In Marin, there are hills and valleys. The flat areas are small and far between by comparison. Most of our jobs have been on sloped ground. Many times we've resorted to saddles and ropes to work on really steep areas. Really valuable land: fenced, and flat. Also really valuable: a view. To get the best views, you go up: Up steps. Sure, you need walls, terracing, and the like, but steps are what get you there. I can't count how many times I've gotten a client up to the top of their property for the first time and had them look in disbelief at the amazing view they've never seen from their own property. "A bench site" I tell them.
So then we get into talking steps... and money. It would be great if we could all have huge stone slab steps going everywhere, or fancy colored concrete, or even painstakingly set dry laid flagstone... but it all comes down to money eventually.
Generally, for front entry steps, I recommend stone mortared on reinforced concrete. There's a good chance someone, someday, might show up in spiked heals. This looks great and there's enough variety of stone out there to meet most people's tastes, with variations in the joint thickness and whether irregular or regular pieces make the most sense.
For back yard steps, and for budgets, pressure treated timber steps work great. They go in fairly quick, are sturdy and long lasting, and can be backfilled with a variety of materials, from colored concrete to wood chips -or just left with dirt. They always look better with a stone border, and should be dug into the hillside. Steps that are built on top of the land never look good. It's imperative that the edges of the timbers be hidden by stones for the steps to look their best.
Some good concepts to keep in mind when thinking about steps:
- Outdoor steps are most comfortable when they are 14" (1.167') in depth. Larger steps work well if they double as seating up to 24" -but more than three of these is uncomfortable. Step risers should not vary more than 1/8" in variation and should be between 5-1/2" (.46') and 7-1/2" (.625').
- Steps look and feel the best when they are laid out in multiples of three.
- Try not to have more than a dozen steps without a landing.
- More than three steps without at least a 3' landing should have a hand rail.
- Ideally, steps should curve gracefully through the landscape, following the natural circulation paths and have a destination.
- Steps look the best when they are flared at the top and bottom.
There are many details to keep into consideration when making steps but the biggest one is compaction. for steps to last, especially dry laid steps, having really good compaction under them can't be stressed enough. Base rock can be used and a jumping jack compactor can create a great base to work with. I like to work with "blue pathway rock" as it's a sharp 1/4" minus stone that compacts well and looks well as a finish as well. "Stabilizer" can be added to it to make it more resistant to erosion.
For timber steps, I like to use pressure treated 6x8 timbers (Note: these are almost always 5-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Depending on the rise and run desired, they can be oriented in either direction. Use #5 rebar and drill 5/8" holes through the timbers. The timbers come in 8' lengths, so your step options (without wasting wood) is 4' lengths (cut in half), 32" lengths (cut in thirds) or 2' lengths (cut into quarters). Anything longer than 4' should have a third rebar set in the middle.
We've rigged up a driver for our demmo hammer that drives the rebar for us... and we tap it onto it's final position with a sledge.
I like dry-laid flagstone steps. They're fun to build, look fantastic, and... time consuming, but that's what's so nice about them: they took effort, attention, experience, and passion to get it right. Anyone who sees a nice set of dry laid flagstone steps can't help but be impressed, especially if they're sound and stable. Sometimes people give up on the upper and lower reaches of their property because they can't visualize steps to get there. A looping path with steps and a bench on a small patio can make an amazing difference to a landscape and to someone's life, for all those moments enjoying the view with their morning coffee or a glass of wine in the evening with someone special. Sometimes steps make a lot of sense.
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