Do you know what the best addition to your retaining wall will be?
A stairwell. It will make your garden more visually stunning. Stair designs can be straight or curved depending on how much space you have available and what effect you want the stairway to have. More complex designs will require you to get a professional involved, but you can still be involved in every step of the building process. Read on to find out how to build a retaining wall with steps.
1. Prepare for the project
If you want to build a retaining wall step by step, you must have a clear plan before you start the project. Careful planning, an eye for detail and the ability to be flexible are key to completing a quality project. Decide what material you want to use for the stairwell. Some people opt for wooden stairs on a stone retaining wall and others use bricks. Take the time to get the right material for you and find out how much it will cost. It is also important to learn what you will need to do to keep the stairway material looking its best.
2. How to build a retaining wall with steps.
This is the more technical bit. Measure out your slope and choose a stair layout design that goes with the normal grade of your slope. On a sketch, mark out the stair riser locations and use the sketch to calculate how many steps you will want. Excavate the stairway location and remove as much soil as you need to leave it level. You can build-up the stairway from the ground up. If you happen to remove more soil than necessary, you can replace it with wall rock when you start building.
When the base is ready, it is now time to lay the base course (this is a layer of material that is located under the surface layer which gives strength to a structure). Make sure there are no empty gaps which will be potential areas of weakness. You can then install the first stair riser. To ensure that the stairway is level with the wall it is built-in, use a block on the wall as a reference and use it to level the stair treads. Compact the level and you can then add more steps.
Repeat the steps above for all the following stair risers and once this is done, install your chosen stair tread material to give your stairway that final finish.
At Concrete Sleepers we have a qualified team that specialises in building and waterproofing retaining walls. Contact us and we will build a beautiful staircase in your retaining wall.
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