Front Porch Nightmare

The current crisis at home is with our front porch. It is beautiful Italian stone, and was somewhat newly installed by the previous owners when we bought our house six and a half years ago. But over the past several years, the stones on the porch have shifted around. Ed and I have consulted with many landscapers and masons over the past two years about how to best approach the situation. The collective opinion was that the steps were never put in properly in the first place. In particular, they were built over the existing concrete foundation and inadequate drainage was provided causing everything to move, and the sides to sink over time. Just yesterday, our selected contractor began to take apart the porch in order re-build it properly. However, what we found behind the steps was that much of the water from the wet weather was draining toward the house and the wood under the door is damp and decaying. Like with any home repair - we’ve uncovered a much bigger problem than we had anticipated. Now the steps can’t go back in until the wood is ripped out and replaced and the whole thing is re-stuccoed. Everyone is saying “one week” but somehow I think this may be the tip of the iceberg.....