Front Porch Repair on a Chicago Brick Home

Front porch repair on a Chicago brick home usually means fixing one of four things: crumbling steps, loose mortar in the porch brick, a soft wood floor or columns, or a wobbly railing. Some of that needs no permit and some of it always does. The right order is to find out which part is failing, then decide how big the job really is.

What is a front porch on a Chicago brick house made of?

Most of the older brick two-flats, three-flats and bungalows in Chicago have a front entry built from a mix: brick or stone cheek walls on either side of the steps, concrete or limestone treads, a wood or concrete porch floor, and wood or metal columns and railings. Newer or rebuilt porches may be all wood on brick piers.

That mix matters because each material fails in its own way, and each has its own repair and its own rules. Ask a contractor to name the material of every part they want to touch.

Why do front steps and stoops crumble?

Concrete steps in Chicago are exposed to freeze and thaw, and deicing salt makes it worse. The concrete industry describes scaling as flaking of the surface from freeze-thaw exposure, and says deicers worsen it by keeping the surface saturated and adding freeze-thaw cycles (NRMCA). The usual causes are concrete that was not air-entrained, concrete that was weak or permeable, too much deicer on new concrete, bad finishing and poor curing.

If the damage is light flaking on solid steps, a repair or resurfacing may do it. If the steps are cracked through, sinking, or pulling away from the porch, they are a replacement job, and a new pour should be specified for the weather. NRMCA recommends air-entrained concrete with a specified strength of 4000 psi for exterior slabs exposed to freezing and deicers (NRMCA). Ask your contractor what mix they plan to use and why.

For the full steps question, see concrete or wood porch stairs.

What do loose brick and open mortar mean on a front porch?

Cheek walls and piers are brick like the rest of the house, and the same rules apply. The City's maintenance standard lists masonry joints that are not weather resistant or water tight as an unsafe condition (City of Chicago). Open joints on a porch wall let water into the core, and a freezing winter pushes the damage along.

Repointing older Chicago brick needs mortar softer and more vapor-permeable than the brick, and no harder than the original mortar. Hard modern mortar on soft brick makes the brick take the stress, and the face spalls (National Park Service). That is the single most common way a well-meant porch repair makes the brick worse. The details are in our guide to fixing spalling brick.

Does a front porch repair need a permit?

It depends on what you are touching and how big the porch is. The Department of Buildings (DOB) states on its porch and deck safety page:

• Routine maintenance such as power washing or painting needs no permit.
• If you have no violation, replacing non-structural pieces such as deck boards, stair treads and railing pickets needs no permit.
• Repairing or replacing a residential porch less than 6 feet off the ground, with no more than 50 square feet of landing, needs no permit.
• Repairing or replacing structural elements such as columns, beams, foundations, stringers and floor joists always needs a permit, with plans by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer.

Many front stoops sit low and small, so the third bullet can apply. A raised front porch with columns and a roof usually cannot rely on it. When in doubt, ask DOB. Do not assume.

Masonry has its own side. The City lists tuckpointing as work eligible for its Express masonry permit (City of Chicago). The only masonry exemption is replacing up to 50 square feet in kind on a residential building up to four stories (City of Chicago). A few bricks on a cheek wall might fit. Rebuilding a whole porch front would not. Express itself covers repair, not new or different structures, so a front porch that is larger, smaller or in a different configuration needs a plan-based permit (City of Chicago). Concrete repair over 100 square feet is among the triggers for drawings from an architect or engineer (City of Chicago). The deeper permit answer is in Chicago porch permits.

Rules and fees change. Confirm current details with the Department of Buildings.

When is the wood part of the porch the problem?

On many front porches the masonry is fine and the wood is not. Soft columns at the base, a floor that has gone spongy near the steps, and railings that move all point to water getting into the wood. The City's maintenance rule says exterior stairs, decks, porches and balconies must be structurally sound, in good repair and properly anchored, and that handrails and guards must be firmly fastened (City of Chicago). A rail you can shake with one hand is not meeting that.

Columns, beams and floor joists are structural. Replacing them goes under the permit rule above. For how to decide between patching and starting over, see repair or replace a Chicago porch.

What should you do before the first brick comes off?

1. Sort the problem by material. Concrete, brick or wood. Each answers to a different fix.
2. Look up the permit side. Use the DOB rules above, and ask your contractor who is pulling the permit and what the number is.
3. Plan for the public way. If scaffolding, a dumpster or materials go on the sidewalk, street or alley, the City says that is a separate permit from the Chicago Department of Transportation (City of Chicago). Front porches close to the lot line often trigger it.
4. Ask about matching. New brick and mortar on an old front looks like a patch. A mason who matches color and joint profile is worth asking for.
5. Ask about the water. A repair that does not fix where the water comes from will fail again.

Who can do all of it?

A front porch on brick crosses trades. It needs a mason for the brick, a concrete finisher for the steps, a carpenter for the wood, and sometimes a designer for the drawings. Our porch team has those trades in house, so the pieces are scheduled and permitted together. For the bigger picture, read our Chicago porch guide.

Common questions

This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.