So I’m going door-to-door selling myself and I’m standing on this guy’s cement porch and I mention I’m in the neighborhood giving free estimates on my services, inlcuding painting, roofing, and of course his steps could use some repair.  It’s a six step concrete porch and step two (up from the bottom) and step five are crumbling. Step two should be taken out altogether and step five is crumbling-badly- but only on the side, maybe 12 inches or so. And they’re wide steps, at least five feet. Anyway, the wife comes out and says she’d like to make it easier for her to climb up and can I make it seven steps. That means taking out all six steps and reframing a seven step stair case and probably calling in a cement truck. They also want a strong railing and they point out a neighbor that has used a single 2-inch-wide conduit pipe cemented to the ground and bent up along the stairs for a railing. They think this is great, could I do the same? Here are my questions?

If I only repair the two steps and I take out step two by removing the crumbling concrete on top of the stair and the concrete coming down its riser and place a pine board along step one as a form, Is this how I frame and pour the new step? How deep does the concrete need to be to make a solid step? Do I need isolation joints along the brick side of the house and along the brick knee wall already in place and in good shape? And can I do basically the same for step five only cut out the crumbling 12 inches and frame and pour as in step two? And what about where the back of the new tread meets the bottom of the existing riser? And same where the newly poured riser meets the existing tread? Just butt them? Any caulk?

And here’s an idea. Instead of just making this a one day project, if I really listened to the wife she wants a strong railing and stairs that are not as high a they are now. I’m thinking how hard can it be to rent a jack hammer and take up the existing six stairs-cement only- and reframe for seven. And even if I have to cut out a little on the landing to make room, I’ll have extra chunks to fill new space and then I call a cement truck (I think I’ll need to at this point) and fill from the bottom up? I’m also thinking I can make the railing they way they want using galvanized pipe. A secure base with threads on the landing would make it stronger than if I just mounted it to the wall. I screw in a 3-foot pipe with threads top and bottom then angle up (how would I do this?), possibly running tees along the way to secure the railing to the house and then another base on top of the stairs? It would make a much better finished product and turn a one day job into three.

Am I in over my head or is this something an all-around semi-skilled remodeler can do?