We Built Steps on a Slope

4 Materials
$300
2 Days
As some of you know, we built our own patio. We then wanted a grand walkway which lead from our deck to the patio. The hillside we needed to traverse to get to the patio was about a 2 foot drop over 20 feet or so. We could have just put in a gravel pathway, but we wanted something bigger and more appealing. So, we built steps on the slope, leading from the deck to the patio.
This is the completed steps, let's take a look at how we got there.
We began by carving out the area where the steps would go and ordering up some ground contact pressure treated lumber and a good waterproofing stain.
Measuring and setting the steps came next. We created U shaped structures and put them in place, shifting the earth around and leveling everything properly.
With the structure in place, we decided to use top soil as a filler. People recommend a 'hard pack' material. However, if in the future we want to remove the steps and plant grass, the top soil will be accepting to this as the hard pack gravel would not.
We left two inches below the top of the step. We rolled out landscape fabric to help prevent any growth from coming up through the gravel. We then poured two inches of 3/4 inch walkway stone into the void.
After completing the steps, we sowed more grass and finished it off with some flower pots and solar lights
We had some stone left over, so we finished a walkway around the deck to the garage door.
This project was fun and fairly easy. It really completed the look we wanted with our new patio. We love the space! It's a nice relaxing area, plenty of shade in the afternoon and plenty of sunlight in the morning. Of course, the view of the mountains help! :)
Need the formula for figuring out how many steps you need on your slope? Follow the link below to my blog to find it :)
ScrappyGeek.com
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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