Stepping up

Stepping up

We have made a start on the patio. It might not look like much, but it is just the beginning. So we have laid the steps that take you from the future patio into the section behind the garages and along into the vegetable garden. I wasn’t sure if the steps should be 6 feet wide, or 4 feet. When we started laying the slabs, it was clear that 4 feet was going to be enough, especially as there will also be a ramp alongside them, for the purpose of getting the wheelbarrow from one part to another.

I measured what was going to go where and laid a row of bricks across the front. The slab will sit on these, with compacted soil behind. These bricks are laid on their edge, making the riser 4.5" plus the 2" of the step. The area at the bottom of the steps will be laid with some kind of paving (still to be decided), which will be 1.5" deep, making the actual height of the step 5":

I had to ensure they were level, of course:

The first slab was laid, overhanging the bricks slightly at the front: 

Quickly followed by a second:

A second riser was added - i.e. another row of bricks. These were placed along the rear edge of the slabs and laid flat, making the riser 5" like the lower step (3" brick plus 2" slab). Each slab is 2 feet square (and very heavy!), so using a little bit of it to rest the bricks on was not going to be a problem. There is still far more space on the tread than strictly necessary:

The compacted soil behind the bricks was levelled. By the way, that corrugated wall you can see is the rear of one of the garages. The whole area behind there will eventually be levelled and paved to the width of the steps plus the ramp.

Then the first slab on the higher level was put in place:

Followed by the second:

All done J: