Settled concrete steps? Epp lifts them. When the steps themselves are sound.

Residential stair step leveling in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri typically runs $400 to $2,000 per stair set. A small basement entry or garage step set usually falls between $400 and $900. A larger porch stoop with attached landing runs $900 to $2,000. When the lift includes the adjacent sidewalk or driveway tied to the stoop, the combined scope usually runs $1,500 to $4,000. Pricing reflects the size of the slab being lifted, the lift height, the number of polyurethane foam injection ports required, and accessibility. Written estimate after on-site inspection reflects your scope.

Lifting is not appropriate when a tread, riser, or step block is cracked through its full thickness. That piece needs replacement by a mason, not lifting. It is not appropriate when the tread surface has spalled or scaled deeper than 1/2 inch across most of its area; the safer call is replacement. Lifting is also wrong when the porch stoop itself is failing structurally (separating from the house at the band joist, sinking with active foundation movement, or showing rebar exposure from heavy spalling). That is a separate scope. Epp will tell you which category your steps fall into during the inspection.

Epp Foundation Repair drills 5/8-inch injection ports through the top landing of the stoop, through the back edge near the house, or through an adjacent sidewalk or driveway slab tied to the step assembly. Two-part polyurethane resin is pumped through the ports; the resin expands 20 to 30 times its liquid volume and fills the consolidated fill void below. A digital level monitors elevation in real time so the operator can stop precisely at the target lift. Most stair step jobs complete in 1 to 2 hours. The steps are walkable immediately. Ports are patched flush with color-matched concrete patch material.

Porch stoops on 1960s-through-1990s homes in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa were almost always poured on minimal compacted fill. Typically the soil pulled out of the basement excavation, placed in shallow lifts, and tamped by foot or hand roller. That fill consolidates over 20 to 50 years, especially after wet-dry cycles and the 50-plus freeze-thaw cycles each winter. Freeze-heave at the stoop fill freezes residual moisture and lifts the slab slightly each cycle; the lifted material never fully settles back when it thaws. After 30 years of repairs across Lincoln, Omaha, Council Bluffs, and Des Moines, this is the single most common cause we see on settled porch stoops.

No. Epp Foundation Repair lifts the step set. We do not replace cracked, spalled, or broken step blocks. That is a mason's scope. We do not re-flash or re-caulk the joint where the step meets the house. That is a roofing or siding contractor scope. We do not add, modify, or replace handrails. That is a carpentry or handyman scope. Clear scope keeps homeowners from paying twice. When a related trade is needed alongside the lift, Epp names it on the Customized Repair Estimate so the homeowner can coordinate the work in the right order.

Yes, in most cases. The lift restores the step to its original elevation against the house wall, which closes the visible gap at the joint. However, the lift does not re-establish a watertight seal at the step-to-house joint. That joint needs to be re-flashed or re-caulked by a roofing or siding contractor after the lift to keep water out of the wall cavity. Epp flags the joint condition on the Customized Repair Estimate and recommends the sequence: lift first, re-flash the joint after. Skipping the joint repair will let water back in and accelerate the next round of settlement.

An Epp inspector measures the drop at the step-to-threshold joint, sights along the tread surfaces to identify which step has dropped and in what direction, checks for cracks through the full thickness of any tread or riser, looks for spalling deeper than 1/2 inch on tread surfaces, evaluates the step-to-house joint condition, checks adjacent slabs (sidewalk, driveway, stoop landing) for related movement, and assesses any handrail or railing attachment that will affect the lift. The inspection takes 20 to 45 minutes on a typical residential stair set. The output is a written diagnosis identifying whether the set is liftable, partially liftable, or needs replacement.

When the fill consolidation has been addressed by filling the voids with polyurethane foam, and when surface drainage around the step set is not actively recreating new voids (downspout splash, gutter overflow, lawn sprinkler spray), a step lift typically holds the lifetime of the home. The foam is permanent. It does not break down, wash out, or lose volume under freeze-thaw or moisture cycling. Re-settlement after a foam lift means new void formation, usually from an unaddressed drainage problem. Epp flags any drainage condition on the Customized Repair Estimate so the homeowner can correct it. The transferable lifetime warranty covers further foam-related settlement; it does not cover settlement from a new drainage failure introduced after the lift.

Let's take the first step toward a healthy home.

A local specialist will inspect your foundation, walk you through the findings, and send a clear estimate. no cost, no pressure.