If you recently moved in to a home with
a deck that doesn’t have a set of
deck stairs and steps leading to the backyard, or you
have recently had your deck stairs
and deck railing fall apart on
you, then you might want to consider a do-it-yourself home landscaping
design project
before you consider calling a deck carpenter. Although you may not
feel
accomplished enough in carpentry to complete a full
deck design, you can easily craft a
set of deck stairs or steps within a few days.
Before running out to the
hardware store, you will first need to determine exactly the rise and
run
of the steps. This includes determining how many steps you will want
to
incorporate into the deck as well as determining what type of wood you
would like to use. Almost all building codes will require that steps
are a
maximum of 7.5 inches in height, although you should always check with
your county building codes, so measuring how fair the deck is off the
ground and dividing that by 7.5 will allow you to determine how many
steps
you will need.
If you are interested in steps that are smaller than
7.5
inches in height, then you will need to divide the inches from the
ground
according to the height of stairs you want to create. You will also
want
to determine the length of the stair treads. Most standard stair
treads
are approximately 10 inches in length, although there are no building
codes that stop you from making the tread larger. From here you will
need
to determine with how many stairs you will have and the tread of those
stairs, how far the stairs will extend out into your yard.
Next you will need to decide what type of product you
would like to use to create the steps. If your deck or
patio design is made of wood then you
will want to continue using a similar wood or a wood that can be color
treated so that the deck stairs do not look as though they were not
part
of your original landscape plans.
If you feel like you cannot make a good judgment on
the color or type of deck wood you already have, then you may want to
take
a picture of leftover piece of that deck to a lawn and garden store or
a hardware
store and get their professional before you begin selecting wood
brands.
You may also want to spend time browsing
landscaping articles on deck designs or purchase a
landscaping software design program
that can actually help you by putting in the dimensions of the deck
and
the steps you want to build and help you calculate where and how you
need
to build.
One of the most important steps to take before you
begin building your deck stairs is to determine if the ground that
where
the edge of the stairs will end up is level. Without a level playing
field
to build off of, you will have trouble keeping the stairs meeting the
deck
evenly and this can cause unsightly
landscaping designs. The easiest way to check and see if the
ground is even is to simply place a board on the ground and see if
there
are rises and falls in the grass and the soil. If the ground is not
even,
you can either change the measurements of your stairs or you can
easily
solve the problem by leveling out the soil.
For more landscaping advice, tips, and information visit
http://www.greatlandscapingideas.com