My house has a wooden front stoop and stairs. Underneath the stoop is a hollow space, then the dirt of the crawl space. I'd like to replace the wooden stoop and stairs with a cement pad and brick stairs. What's the best way to go about this? I've thought I could fill the area underneath the stoop with dirt, then pour concrete on top, but I don't know if that would be feasible. Also, there are foundation vents that would be blocked by doing that.
Also, I have a wooden rail and post I'd like to replace with wrought iron, but I don't know how to brace the roof over the stoop--the post is at the corner.