Landscapes with a large height difference, located on a slope, can be safely called an ideal springboard for the imagination of a garden architect. This is where you can apply a lot of ideas, sometimes the most unexpected ones.
It should be noted that garden stairs have a lot of differences from interior ones. Only cast concrete marches repeat the technology of creating traditional structures.
For the rest, garden stairs are prefabricated block structures, superimposed on each other with a certain shift.
The blocks for them are sawn stone, wooden beams, workpieces cast from concrete, boxes made of concrete, metal or wood.
In order not to complicate life with complex calculations, for those who decided to make garden stairs on their own, we will give several recommendations:
- the depth of the tread of the garden step should be a multiple of half the length of the standard step (this is about 30 cm),
- the height of the step can fluctuate within 8-17 cm (no more, otherwise climbing such a ladder will be difficult, and the descent dangerous),
- the lower step can be made slightly lower than the calculated one,
- when forming a place for a step, the soil is cut off, and not filled up, so that the steps do not sag in the future.
Further actions entirely depend on the chosen design of the garden staircase.
There can be many options, and the ones presented below are just a small part of the vast bank of landscape ideas.
Monolithic white concrete steps contrast perfectly with the greenery of the garden. Landscape solution in modern style (modern).
At this garden staircase, the edges of the steps are lined with large stone slabs, the rest of the space is filled with smaller stones. The gaps are filled with a mixture of soil and crushed stone screenings.
Simple and sophisticated: the angle between the retaining wall and the lawn was leveled with an embankment, the descent along which is carried out along stone steps.
Another non-trivial solution. If you won’t surprise anyone with round staircases, then a combination of steps in the form of a concave and curved arc is not often found at the same time.
Tree lovers in landscape design will surely love this solution. A large timber (presumably oak) with a section of 15x30 cm was laid on top of each other horizontally and with a shift. These are the steps that fit perfectly into the terrain.
Fans of "eternal" solutions will surely appreciate this design technique: earthen pockets (cracks filled with soil) were left between the steps. Succulents will feel quite comfortable in them.
The riser of this staircase is made of bricks, fastened with cement mortar, and the steps themselves are faced with a stone slab. It is laborious, but, as they say, for the rest of your life :)
And this is an element of the Art Nouveau garden: paths and steps are made of wooden beams. The wood is treated with an indelible antiseptic and tinted in the color of wenge.
Easy peasy? How to say, just try to lay these stone slabs on top of each other, so much so that you can walk on them without fear. Execution option exclusively for collective work.
Another option for laying garden steps using a wooden bar. True, in such cases, the crushed stone filling is done flush with the level of the step.
This stone staircase and the retaining walls that frame it look perfectly in harmony with the landscape.
The "green" steps of this staircase are made in the form of retaining walls made of ... iron (). But a similar option can be made from concrete with a pouring thickness of 4 cm and with a reinforcing mesh.
Well what can I say? An expensive solution for elite plots :)
And this option is also from the field of chic. But it is based on the rock of the site itself, and the bright lawn is already an artificial earthen embankment ... It is very similar to the fact that the steps were cut out of a solid massif. In general, it is indecently expensive.
Neat gravel run down. In order to prevent the loose stone from shifting on a slope, it was reinforced with a transversely laid wooden beam.
It looks very much like these retaining walls are made of artificial stone. Well, quite a reasonable solution, useful for the wallet. By the way. the artificial material gives many more options for design and is much lighter both in weight and in work. The steps are made of sandstone slabs.
Beautiful limestone garden staircase. over time (under the influence of natural phenomena), this material becomes even more embossed and expressive.
Bright staircase in the spirit of a Japanese garden. It’s just not entirely clear whether it’s photoshop or really such an unusual color of the rock ... Or maybe it’s gabbro?
This is the easiest way to make a wooden stepladder with two ladders. Such garden stairs to the second floor allow you to quickly climb, and at the same time are very convenient and lightweight. Dimensions can be determined at your discretion. The height is characterized by the length of the stringers, the width by the length of the crossbars. The optimum distance between the steps is about 30cm.
- At the first stage, stringers are mastered. For this, a pine timber of the required size (preferably) is taken and processed so that it becomes smooth, without any defects. The crossbars are processed in the same way.
- Next, you need to attach the crossbars to the stringers. This can be done in several ways. In the first method, holes should be made at the joints and the elements should be fastened with self-tapping screws. The second method involves "sinking" the step in the stringer and fixing it with self-tapping screws. The third option is the most reliable. In this case, a hole is made in the stringer, into which the crossbar is inserted. The bar is coated with glue and reinforced with self-tapping screws.
- Then rubber feet are attached to one end of the stringers with screws.
- After, from two such ladders, a step-ladder is assembled. The connection takes place using metal plates. This is the easiest way to create this kind of inventory.
Stairs are a very beautiful decorative element of the garden, which can decorate it even regardless of the relief of the site itself. They are absolutely necessary where there is at least a small difference in the landscape or there are retaining walls in order to move from one horizontal plane to another tier.
On an absolutely flat area, you can also make several steps, which will give the garden a special charm and attractiveness that is unique to it. In any garden there is a place from which you need to go down and up, for example, go from the path to the patio. In some areas with a slope, you can arrange a couple or three steps or even a ladder.
If there are no elevation differences on your site, specially arranged staircases will help bring dynamics to the monotonous flat garden. Even one step can change the mood in the garden, making an interesting transition from lawn to flower garden. Steps can also lead to decorative elements of the garden - a bench, a sundial, a statue.
A cute ladder made of gravel or wood will make it possible to inspect the entire territory of the garden plot - a green lawn, sunny lawns, a quiet pond, garden beds, a gazebo and flower beds.
Each staircase corresponds to a specific architectural style and specific structure. Attention can be drawn not only by the marble staircases of the main entrances of the mansions, but also by the touching wooden steps that will lead to the country house.
Paths, stairs and retaining walls must form a single composition in the garden, which must be practical and beautiful. For example, if a beautiful but steep path leads from the house to the utility block, then it will not be very convenient to walk along it. But if part of the path is replaced with a ladder made of the same material as the path, then you get a convenient duet for movement.
The stairs in the garden should match its style. If you have a garden in a regular or French style, then it is subject to strict symmetry. Such a garden is characterized by a slightly pronounced relief, the composition of the entire garden is located in one plane.
The territory can be decorated with terraces with retaining walls, connected to each other by stairs. In gardens of this style, stairs are a very strong decorative element, so their design and decoration should be carefully thought out.
One of the main decorative elements of the garden is the entrance terrace, which offers a magnificent view of the house and the garden as a whole, and a wide front staircase leads from the terrace to the house.
The English or landscape style is characterized by flowing lines that will mimic the natural landscape. Picturesque reservoirs and plants that are planted in tiers, winding paths - all these are the hallmarks of the landscape style. The alternation of hills and flat areas is also a characteristic feature of the landscape garden.
The connecting elements can be stairs and paths that naturally fit into the landscape. It is better to make stairs from natural material: natural stone, wood cuts, you can combine pebbles and wood.
It is more difficult to design a staircase in a Japanese garden: here each architectural element has its own symbolic meaning, and all buildings fit into a carefully crafted natural landscape. The obligatory elements of the garden are hills and reservoirs. Therefore, stairs and steps are indispensable here.
The staircase must be in harmony with the surrounding buildings and with the style of the house. Constructed from wood cuts or logs, it fits perfectly into the rustic style of the garden.
In the Victorian style, there should be a concrete staircase with tiles, which is equipped with beautiful wrought iron railings for a harmonious completion.
Dear visitors of the site "Visiting Samodelkin" from the presented material, you will learn and learn how to build garden stairs in your summer cottage or in the garden of a private house.
Before starting work, the first thing to do is to mark the area on which the stairs will be located, this can be done using ordinary wooden pegs and twine.
Then we boldly take a shovel in our hands and begin to remove the sod layer.
In the course of earthworks, we form steps.
Periodically check the steps with a level so that they are level and without a slope in any direction.
The approach is poured with cement mortar and smoothed with a trowel, this kind of shallow foundation is obtained under the step.
Then it is necessary to allow the cement mortar to dry. We lay waterproofing in the form of roofing material and you can start laying bricks or blocks.
The gravel is laid with a slight elevation above the brickwork, check with the level.
The slabs should have a slight slope of the order of 8-10 mm - this is necessary for the outflow of water during precipitation. It was stated above that the fine gravel base should be slightly higher than the brickwork, for this very reason it is slightly higher.
When creating the second step, be sure to measure the height using a level and a tape measure.
The edges of all steps must be flush (see main photo). Garden stairs, already completed and time-tested for durability, are also presented to your attention.
These are such wonderful steps in the garden and in the summer cottage you can do with your own hands. Of course, this is not an easy and time-consuming business, but it's worth it. Step-by-step instructions are presented to you, so let's take it and do it. Go for it, friends!
This concludes the article. Thank you all for your attention!
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Often, a piece of land located in a dacha or in the immediate vicinity of a residential building has a complex relief. It is enough to make some efforts with a minimum cost of materials, so that as a result, a spectacular staircase in the garden is equipped - not only functional, but also capable of decorating any adjacent territory.
DIY step-by-step instructions for creating stairs in the garden
1. Initially, a place for the future garden staircase should be marked on the site, for which you can use wooden pegs up to 0.5 m long and twine. When breaking up the stain for the construction of the stairs, you need to use a tape measure and a square to ensure that the dimensions are correct.
2. When equipping a ladder in a garden on a slope, using a level and a tape measure, it is necessary to determine the excess of the height of the upper point of the ladder over the lower one. This is required for the correct calculation of the height and length of future steps.
3. Using a shovel, carefully remove the top layer of soil, cleaning it from the grass carpet.
4. Do-it-yourself steps in the garden are easy to do. In the ground, you need to dig indentations under the steps, for which you need to calculate the width and height of the steps. For this purpose, you can use the table of relationships between step height and tread width. On average, the step height should be 15-17 cm, and the width should be 30-35 cm.
5. When making steps in the garden, be sure to check the horizontality of the dug trenches using a level.
6. From crushed stone, sand and cement, you need to prepare a concrete mixture for laying the base under the steps, after which it should be laid with a trowel with leveling the surface and left for 24 hours to harden.
7. It is necessary to lay out the steps from bricks or concrete blocks, rubbing the seams and checking the level of verticality, as well as the horizontalness of the masonry. For laying, you need to use cement mortar or ready-made mortar based on cement.
8. The rest of the trenches on the level with masonry should be filled with fine gravel with layer-by-layer compaction by hand compaction.
9. Crushed stone must be laid with a slight rise from the surface of the brickwork. It is advisable to check this with a level.
10. Since the slabs for the arrangement of treads are rather heavy, it is difficult to lay them alone. This stage must be performed together. Together with an assistant, lay the slabs on the bed from the solution.
11. The edges of each slab should protrude 40 mm relative to the brick. The slab itself should have a slope downward of about 10 mm to drain the water.
12. When laying the next row of treads, it is required to control the accepted height of the steps using a tape measure and a level. All seams must be carefully filled with mortar.
13. Using a level, you need to make sure that the edges of all treads are on the same straight line.
Taking into account the above recommendations on how to make steps in the garden, as well as having familiarized yourself in detail with the photos of the corresponding stages of the work presented on our website, you can equip a beautiful and functional staircase in your house area. Such a ladder will not only provide comfortable movement along the slope of the site, but will also please with its reliability and durability. Well, the neighbors will probably want to build something similar on their site, so there will always be an opportunity to give them sensible advice.