I have a 6 year old home that was constructed with concrete steps (4-5 steps) bolted to the house below the front door (pretty typical in this area-maybe everywhere). A combination of insufficient backfilling of dirt under the steps during construction (in my opinion) and 6 years of rain erosion created a 3-4 inch gap between the bottom of the step and the ground. During the July 4th weekend, I made the regretful decision to have about 12 family members stand on those steps simultaneously for a group picture. I think you can imagine what happened next. Fortunately the entire step did not snap off of the house- instead the front tilted down those 3-4 inches and now rests on the ground. I checked in the basement and the bolts are still in place without any apparent disengagement. When I looked under the step there appears to be 4 metal bars holding this thing together, 2 of which have separated in the middle. My question is; can I repair this myself? The idea I thought of is to attempt to jack it back into position and then place cinderblock or some other structure in the void to hold it in position and also backfill and compress dirt underneath as well. However, before I make such an attempt, do you think this a good plan or should I contact a professional and if so, who? Thanks in advance.

Funny. I live in nearby Tobyhanna, and I had the same steps that deteriorated because there was no gutter above, and the constant water-ice-freeze-that process ate away at the concrete and made the steps unsafe. It was decided, just this past weekend, to demolish the concrete steps and replace them with wood steps. Reason: to replace the concrete steps was very expensive, because a crane would be needed to lift the old ones and replace the new ones. Fortunately, they jack-hammer into pieces quite easily. That's the course of action I'd suggest if the steps can't be saved, and I can't offer an opinion on that without seeing them,

Thanks Richard but the steps are in good condition except for the detachment.

What I'm unsure about is the function of those "metal bars" which have separated. If they are reinforcing bars and have separated, they are no longer doing their job. While the steps may appear to be in good condition, it's possible that they are now structurally unsound. It depends on the purpose of the bars originally, and that's what I don't know.

My steps were not bolted to the foundation, and appeared to have very little steel reinforcing in them, so they apparently were from a different manufacturer.

You can do this youself,but you should dig a larger hole around the base to create a footing for the steps and mix and pour cement in there instead of using dirt. As you simply cannot compress the dirt hard enough to prevent it from compressing more once the steps are reset.
also You said erosion has taken place. Any new soil will simply wash away again.
This is a hard dirty job, you may want to consider a professional to do the work for you.As any failure on your part means you start again. If someone else does it they come back to fix it for you. To find a contractor go to www.contractors.com and look one up.

Good idea about the concrete base. Didn't think of that (obviously). Knowing me I'll probably try and tackle it myself. I've poured footings in the past albeit not with hundreds of pounds of concrete steps dangling over it while I work. I'll make that decision next spring as this is a weekend house that I don't use in the winter. Thanks for your help.