Why Are My Concrete Steps Settling?

Uneven concrete steps are a common household problem. The reason it’s so common is because it’s caused by the displacement of soil. The soil underneath your steps is meant to hold it up, so if that soil shifts in anyway, the steps will too. When the soil is originally laid out, it’s dense and firm, capable of holding up the stairs and any weight that’s placed on it. That all changes when the soil shrinks and expands.

When soil has a lot of clay content in it, it retains the moisture and expands considerably. The problem is, the more the soil is able to expand when wet, the more it’s able to shrink when dry. Once all the moisture content in the soil is gone, the soil shrinks as it compacts closely together. When soil shrinks, it loses a lot of its volume and leaves gaps everywhere. These gaps not only make it easier for water to run through the soil, it also leaves the steps without a solid support.

Without proper support, the concrete steps settle against the uneven soil. If too much weight is placed upon the steps, they crack due to being unable to evenly distribute the tension. Soil expands when meeting water, so the trick to avoiding concrete step settling is to make sure the area around the steps is exposed to water as little as possible. Soil expansion and shrinking is not entirely unavoidable since soil naturally shifts over time but taking precautions does slow down the process.