Help to identify what our front porch is made of

[svet4lana]

Hi,

Our front porch is made of some kind of concrete 2X4 blocks. One of them has got badly damaged but we have no idea where to find replacement or how to fix it. I've attached a photo in a hope that someone knows how these blocks called and where to buy them.
We live in Alberta, Canada.

Thank you!

 

[BridgeMan]

They look to be precast reinforced concrete units, possibly unique to Canada? The end cracking on the two to the left of the badly-damaged one indicate that they're about to do the same thing. You should check all of them, tapping with a hammer to see how many are delaminated and ready to disintegrate. If a lot are that way, you should consider removing and replacing all of them. Call a few local concrete guys for estimates on a new CIP slab.

 

[user 4883]

You will have a hard time finding replacements. As Bridgeman indicated and my first thought when I saw them is that they are precast (custom made). Color matching will be a problem too. Best bet is to tear them all out and lay down pressure treated deck boards or composite deck boards.

 

[asbestos]

Weird. I say it should go also. It could be bad concrete or salt on the deck.

 

[nealtw]

The rebar is to close to the end and when the water and air gets to it, it will rust and explode like this one has done. The one next to it will do the same soon. It looks like treated lumber under it. I would replace it with treated lumber and call it done.

 

[svet4lana]

thank you all!! Your answers explain why we cannot find such blocks anywhere in local stores.

 

[BridgeMan]

If you are thinking about replacing any of them "in kind," you could try calling a few concrete precasting outfits in your area. You could get lucky, and find the one that supplied the units on your porch. If that is the case, they probably still have the forms, and could make you some more.