Concrete And Block Method For Patio Steps
Profile of garden steps built using concrete and pavers
As you can see from the before photograph below, our original step was intact. So we were able to use a breaker to break out the second and third steps, and then dig down behind the first to put in a concrete base for step number two. This continued all the way up to the top.
Making garden steps from scratch and cutting in to earth
If you are starting from scratch you will need to and building your steps into virgin earth, you will need to dig a 125mm deep footing under the bottom riser to support it. Ensure that this footing is level and hard before your continue.
The footing under the first step or riser Image courtesy of diy.com
Two concrete blocks are laid flat to form the shuttering or formwork for the concrete behind. The concrete is mixed as a 6-ballast 1-cement fairly dry mix.
As its fairly dry the blocks can be laid on it almost immediately and the steps can continue in one. It would take a week if you had to wait for each step to dry before moving on to the next.
In this example the blocks and concrete are laid wider than the opening that is needed. This allows the use of the extra width as a stepped foundation for the walls up either side.
Laying blocks to form walls either side on extra width of step
The treads were cut to size and laid from the same paving as the patio. Each tread overhangs the step below and slopes downwards towards the front about 6mm.
How To Build Stairs
This article was co-authored by Lui Colmenares. Lui Colmenares is a handyman and licensed home improvement contractor for Mr. Handy NYC based in New York City, New York. Lui is trained and educated as an industrial engineer and specializes in carpentry, painting, and general handyman work such as mounting TVs, doorknob and deadbolt installation, furniture assembly, tile repair, and grouting. Mr. Handy NYC prides itself on quality work performed with speed, skill, and punctuality.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 15 testimonials and 83% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,034,173 times.
Stairs are an essential part of many construction projects, from decks to interiors. It can seem daunting to think of making your own, but theyre actually made of just three main parts: stringers, treads, and risers. Stringers are diagonal 2 in × 12 in boards that support people’s weight as they walk up the stairs. Treads are the top baseboards onto which you step, and risers are placed perpendicularly under each tread. Measure and cut the stringers accurately, and the other parts will mostly fall into place.
How To Make Steps Leading To A Patio Door
by Steve Smith / in Home
If you have a patio door that is several feet above ground level, as many patio doors are, then a set of steps leading to the patio is a necessity. You can build them from stone, wood, brick or cement or any other material. The key is to make these steps wide enough to accommodate the patio door, whether it is sliding or French, and the easiest way to do it is to build wood patio steps right up to your door.
- If you have a patio door that is several feet above ground level, as many patio doors are, then a set of steps leading to the patio is a necessity.
- The key is to make these steps wide enough to accommodate the patio door, whether it is sliding or French, and the easiest way to do it is to build wood patio steps right up to your door.
Measure the length of you entire patio door opening, from one side to the other. Include both doors in the width.
Remove the lower patio door moulding, if any is installed, using a crowbar and nail pry. Mount a 2-by-8 board cut to the width of the patio door opening to the wall just under the edge of the patio door. For attaching stairs to a concrete wall or brick, use masonry bits to drill anchor holes and attach them with anchor bolts.
Cut and install treads across the lengths of the stringers using outdoor, galvanised deck screws and a power driver.
Install risers if desired. Cut to the length of the steps and mount with galvanised deck screws.
TIP
Related
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Carve Your Steps One At A Time
Carve out space in your slope for each stone individually.
Lay a base A-gravel at least 4 thick for each stone, and level your base with ½ 1 of bedding sand before placing the stone down with a very slight forward pitch .
Some tips for laying your steps:
- Start the first step just before the slope begins.
- Overlap each stone by at least 1.
- You can use stone chips to shim your steps close to level.
- End your steps just below the top of the slope for a nice, smooth transition.
Its a surprisingly easy and forgiving project. If you lay a step and your level tells you its way off, simply add bedding sand, dig out the base more or even chisel away some of the rocks surface features.
In a weekend, youll have a beautiful new addition to your landscape that friends and family will love.
Pick up your supplies from your nearest Grand River Stone location and get started as soon as you can!
Calculate The Stair Slope
You will use your rise measurement to calculate the slope of the stairs. The stair slope is the walking angle of your finished staircase. Its also called the rise and run of the stairs. A stairs slope determines how easy or comfortable it is to walk up or down the staircase.
There are many ways to decide on the best slope for your staircase design. Here are some basic guidelines for calculating stair slope:
- For a standard slope, divide your total rise measurement by the number 7. This is the standard riser height.
- Many building codes call for stair slopes that have an angle of about 37 degrees.
Tip: Make sure the slope is in compliance with your local building codes. Check with your building permit or community affairs office for more details.
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How To Build Exterior Wood Steps
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Building steps used to require complicated measurements and difficult angled cuts, but the precut pressure treated stringers available at home centers today have made the job much easier.
Allow for a stringer at each end of the steps and at 16 intervals in between. Use corrosion resistant screws and nails to assemble the steps.
Start by measuring the width of the opening, then cut a treated 2×4 to length to attach to the side of the house as an anchor for the stringers. Remember to take 3 off the length of the anchor board to allow for the thickness of the end stringers.
Position the anchor board on the house, taking into account the thickness of the top tread. Screw the board in place, making sure its level with the house. When attaching to brick, drill pilot holes with masonry bit for anchors or masonry screws.
Place the outside stringers against the house flush with the top of the anchor board, checking to be sure theyre level and square, and nail them to the ends of the anchor board.
Cut 1½ off the end of each of the inside stringers to allow for the thickness of the anchor board.
Toenail the inside stringers to the anchor board flush with the top.
Attach a treated 1x 8 riser to the bottom of the steps to tie the stringers together.
Rip 1×8 risers to width and cut to length flush with the outside of the stringers. Nail the risers to the stringers to complete the steps.
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Find The Number Of Treads
- Simply subtract one from the number of risers.
- There’s always one fewer tread than risers, as you can see in Fig. B.
Install The Risers And Treads
The tread is the horizontal piece that connects the stairs. The riser refers to the vertical space between steps. This space may be filled with a solid piece or be open.
- Use a circular saw to cut the risers to length of each tread.
- Secure the riser to the stringers with wood screws. Think about using a wood adhesive first for a more secure hold.
- As you install one riser, position and fasten the corresponding tread.
- Carefully climb to the next riser. Repeat until finished.
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Detailed Rules For Step Height Step Tread Dimensions & Platforms In A Stairway
Where space limitations require that your stairs make a single turn or where your stairs must ascend a height greater than permitted for a single run of stairs you’ll need one or more stair platforms or intermediate landings.
For details of common building code specifications for stair landing dimensions and step riser and tread dimensions
seeSTAIR PLATFORMS & LANDINGS, ENTRY
Question: How Do I Calculate The Stair Run Length For These Measurements
What is the run length needed for a rise of 108″ using an 11″ tread depth and 8″ step rise – A.K. Debbie 11/24/2012
Reply:
Debbie, It’s important to get comfortable with the basic math in stair calculations, and it’s not too hard. If we have to climb up 108″ in height and we are going to make each step 8″ tall we just divide 108 / 8 = 13.5 – so we’d need 13 1/2 steps – which is not quite acceptable as we need to end with an even number of steps. So I would adjust the rise until the numbers came out more nicely.
Since an 8-inch step riser height is a bit too high for safe comfortable stairway use anyway, instead of trying a still taller step to calculate the number of steps needed, I tried smaller stair rises.
I chose a sequence of numbers dividing each of these into the total rise we need to see how close to an exact number of steps we could achieve. I noticed that if I set our riser height to 7.125″ we will use an even number of risers . Actually it’s 15.1 but once we get our riser height close to exact we can make small adjustments of say 1/8″ or less in the actual riser height for individual steps to make the stairway total rise come out exactly right.
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Test Fit The Stringer To Make Sure Your Stair Rise And Run Are On Point
- Cut only the top and bottom of the stair stringer with a circular saw.
- Test-fit the stair stringer by placing it against the deck, and check the tread level with a small level.
- Be sure to test-fit the first stringer before you cut the others. If you made a mistake, you’ll at least be able to save the other two 2x10s.
Diy Outdoor Wood Steps
this ideaMaterials:
sliding compound mitre saw or circular saw drillDirections:
Using a table saw, cut the two 2×8 boards down to 7 wide.
Using a sliding compound mitre saw with the blade set at a 45 degree angle to the table, or a circular saw set at a 45 degree angle, cut one end of one of the 2×8 boards.
Measure from the point of the angle you just cut 67 and draw a square line across the board. Cut a 45 degree angle, the point of the angle should be at the line.
Measure 24 from the point of the angle on the cut off piece that is left over and setting your saw back at zero degrees cut the board at this point.
Cut a 45 degree angle on the end of the other 2×8 board. Measure 45 from the post of the angle and draw a square line cut a 45 degree angle with the point at this line.
Using the cut off piece, cut a 45 degree angle on the square end. Measure 24 from the point of this angle and cut off setting your saw at zero degrees.
On the piece that is left over, cut a 45 degree cut on the square end measure in from the points on each end of the board 12-3/4 and cut off square with the saw set at zero degrees.
Cut two 22-1/2 pieces out of the 2×4 board and then cut two 11 pieces out of what is left over.
Using the 2-1/2 screws attach the 22-1/2 pieces of 2×4 to the two 24 pieces of 2×8 keeping the square ends flush and keeping it down 1-1/2 from the top of the 2×8.
Cut two 22-1/2 pieces out of the 2x6x8 board cut a 11 piece out of what is left over.
-Manda
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How To Build Stone Steps At Home
Replacing worn-out steps with attractive stone steps provides a more inviting entry into any outdoor space.
They improve your homes curb appeal and make walking through the yard easier and safer for older family and friends.
With basic tools and materials, a little patience and the proper application of brawn, you can build a beautiful set of rugged stone steps yourself.
It only requires a small slope on your property. Experienced DIYers can complete a set of steps over the weekend, as long as you make a few decisions and calculations beforehand.
Follow these steps and build your gorgeous new stone steps this weekend.
Adding To The Concrete
Similarly to how we would build up a new patio, we take levels of stone and sand as a bedding and create a level base. Once the base is level well then take wall stones and build up a new base. In this instance, we added a new step, turning the original single step into a two-step entrance.
The wall stones we use have a finished side giving a contrasting texture to the E.P. Henry pavers utilized on the patio. These wall stones are also partially buried under the base to provide a solid step.
Once these are in place, we fill with a clean stone mixture to fill in any gaps between to ensure there will be no movement overtime. This is built up two layers for the primary step with a single layer for the second step. We added an extra 18 inches past the original step to allow for a new paver top to match the new patio with a solid border.
If the caps and hole arent filled when being installed, they can lead to the steps becoming raised and shifting over time. When you have someone installing new steps, you want to make sure they are properly filling in the gaps.
During the entire process of adding a new step, or covering an existing, we utilize levels to make sure the steps remain level.
When properly installed, brick paver steps can give years of curb appeal.
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Risers To An Exterior Sliding Glass Door
sch1223 said:R311.3.2 … exception where “a landing is not required where a stairway of two or fewer risers is located on the exterior side of the door, providing the door does not swing over the stairway”.
ICE said:An odd thing with that code section is that the top of the threshold can be as much as 7.75″ above the floor or step/landing on both sides of the door.
steveray said:From the 2009….What code are you on?….R311.3 Floors and landings at exterior doors. There shall be a landing or floor on each side of each exterior door. The width of each landing shall not be less than the door served. Every landing shall have a minimum dimension of 36 inches measured in the direction of travel. Exterior landings shall be permitted to have a slope not to exceed 1/4 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal .Exception: Exterior balconies less than 60 square feet and only accessible from a door are permitted to have a landing less than 36 inches measured in the direction of travel.It is pretty specific and that is what I would go with….
tmurray said:Sounds like they made a bad call and are now trying to justify it by misinterpreting the sentence rather than admit their mistake.