very own zip-top bag.

Unfortunately I didn't get a final picture of the re-pointing, but it ended up looking much cleaner than this!  Either way though,  the steps cover that entire side of the stoop. 

Downtime is where we become ourselves, looking into the middle distance, kicking at the curb, lying on the grass or sitting on the stoop and staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky. - Anna Quindlen

Down Come the Old Railings

The biggest part of this project is replacing the decking on the stoop.  The next will be replacing the railings.   Of course to get at the decking, I first had to remove the railings. After all the effort I put into making the current railings back in 2016, I was a bit hesitant because I always doubt myself, as to whether I could duplicate what I had done before.  

However, it also got me to thinking that maybe I just don't have to duplicate it - maybe I can re-imagine it.  So we'll see what we end up with, but for now, the railings are down.  Next step...decking.

And Then I Ticked Off a Bee

With the railings off, it was time to get at it with removing the decking.   Buuuut...I hit a snag.   After removing the first two boards,  I ticked off a bee.  Mind you, here at 173 our yards are full of trees (well, a few trees anyway), and a lot of flowers and bushes, and because of that, we have bees everywhere.  We've lived with them peacefully for...I don't know, going on 30 years and I've never been stung in our yard - until now.  But I have to say I thank God that it was just one of these...

Don't you just love that picture? It's actually just a cropping from a much more distant shot, but I loved the composition. I think that's globe thistle, and of course I love the bee there.  Although, not so much if he's the one that got me.  And at the end of the day, I can be incredibly thankful that it wasn't one of these scenarios:

Another picture I took several years ago and I can tell you with absolute certainty that, this too is a cropping from a much, much, and may I say again - much more distant shot.

Anyway...

I'm not particularly allergic to bee stings, not to the level of needing epinephrine or anything like that, but nonetheless, I had a bit of a reaction where I developed cellulitis in my left forearm where I got stung, and needed an antibiotic.  In the meantime I just thought it better to not do anymore work on the stoop until I could have someone come and take a look at where the bees are and what we could do to remove them.  

But after after they came and took a look under the stoop and back porch, where it seemed like the bees were coming from, they couldn't find any evidence of a hive or any boring from carpenter bees or anything like that.  So, for now we've covered the area with the missing boards with some plastic, just to keep the rain from getting under the porch.  That's important because we store the lawn mower and the wheelbarrow and other things under there.  So...soon we'll get back at it, but in the meantime we'll keep the plastic over it.  

And that's how this summer has been going!  

400 Posts at House 173

Also, I wanted to take a minute to note that this represents our 400th post here at House 173!  It doesn't seem possible.  

Four hundred posts. That's a lot of paint, sawdust, busted knuckles, wrong measurements, tools I probably didn't need, projects that took three times longer than they should have, and apparently now at least one bee sting. When I started this blog, I certainly never imagined there would be 400 stories worth telling about one old house.

Then again, maybe that's the thing I've learned after all these years. You don't really finish an old house. You just take care of it for awhile. Something gets repaired, something gets painted, something else starts rotting, and every now and then you stand back and realize all those little jobs have become part of the history of the place.

So maybe it's appropriate that post number 400 isn't some grand reveal. It's an old back stoop, torn halfway apart and temporarily covered with plastic because a bee told me I was done working for the day.

Yeah. That seems about right for House 173.

And whether you labored your way through all...or some, or even if this is your first visit...thanks for stopping by - see ya' next time!

I don't know if this is a compliment, but this may be the most realistic DIY post I've read in awhile.

You've got loose deck boards, questionable railings, some mortar that needs fixing and a guy thinking, I'll knock this out.

Then nature says no.

The bee sting becoming cellulitis definitely escalated faster than I expected, but what made me laugh was the plastic at the end. That's home improvement right there. Not the beautiful finished project with the tools neatly arranged beside it. It's two boards missing, plastic over the hole and, “Well, I guess we're done for now.”

I also liked seeing the old 2016 railings come down. Eight years isn't forever, but they did their job, and I appreciate that you didn't pretend every previous project at 173 was built to survive the next hundred years.

And congratulations on 400 posts.

Seems appropriate that number 400 ends with the house half apart.

That's usually when there's actually something worth writing about. - The Guy Who Started Reading for the Porch and Stayed for the Bee

FAQs

Why do porch or deck boards start lifting?

Loose boards can result from deteriorated fasteners, repeated wet-and-dry cycles, movement in the wood or deterioration beneath the decking. Before simply replacing screws, inspect the supporting framing to make sure the new fasteners will have sound material to bite into.

Can deteriorated mortar joints in concrete block be repaired?

Yes. Loose or deteriorated mortar can often be removed and replaced through repointing, provided the blocks themselves and the underlying structure remain sound.

Does fungus on outdoor wood mean the wood is rotten?

Not necessarily. Surface fungal growth can occur wherever wood stays damp, but persistent moisture can also contribute to decay. Probe questionable areas and inspect the surrounding joints before deciding whether a piece can remain or should be replaced.

Keywords

back stoop remodel, porch renovation, back porch repair, wood stoop repair, porch railing replacement, deck board replacement, mortar repointing, old house maintenance, exterior wood rot, DIY porch repair, House 173, 1920s house restoration, porch remodeling