Construction Of Stone Steps

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Paths that facilitate movement around the site in bad weather

Every summer resident or gardener knows that in spring and autumn, that is, during the period of bad weather and rains, it is difficult to walk on the territory of the site because of the mud. The earth becomes liquid and sticks to the usual shoes, you have to change them to rubber ones.

And if at this time you walk along the green lawn, then depressions will remain from your feet, which later will have to be covered with dry earth. To avoid such troubles, you need to build stepping paths on your site. It is better to place them in places where you most often have to walk.

Stepping paths can be built around lawns, alpine slides, bodies of water, or between beds. Stone step paths will not only decorate the territory of your site, but also save you from all problems during bad weather. Any medium-sized cobblestone is suitable for building stepping paths. It is desirable that one side of the stone be flat.

Stone paths with a flat surface are very comfortable to walk and look very beautiful. If you do not have enough stone with a flat surface, then this can be done easily and simply by yourself using an ordinary sledgehammer. Having placed a round-shaped stone in a small depression in the ground, it is necessary to inflict 2-3 blows on it with a sledgehammer. Try to hit it with an edge, and you will see that your round timber will split, usually in two pieces, while the split surfaces will be flat.

There are two ways to build stepping paths - either dry or mortar. Dry construction is, of course, cheaper and easier, but less reliable. As a rule, when building in this way, you select the soil with a shovel in the shape and area corresponding to the shape of the stone. Having chosen the soil, you can pour gravel into the formed hole, then a stone is placed there, as already noted, with a flat surface up. After that, with a few blows of the sledgehammer handle, the stone must be planted, that is, as if hammering it into the prepared hole, while it is important that the flat surface of the stone is 2-3 centimeters above the ground level.

The track is called a step track because it corresponds to your step. Walk in the usual way to the place where construction is planned. Mark the footprint with a peg. The path can be straight or winding. Where your foot touched, select soil, add rubble, and place a stone. If the stone is large, that is, it corresponds to your foot, for example, 30x40 cm, then such a stone is enough for one foot of the walking path. And if the stones are smaller, then several stones can be placed in the place of the foot, that is, the step. In this case, it is desirable to fit the edges of the stones tightly to each other, carefully lay them into the hole and in the same way, using the handle of the sledgehammer, drive them into the ground. Use a level to check if the surface is level. When the height of the stones is leveled, fill in the gaps between them with soil.

Continue placing stones in the same way until the end of the path. Place the stepping stones as you like, but carefully choose the location for them so that the steps from one stone to the other are comfortable and safe. If your soil is highly moistened, then under the stones you need a cushion of crushed stone about 5 cm thick.

This method of flooring without mortar is widely used. The construction of a stepping track on mortar requires the preparation of a cement mortar in a 1: 3 ratio. A small amount of crushed stone is placed into the prepared hole, tamped down, then a cement mortar is placed. The selected stones are carefully lowered into the solution and, with light hammer blows, they are buried to the required level, that is, 2-3 cm above the ground level. Try not to get the grout on the face of the stone. The resulting cracks around the stone are spilled with mortar. After the mortar dries, after 3-4 days, your treadmill is ready. The advantage of such a path is that weeds do not germinate between the stones, and such a path is more beautiful and durable. I wish you success in your construction.