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Armchair DIYers assemble!
As a thank you / peace offering to my sister in law I have offered to build some steps for her. Her garden is on a steep slope, with the house at the bottom and car at the top.
These steps are rotten and scare the life out of me every time I visit. If/when they break someone is going to really hurt themselves.
Dimensions are roughly 1.3m width (wall to wall), 1.5m drop and 1.5m from to back. Looks to be made from 10x2 timber.
I assume timber is still the best option but I will have a look at whether steel or concrete are viable.
The blockwork walls are fairly solid so if it is timber, I'm thinking I will build something similar where the sides (stringers?) are bolted to the walls, and then fit the treads. Possibly onto runners rather than cut a dado for each one.
She lives an hour away from us so ideally I want to build most of it at home and then assemble it there.
The decking is also lethal but that might be the next project!
Any advice welcome while I get busy googling.
Thanks in advance
Cheapest is probably timber. Consider an additional sawtooth stringer in the middle. Get two proper handrails up as well
Cover the decking with chicken wire for grip. Ideally get rid of the decking altogether, it's a pain for all sorts of maintenance and vermin-related reasons
And buy timber treated for ground contact unless you want to be rebuilding it every couple of years.
Take it one step at a time
Got a track saw or a palm router? Housings (Dados is Merican) are pretty straightforward with either of those and they will add some surface area to the joints which you could glue and screw.
Mark out everything carefully. Make a simple jig at the correct angle to run your router along for each housing. Leave the stringers over length while you do it.
Bob is ones uncle
As someone who has built 34 wood steps up the garden in my own house, I would look at using blocks, pavers and concrete to make it a very permanent job.
Our steps work, but they are now 6 years old and I can see me rebuilding them again in a few years. I was more confident with timber and it saved pennies, but blocks and slabs would have lasted longer.
I too would look at using concrete block and pavers for that job. I have a beast of a concrete saw from evolution / screwfix which wasn't much and makes cutting concrete almost as easy as cutting wood. You could hire a mixer or just mix in a barrow.
It would match the rest of the block when done.
It would look a lot nicer with the whole lot rendered and painted, but thats what they call scope creep, and probably why all my projects take far longer than they should
oh and be careful with that outside wall, I can't see any supporting piers and it looks to be one block deep stacked. Could be the stairs are helping hold it up.....
I slipped on my arse just looking at those photos
You can buy prefabricated galvanised steps such asthe ones below. Not cheap, but will last longer than timber and less hassle than concrete.
oh and be careful with that outside wall, I can’t see any supporting piers and it looks to be one block deep stacked. Could be the stairs are helping hold it up…..
I’d very much second this. That wall is already bulging. Brace it before removing the existing stairs and if possible keep the top clear of cars & heavy loads when you’re working.
If I were doing it in timber, I'd probably just cut a pair of horizontal supports from 2x4 for each step and screw them into the block, then screw the treads down into them, rather than messing about cutting slots or whatever you want to call them for the treads.
Wouldn't be quite as refined, but probably quicker and easier, and might last longer - you're not removing material and it won't be in contact with the ground (still use treated timber).
+1 for doing most of it on site, no matter how well you measure it, something won't quite fit, but if you do it my way, you can cut all the supports at home since the length isn't critical.
Fwiw i also agree about doing in something more sensible. Decking is bad enough but an oft used access... Get it solid and resilient so you don't have to do it again.
If it must be timber i would be inclined to sack off stringers like that. Use saw tooth ones and cover them with a well overhung membrane strip so there is minimal rot locations.
If going with timber steps and the pitch is appropriate then you can buy pre cut stringers for the steps to save time.
If it makes an uneven sized top of bottom step them probably better cutting one to fit to avoid people falling at the top or bottom step.
Like this:
https://www.diy.com/departments/richard-burbidge-softwood-4-step-deck-riser-l-1300mm/5000473080337_BQ.prd
At least there is a wee bit of grip on the treads but that decking will drop you to the ground like a sniper, looks greasier than a butchers pencil
Hi all
Thanks so much for the replies, very helpful!
I'm definitely of the mindset that it's better to build something that'll last a long time than need to redo it in 4 years.
I'm inclined to stick with timber as that's what I'm most comfortable working with. Using concrete or pavers will definitely be a more permanent job but beyond anything I've built before and probably would take multiple days.
I came across this sort of thing which looks good value if I were to build it out of decking, but not sure how long it will realistically last. I would also want to use anti slip boards which will bump up the cost.
https://www.edecks.co.uk/products/36411/348/1374/0/7-Step-Stringer-Kit-(1790mm-Span)
Just going to look into whether sourcing the timber separately is a better option.
And yes the decking is super dodgy too!
About to do something similar. Will be using blocks and pavers. Loads of youtube to refer to.