Expert: Dan Griffin - 1/14/2008

Question
We have concrete steps in front of our house. We had to move them about a foot away from the house in order to repair a rotting sill under the front door. How do we move those steps back into place? They are solid concrete and very heavy. To get them to move originally we dug around them and placed a wooden post under the front portion . We then hooked up a chain to the truck and pulled them out about a foot. But now it's time to put them back.   Help!

Answer
I assume you don't want to just pour a new set.

It is possible to use a truck to push the steps back.  You would need to make sure they can't dig down into the dirt so I would suggest pouring a thin concrete "skid plate" that will set them up at the proper elevation.  You would certainly be flirting with hurting a truck if things go wrong, but you should be able to use some 4x4 or larger timbers pushing at the top of the  bottom step braced against the rear bumper of a real truck or at least at the trailer ball.  It would be so much better to have use of a skid steer or tractor with front end loader.  If these steps are as heavy as I suspect they may be, trying to use a hydraulic jack to push against the truck or similar will probably move the truck, not the steps.

It is also possible to use a spud bar(s) to walk the stair back into position.  This is how bank safe doors are installed.  Lever one side up and twist the tip of the bar that is under the step toward the house.  Very small movements, but they do add up.