Replacing Outdoor Steps

Eventually everything wears out I've learned and when you're the homeowner you need to address it as soon as possible.

This year a few things came up, in this post it's the front outdoor steps.  This is the main entrance to the house and it needs to be safe, legal and with a handrail. 

I replaced two of the steps then remember to take the before picture!  As you can see they are worn and up close they are cracked and rotting.

I thought I was just going to be replacing the step boards until I got to the top and found this menacing looking board - with dry rot and holding the whole stairway on the porch!!!

 Well that was enough to get my attention and be grateful no one had fallen through there.

All I had to do now was to remove the entire staircase and attach it somehow with a new board.

 After I'd had lunch and time to contemplate the situation, I came up with the above idea.  I first had to attach the board to the steps, then attach the whole system to the porch.  It wasn't easy, but I did it!

(Insert Girl conquers carpentry).

The other thing I had to do was to re-level the steps and put in new supports under both risers.  I did this with broken patio blocks (which work for all kinds of projects by the way) and added gravel to fill.

So wala!  New steps (railing added later) and it's safe and secure for all who enters.  

I decided on these 6 inch wide deck boards with a sliver of room between them for water run off.  I noticed the last steps were all built so tightly together that water puddled up and eventually rotted the wood.

Next up is an indoor floor project I'd been thinking about for years....!

Bad Weather Travel Tip

One of the things I have found to be necessary where I live is an over-night bag in the car.  This idea came to me, of course, after I was unable to return home due to a massive snow-turn-to-rain event back in 2007.  I wasn't able to return home for four days due to many mud slides and flooding.  Of course I knew kind friends who let me stay at their place, but imagine not even having your toothbrush with you.

So the over-night bag has become a staple emergency item that gets checked and repacked every Fall, and stays in the car till June.

Today I found a new use for it.  I was cleaning an outdoor hot tub for a client in the wettest downpour I have seen in a long time out here.  Needless to say I was mostly soaked.  I remembered that I had that bag in my car and was able to change into dry clothes in order to finish my work there.

Things to put in this bag would be pertinent to you and your travel habits.  A change of clothes, toiletries, pj's, etc.  I also put a twenty dollar bill in there.

It's really about peace of mind for me.  I imagine that four day stay away from home and think about what I might like to have with me.  

In a worse case scenario, a bottle of water, even some non perishable food might be a good idea.  A blanket and a flash light.  I have a space blanket that fits in the glove box.  What if you had to sleep in your car?  

Imagine no cell service, no people, bad weather, maybe it's dark.  That's no time to panic, just be prepared.

Have any great travel tips to share?