New Exterior Stairs Stoop Takes In Water

Thanks for the replies! I’m not looking to fix the stairs personally but just trying get advice to tell the contractor as it’s his responsibility to make sure the stairs he just built are working properly. I spoke to other contractors who build stairs and they’re saying that the leaks are going to continue because the contractor I hired failed to put in a waterproof membrane during the build and that leaks shouldn’t occur earlier than 5 years after the new set of stairs are built.
For those thinking it’s a minor problem. It may not look like large leaks but I literally spent $10k for a new stairs to be built and it was just built and the purpose was to build them leak free and the contractor failed to do that. These stairs aren’t even 2 months old and started leaking immediately and what’s showing up is only a portion of what’s happening on the inside. Plus, once the weather drops below zero the water will expand and contract inside the walls of the stairs where it’s trapped causing even more problems. Also, the rust on the sheet metal is already starting to for m. I doubt these stairs would last 5 years the way they were built. It’s unfortunate but I can’t just band-aid a bad job on stairs. Especially since it’s in the contract that they’d put a waterproof membrane and failed to do so. I’m not sure of the route I or the contractor has to take but will keep asking around. Thanks again for the replies.

vvsers

in General Discussion 7 years and 7 months ago

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vvsers | 7 years and 7 months ago

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Hello,

First of all, thank you so much for hearing my story! I’m looking for some good advice if you happen to have any.

I had a set of exterior front stairs/stoop made of brick, concrete, and granite that took in water whenever it rained. It was always moist and damp on the inside after a rain. I called various masonry people for a quote to redo the stairs with a new set that didn’t take in water. I settled on a contractor and went with him and he built a new set of stairs. This new set of stairs also takes in water as well and in some ways is worse than the old one (literally after the first rain after it was built you could tell it took in water.) In the contract it was listed that he would demolish the old stairs and put in a new set of stairs with a waterproof membrane and it had a 5 year warranty. When I told the contractor what was going on with the stairs he responded promptly and came back to do some spot pointing. It continued to leak and he pulled up my pavers around the stairs and tried to somehow fix the leaking through there and, continuing to leak still after that, he then ended up doing a full repointing on the stairs and yet it still leaks. It doesn’t just leak at the bottom it leaks on the sides and the corrugated sheet metal that was installed just below the granite steps is now starting to get rust spots on the sides and center of it. I later found out that he had never put a waterproof membrane when building the stairs even though it was in the contract and after some research and investigation I was told by another contractor that, there’s no way the stairs will be waterproof because the waterproof membrane should have been put in when they were building the stairs and they didn’t do that. I’m not really sure what the issue is or if that’s the issue? The contractor that did my stairs insists that even though the membrane was in the contract, the stairs didn’t really need it and that wasn’t the reason the stairs leaked. He’s blaming it on the type of bricks that he used but then why use them? And also, wouldn’t the membrane have prevented the porous bricks from causing leaks? He wants to put a clear sealer on the entire stairs, saying that that’ll solve the problem but considering how much water is coming in, I have a hard time believing that’ll solve the issue. Also, what is my recourse at this point? I spent around $10k for these new set of stairs and now I’m worried that they weren’t even built correctly. They were built not even 2 months ago and they’re already starting to rust and take in water. I’m starting to worry that all stoop stairs take in water though I’ve spoken to neighbors and many have stairs that don’t do that. Do all Stoop stairs need the waterproof membrane in order to be waterproof? Will this sealant fix the stairs or just bandaid the problem only to be revealed further down the road?

Thank you for reading this post and for any advice given! I’m attaching some pictures of the water damage on the inside walls just in case that may help with advice or comments.

[IMG_2616](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:yNQ5:img_2616.jpg.jpg) [IMG_2617](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:MB5l:img_2617.jpg.jpg) [IMG_2615](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:yzoW:img_2615.jpg.jpg) [IMG_2614](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:HZqi:img_2614.jpg.jpg) [IMG_2613](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:19Cc:img_2613.jpg.jpg)

helen40

in General Discussion 7 years and 7 months ago

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TLDR

mozeeatupu | 7 years and 7 months ago

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Doesn’t look like much damage, just wet in small areas.

oliver_nyc | 7 years and 7 months ago

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for what it’s worth, we had the same issue, albeit minor and only during hard driving rain. i purchased something called Lastiseal on amazon and used a hand pump sprayer to apply to the top of the stairs. it does stain the masonry a bit (ours was a little weathered looking anyway so didn’t bother us.) maybe spot test some areas first. it’s done pretty well but needs another coat every couple of years. it’s probably not the best long lasting solution but it has helped keep the area under the stairs dry allowing us to use it for some storage. hope this helps.

cate | 7 years and 7 months ago

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I feel your pain, this is a horrible situation to be in, but I don’t know what the answer is. I hope someone posts here with some experience with stoops or contractors who don’t do the job correctly. @williamsburgguys rebuilt his stoop and knows quite a bit about building if he is still reading.