Precast Concrete Treads – Curb Appeal, Long Term Value

Ease of Installation beats wood and Cast-In-Place hands down!

If you’ve ever looked at Cast-In-Place stairs and wondered how you could make something as nice or nicer for less, then take a look at Precast Concrete Stair Treads.

You spend many months and hundreds of thousands of dollars building your homes. And your potential clients view the plans either online or at your sales centre. Or maybe they stop by an open house. It won’t be the first – or the last – new home they view. You know that there are a number of choices, so you do everything possible to create curb appeal – gardens tended, driveways cleaned, the trim work is done, the painting’s finished and construction materials have been moved off-site. It’s the little things – the first impressions – that will make the new home buyer fall in love with your homes.

So why not use precast concrete stair treads instead of wood? Sure, cedar or pressure treated treads are cheaper – but not by much, and the difference in the look and perception can’t be underestimated.

Walk up to the front of a $700,000.00 home with precast concrete stairs finished with exposed aggregate on cedar stringers. Then look across the street at the $750,000.00 home with the wood steps. Which house as better curb appeal?

How about two similar homes, same neighbourhood, same price. One has cast in place concrete stairs leading up to the front door – decent exposed aggregate finish, maybe the occasional spot where the paste between the stones is a little more noticeable than you would like, but it’s well done. It’s 3 months old and there is a small crack on one of the treads. Did one of the trades drop something? Or is it a shrinkage crack and you have to get your finisher back to discuss it – and you wonder if this might turn into a warranty issue.

The other house has exposed aggregate treads on cedar or concrete stringers. The aggregate is tight everywhere – top surface, front and sides. There are no trowel marks and the radius on the leading edge is a perfect 3/8” because they were poured upside down in a steel form. Every tread is exactly the same on this house – and on the one you built 3 years ago, and all the ones in the next subdivision you’re planning.

This house also has a crack in one of the treads. Again, your mind turns to warranty issues, but you remember that you bought them from Sanderson Concrete Inc. You put Sanderson Concrete in the new home warranty package you gave the homeowner, and if the shrinkage crack turns into something larger, the homeowner calls Sanderson – and we take care of the problem, not you.

There are so many more options with precast concrete – exposed aggregate, polished concrete, light sandblast, custom nosings – many of which are available with a cast in place – bit not many casts in place stairs can match the quality and consistency of precast concrete – take a look at some of our recent projects.