Well, fast forward almost a year! We went with the company that said they could re-do the deck without damaging the liner and they were true to their word. They did a fabulous job and the deck and patio looked superb!

However...

Over the course of the past winter, the steps cracked and heaved again! Of course, that much movement in the steps cracked the brand new stamped concrete deck on both sides. It's going to cost me $3K to have the concrete taken up and replaced -- and no guarantee that the new section will match. I know they will try their best because they pride themselves on their workmanship and they're very good at what they do.

The bigger problem is what to do about the steps and what is causing this constant heaving! I don't want to have them patched again because I have no confidence that it will hold.

What do you think can be causing this problem? We've ruled out high groundwater or water running toward the step area (the concrete slopes gently away so the run-off goes toward the lawn and the garden. The experts I've talked to suggest it may be a case of the steps being improperly supported from below, which is causing flexing, which in turn leads to cracking and water getting under the steps. In the winter, of course, the water freezes, expands and pushed the steps up out of the concrete.

Does that sound plausible to you?