Am I about to pay too much for concrete work?

I need to get the aging concrete front steps on my home replaced this spring, the sooner the better. These are a set of 6 steps (no rebar or mesh) rising from a new sidewalk up to a porch. The old funky crumbling steps need to be removed and a new set poured.

I have 2 bids in hand, between $1100 and $1300. Before I schedule the work, I’d like to know if I’m about to pay too much for this work. With a 6-month-old daughter at home and a wife out of work, it’s not like I have tons of extra cash floating around.

Does anyone have the background to know if this is an appropriate amount to pay for stair removal and replacement? Thanks in advance for your help!

I’ve done concrete work for a long time. I’ve done many steps. Its very difficult to give a bid without seeing it myself. I’d need the dimensions and I’d need to know whats on the sides of the steps. Can a truck reach the area?
A typical step in the front of house with nothing on the sides around 5 feet wide and with 3 tiers takes roughly 3 cubic yards. Lately a yard of mud goes for $75. So concrete will be around $250. A contractor gets it cheaper.

Advice for anyone…. Find someone who does concrete work on the side. They’ll do it for 33% less.
If I was in Wisconsin I’d be happy to do it for $600. Provided I could get a truck to it and there was nothing on the sides.

I wish I could enlighten you with better news…….but that is about right……….Concrete isn’t cheap anymore, plus throw in the labor of setting up, pouring the concrete, finishing, etc…………that is about right……….

Oops….I just saw you said 6 steps. Thats more concrete.

Trust me… There are many others like me who do work on the side that are looking for small jobs like this. If your bids are around 1250 My guess is someone will do just as good of a job for 850.
My buddy Adam is mud head too and is moving back to Wisconsin, He could use something to do back home for a bit.

Matt, I was thinking the same thing………But you also have to add in the labor and expense of getting rid of the old steps too.

If you can find someone doing it on the side, you can probably shave off 30% like Matt suggested…..

I agree with Gary on the fact that the bids you got are good priced contractor bids.
Concrete work is one of those things that people are often uneducated about and never realize how cheap it can be. Many contractors don’t want to waste time with little jobs so they give a little higher price.

Something else you may want to think about is to see if anyone makes them prefab, youd definetly save loot there and install may be a 10 minute ordeal, I work for county concrete and I know some guys that might be lookin for side work that might be lookin for some side work. Give me a PM if ya want me to check around for ya.

Guys, funny this thread is going today…over the weekend my garage floor kind of buckled. Basically the cement floor cracked and sank a little underneath the rear tires of both my vehicles…so now I have a little pooling water effect. Could this be mudJacked? About how much to re-concrete the entire floor?(3 car garage)

Thanks,

fishandski……

where i live you can buy pre cast steps and have them brought to your house and set in place for the price you got. Ever thought about getting a 10 pound sledge hammer and breaking them up youself. If the concretes crumbling its probably soft from age and might break apart fairly easy, a couple hours work maybe. Ever thought about making a simple set of nice wooden steps with handrails, local carpenters are fairly reasonable and this might be the cheapest route to take for now and with a decent carpenter they will look nice too.

Well I called down to work and they told me that county does not make them, I couldnt imagine why, they make everything else.

All right for those of you wondering the cost of things. Heres the formula for 4 inches thick… (Square feet/81)* Cost per cubic yard. A cubic yard averages around $72. Any other price for flat work at 4 inches is because of the finish and other equipment needed + labor. A typical three stall garage (28 ft deep or so) Would be around $3600 in my book. But thats assuming theres nothing to remove and its set up. A contractor would get around $5500. Moral: Comparison shop

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have tried shopping around quite a bit, but with all the new construction in this area it is hard to find someone who is willing to take the time to do a small project like this one. I had thought about wood stairs too, but I live in an area of older, “historic” homes and concrete or brick is the norm. Since selling is on the horizon for us, I didn’t want to do something to the front of the house to make it stick out like a sore thumb.

Matt: if you think that you or Adam might be interested in a job like this, have him shoot me a PM. Thanks again! -Jason