Hi,
How does building garden steps using concrete blocks or lintels sound? Can I simply place the blocks or lintels straight into the slope then using mortar fix paving slabs on top for the treads and maybe edging blocks for the risers?
Does this sound feasible? I'm hoping to create steps similar to these:
lintels? - by my experience, these are more expensive than most other materials given that they are reinforced and pre-stressed, completely OTT for the job.
Why not just lay concrete blocks directly onto sand/cement, so that the edge(s) of them become the risers, then paving slabs on top?
will sink, as will the flags on top of them - that is to say, the risers are sitting on 4 inches of concrete and the steps (flags) are sitting on the risers - if you try to do it without the concrete, the risers will sink.
Concrete blocks are 17 inch by 4 inch by 8 inches, you'll have the 4 inch side facing out, as a riser, and three of them side by side will give you a
2 ft by 17 inch slab like this:
I see what you are saying, but if I need a sand/cement layer then I might as well do it all in concrete!
Graham
Whichever way you do it, you'll need a layer of something, my suggestion oif using 4 in concrete block is similar to PE's reccomendation of using 4 inch concrete, except with my suggestion, you can do it over a few days, rather than all at once - handy if it's a fairly large area or if you are working alone.
laying directly onto soil isn't really an option
I must say that I nearly always agree on your advice. However I recently built an extension next to a victorian house. The footings to which were just three bricks deep into the ground and were layed directly on the clay. There were no spread bricks either and it was two storeys high. The building didn't even look as though it had moved. It looked totally daft when we dug a metre deep for the single storey extension. Any way whilst I would ere on the side of caution I sometimes wonder if we are over doing it. Surely some slabs as spreaders would take the weight of a few steps?
Legin
I too have seen many houses, some even 3 storeys high built on sand and with only 2 or 3 courses below ground, and yep, they rarely move - the thing is, there's so much weight bearing down on those bottom bricks, that either the whole house moves downwards an inch or two or it stays exactly where it was built - I guess no one would know either way.
With small structures like steps or garden walls, it's a different ball game - there's not enough weight in a garden wall to withstand much more than someone leaning against it - if it had poor footings, then it would be over - and yes, the Victorians knew this too - garden wall footings often went down 18 - 24 inches even if the houses nearby had only 6 inches below ground.
IME with steps, if one thing drops, either the slab or the riser, the whole thing becomes a wobbly mess - if it's only a very gradual slope, then it's posible to cut a few corners and just bed the slabs directly onto firmed hardcore with cement, then once they are all in place, 'risers' can be made by jamming bits of brick or paving slabs underneath and facing over with sand/cement
I've decided your way sounds good! What depth sand/cement would be sufficient?
Thanks,
Graham
The ground you are working off should be free of any loose material and plantlife/roots (this will simply rot away leaving voids). It should be firm, IE clay or compacted hardcore - topsoil is fine, provided it's not been disturbed recently and has been packed down fairly tightly. You need to measure the distance of the drop, that is to say, how far is it from top to bottom? and how much distance is involved? - if you want to come down three feet in height, over a distance of ten feet, then you've got 6 X
6inch steps to build, or 5 X 7.2 inch, or 4 X 9 inch - this is where it's really up to you, and therefore I cannot tell you how much sand and cement to put under each block! :-pI would put about 30-50mm bed and lay the blocks flat on this, tapping them down lightly with the rubber mallet or the hanle of a lump hammer, the cement should be 3:1, mixed fairly dry and without plasticiser, and the blocks shouldn't be walked on for at least 24 hours after laying...once they are all set, you can lay your flags on top on sand/cement, and you can level them up or down accordingly. Last job will be to face up the 'risers', IE the block ends with strong sand/cement - a paint scraper will be usefull here.
Great! Thanks for all your help Phil.
Wouldnt it be easier to just pour each step in one piece? Tack some moulding onto the shuttering to give a rounded nose. The bobbled tamped surface will be much safer than smooth paving slabs, and teh fact that the whole thing is one solid lump of crete minimises the chance of differential movement of parts, and consequent safety issues.
NT
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