we recently lost our entire level of floors in our lower level this week in CT from the torrential rains we had. Never had water before this. Luckily when I built it I anticipated a flood and we dont have to replace any sheetrock or floor sill wood. We want to install some exterior drainage but in order to do it properly need to remove our concrete steps. Personally we HATE them anyway and always wanted to be rid of them and install a small front porchy (very small) set of steps. Are there codes at all as to why you would have to have concrete over wood? No one in our area has wood front steps but everything was built in the 60s so we're thinking it was just the way then. We will of course put pilings in the ground and call before you dig for the water/drain but either way just checking. thanks

My mother had some work done on her house, but it's not providing good results and no one knows how to fix it. My mother has a large house with a balcony over the front porch, and it's solid (lower level porch has solid ceiling). The balcony does not have a ceiling, it's open and exposed to the elements. The house was built about 20 years ago, and the porch ceiling/ balcony was not built properly and some rotting occurred. The floor was solid plywood with a thick coating of something on it. It eventually leaked and caused rotting. They recently removed the rotten part and recovered the the floor with new plywood, and painted it with 5 layers of something rubbery. Then they placed rubber tiles over it. The tiles were not designed for porches like this, I"m not sure what they were designed for. They are buckling up under the sun and allowing rain to get under them and pool up. Everyone that we've asked has said that they don't know how to floor an upstairs balcony like this. However, we know that houses are built this way all the time, so that doesn't make sense. We've just never visited one and walked on their balcony to see what they use. I thought weather resistant decking might work, as long as the balcony had a slight slope to allow rain to run off and not pool up - although if it's pooling up now, that may not be the case. Mom thought linoleum or a similar vinyl floor would work, but I worry that the sun and heat will make it degrade quickly. We're in the south and the balcony gets direct sunlight. She also suggested tile, but if the wood shifts from the weather, it might crack along the grout. Can anyone recommend a flooring for solid floor exposed balconies?