My front porch is concrete, but it's too far below the front door, so there is a landing. The landing is also concrete. However, this landing is not long enough (in the travel direction, IE when coming out of the house it's too short). It looks to be about 2 and a half feet (will measure when I get home), but the code is 3 feet. People stumble when going out my front door because of it.
I think it was up to code when the house was built, but it is not anymore.
So what would be the process to make this landing larger? I would like to build a new one with concrete. Do I have to chisel away and destroy the old landing first? Or could I just put a new form around the outside of it, put some kind of joint in place and pour new concrete?
Best Answer
If the existing landing and porch were poured together, there's probably rebar embedded in both. Breaking off the old landing without disturbing the porch below may be difficult. Plus you will need to add rebar to whatever new step you add and it would be best if it were embedded in the porch.
I doubt you'll have much luck just adding onto the depth and then skimming over the entire thing. Concrete shrinks a little as it dries and I just don't see this staying together for very long, and as soon as water gets in that crack then it's all over.
You may find it easier to highlight the step transition to make it more visible instead of tearing up your entire porch just to add 6" to the landing. E.g. maybe a door mat, some potted plants, or even installing a railing would help draw the eye to the transition.