[BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
Outside a glass sliding door, we have some wooden steps that go from a small deck to the ground. Right now, I have a brick under each side but the bricks are slowly sinking into this sandy soil, in Florida. Is there any way to support the steps better? Should I pile another brick on top of each brick? Or, should I get some bigger stones? If so, how big do I need? Or is there another way? Thanks for any ideas. John Currently in Ocala, Florida Clear, 69°F Wind:Calm Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? Created by Weather Signature v1.31 http://www.weathersig.com
Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
John, I was all ready to write this snarky response about digging massive footers, many bags of concrete, blah blah blah. All to support a couple of steps. Then I realized you are in Florida, which means your water line is down around six inches or so, which might be problematic for digging those deep footers. You said you are using bricks. Are these the regular brick sized bricks, like 2 or 3 inches by 8 inches long? If so, maybe you could try using some large stepping stones instead. This could help to spread out the weight over a larger area and might prevent the stones from sinking as quickly. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel:(412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
Some larger area stones are in order. pavers, concrete cap blocks or something of that nature should do. You might try compacting the soil some what before you lay the new stones also. A small piece of two by four hit with a hammer will compact it some. Ron - Original Message - From: john schwery To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 7:48 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps? Outside a glass sliding door, we have some wooden steps that go from a small deck to the ground. Right now, I have a brick under each side but the bricks are slowly sinking into this sandy soil, in Florida. Is there any way to support the steps better? Should I pile another brick on top of each brick? Or, should I get some bigger stones? If so, how big do I need? Or is there another way? Thanks for any ideas. John Currently in Ocala, Florida Clear, 69°F Wind:Calm Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? Created by Weather Signature v1.31 . http://www.weathersig.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
Dan, thanks. Yep, the regular bricks. So, we may get some bigger stones. Ron, thanks for your help as well. Good idea, compacting the soil. Thanks for any other help from others, in advance. earlier, Dan Rossi, wrote: John, I was all ready to write this snarky response about digging massive footers, many bags of concrete, blah blah blah. All to support a couple of steps. Then I realized you are in Florida, which means your water line is down around six inches or so, which might be problematic for digging those deep footers. You said you are using bricks. Are these the regular brick sized bricks, like 2 or 3 inches by 8 inches long? If so, maybe you could try using some large stepping stones instead. This could help to spread out the weight over a larger area and might prevent the stones from sinking as quickly. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail:mailto:dr25%40andrew.cmu.edud...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel:(412) 268-9081 John Currently in Ocala, Florida Clear, 78°F Wind:ESE-120° at 5mph Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow. Created by Weather Signature v1.31 http://www.weathersig.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
Now I have a little experience with compacting soil. The rain wets it and acts like a lubricant so packing doesn't really help all that much unless you can form a large hat over the area. I would suggest though that you either pour a substantial pad or lay down a couple of large patio slabs. You can get them in excess of 18 inches square and the larger the surface area the better. You might also consider purchasing some of those molded steps. they can be had in pre-cast concrete but those are heavy to adjust later or you can get them in composite materials, stuff like fiberglass. Those are quite light and present a bigger surface area to the ground and would be much more easily lifted to be adjusted if they move. If I was Han Solo I'd probably pet my wookie - Original Message - From: john schwery To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 10:46 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps? Dan, thanks. Yep, the regular bricks. So, we may get some bigger stones. Ron, thanks for your help as well. Good idea, compacting the soil. Thanks for any other help from others, in advance. earlier, Dan Rossi, wrote: John, I was all ready to write this snarky response about digging massive footers, many bags of concrete, blah blah blah. All to support a couple of steps. Then I realized you are in Florida, which means your water line is down around six inches or so, which might be problematic for digging those deep footers. You said you are using bricks. Are these the regular brick sized bricks, like 2 or 3 inches by 8 inches long? If so, maybe you could try using some large stepping stones instead. This could help to spread out the weight over a larger area and might prevent the stones from sinking as quickly. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail:mailto:dr25%40andrew.cmu.edud...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel:(412) 268-9081 John Currently in Ocala, Florida Clear, 78°F Wind:ESE-120° at 5mph Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow. Created by Weather Signature v1.31 . http://www.weathersig.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps?
A couple bags of pre-mix cement to make a pad will do the trick. The bricks aren't wide enough to stop the sinking of the bricks into the sand.A 1 to 1 1/2 foot pad on each side of the steps should do the trick. RJ - Original Message - From: john schwery To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 08:48 Subject: [BlindHandyMan] supporting outdoor steps? Outside a glass sliding door, we have some wooden steps that go from a small deck to the ground. Right now, I have a brick under each side but the bricks are slowly sinking into this sandy soil, in Florida. Is there any way to support the steps better? Should I pile another brick on top of each brick? Or, should I get some bigger stones? If so, how big do I need? Or is there another way? Thanks for any ideas. John Currently in Ocala, Florida Clear, 69°F Wind:Calm Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? Created by Weather Signature v1.31 . http://www.weathersig.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
