Concrete patio area , fix or remove

Hey guys,
I have the below patio area/ entrance and the slabs are broken and sunken.
Was thinking of fixing them to improve the curb appeal of the house but not too sure about it. I'm leaning more towards getting rid of the whole thing and either adding a wooden deck or keep it simple and just add some nice steps to the house and landscape the area.
What do you guys think and eowoulduld removing it cause any structural headaches ?!

 

Is this for sale? Are you DIYing?

The slab has been poured after the house, by looks of things so should be ok to remove.

However the house brickwork would need to be made good if you removed the whole porch including the sides as they are tied in with the house brickwork.

Since it has already been painted, you could just paint the whole top part with a paving paint (e.g. woodland grey or even the same red). That would be cheapest. Bunnings has concrete crack filler. You can repair the broken off bits of concrete either with glue or repour the corners.

I would remove the balustrade, but there may be a lump of cement left underneath each pillar that will need to be ground off with a cup grinder or similar.

You could also paint the balustrade, but would probably need to use white or light grey so it doesn’t become a trip hazard. And bog up the broken ends.

Just fixing up the garden will make a huge difference.

 

I think it is a really cute patio so would definitely explore fixing it up.

Also second giving some love to the garden. It has the potential to be a gorgeous little feature

 

Pretty much what @Joynz said.
However you could also get rid of the balustrade, don't worry about patching anything, lay some treated batons (pack under them to reduce rot) and deck it, fix some posts to the fascia, string some 5+mm stainless steel cable, or thick rope, fix decking between posts to cover brick work.

You could also turn the balustrade into a bar, sit out there and have coffee/drinks etc.

 

If the OP does build a low deck, then have a look at the plastic low deck supports available at Bunnings - they won’t rot and will allow the deck to breath a bit.

 

I was thinking of working with the theme, add a few Corinthian columns, honed carrera marble, pergola and grape vines.

 

Thanks very much for the feedback guys.

@Joynz , It's a DIY project at my PPOR which will most probably end up as a rental.
The balustrade had some broken parts before which i fixed as per your suggestions above but didn't look good enough for my liking...

The main issue for me is the way the slabs are not flat anymore as per photo 2. Not sure if it's possible for me to fix that by myself as I've read that this will need some specialty tools that drill through the slab and then poor some kind of concrete to lift it up or something.

Already started on the garden and indeed, it looks already much better.

Thanks again guys

 

You could hire a concrete grinder or apply a concrete levelling compound on the low section.

 

Not sure how that would be possible, thats's a lot of weight to lift.

Don't know what's under the slab, how long its taken to get to that point, if it will sink further etc, however if you deck it, run the joists left to right (one fixed to wall length under the window), pack them so there level, a lot less work/cost, easy to diy.

I'd make the deck hight level with the top of the door step, remove the trip hazard, make it look tidier.
You could also build a ramp where the porch step is (no step), make it easier for people with walking aids, perhaps wheel chairs but the front door width may not be wide enough.

If water pools severely at the low point after rain (against brick work), you could cut the concrete, dig a tench, install a drain (sim to laundry floor drain) running to front garden.

 

Just get some decking tiles from ikea and put them on.

 

Concrete appears to of sunk due to poor base preparation, probably poured straight onto the clay/soil.
Would recommend removal as if you patch it it will just crack again but that will take some time

 

Slab would need to be more level for these sort of decking tiles.

 

I have no idea how much it costs but slab jacking/foam jacking is where you drill a few holes and inject polyurethane foam which expands and lifts the cement back to level and hardens.

If you were happy to leave it and want to make it level to tile or deck over then you could put a self levelling compound on top to make it level again.

 

Decking tiles will definitely not work as is since the slab is really sunken in the middle by a good 2 inches or so.

As per @HorribleWestie , it seems like the preparation was pretty poor and the slab was poured straight on to the clay soil hence why i was thinking fixing it for now will be a temporary thing since it will most probably sink more hence why i thought removing it would be the best option.

@Westminster , foam jacking is exactly what i was reading about and that seems to cost at least a good 1500$. Would self levelling compound work on such a deep crack?!

@WestOz , thanks very much for the ideas and suggestions.

 

I'd be removing it. It's sunk way too much in the middle which suggests the footings are sinking and need to be fixed too.

'Fixing' will definately be temporary, but 'temporary' could be years... Depends on how much you want to spend? A concrete levelling system will do the trick for now, and the cheapest option.

You'd definately want to be doing something though - I'd imagine water would be pooling against the house in that dip.

 

Over what period of time has the section sunk? Do you have a water leak/cracked pipe?

The deck appears to be well supported on the side/front, you may need to replace the two sunken panels and some minor work to support the edge nearest the house.

 

if youre diy'ing get a decent bottle jack underneath and see how you go getting it back up.
I have a similar issue with a similar vintage property and it's likely a separate pour and very simple piers and form work underneath. Mine was done with bricks stacked up (no mortar or base prep) and then roofing tin as formwork. The piers have sunk over time causing the drop. As the concrete is separate a decent bottle jack may lift it. Thats what i might play with anyway -Then re-chock it with packers..... Then repeat in another 50 years!

Than paint the rest!! paint paint paint!! cheap and cheerful!

 

@mikey7 , that's exactly my thoughts. It needs repair before it causes more issues. No broken pipes or anything like that.

I bought the property almost 4 years ago and the slab hasn't sunk much if at all since then so i'm guessing this is the work of decades...

Concrete levelling system might do the job but there is a good 76mm (brick height) dip in the middle so sounds really patchy trying to level it out.

I don't have the skills to DIY this job to be honest and i'm happy so spend a bit of money on this since it's the house's entrance...

I think I'm going to get a few quotes done:
1- first would be to repair slab and concrete including balustrade and all
2- second to see how much would it cost to demo and fix the brick work that is tied to the side of the house as per Joynz's post above (i can demo myself i think ) and another quote for a simple wooden deck and i can landscape around that

 

A little bit of a clean up as per suggestions made a really good difference but also shows how sunken the slabs are.
Cheers and thx again for the suggestions guys

 

I would replace those thin, scraggly bushes near the patio as they look very 'bitsy'. (Apologies if they are your pride and joy - photo's a bit unclear!)

Perhaps put some low plants in a row - to fill out and create a 'softening border' under the patio. You need several though to create a row around both sides, not just 3 or 4.

Not if you plan to redo the patio of course.