So, I had these wood and brick steps...

[Adsos Letter]

Last edited Tue Jun 4, 2013, 09:51 AM - Edit history (4)

When we bought this place 22 years ago I built these steps/planters/retaining wall out of wood and brick. I put the brick path down on a bed of 3/4" compacted rock, with a 2" bed of sand to set the brick on. I wish I had a photo of it when originally finished and landscaped.

So, here it is 22 years later; falling apart, wood finally rotting out, brick needing to be re-set, and generally unsafe for traffic:

[IMG][/IMG]

I've re-set the brick a couple times over the intervening years, and I usually keep the weeds pulled. Anyway, I set out to rebuild it using the same brick, but new wood, and then thought "What the heck; I'm getting older, and I really don't want to keep rebuilding this thing 10 years from now." So, I replicated the structure in concrete:

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

I replaced the wooden planter at the end with a short rake wall because to have replicated the planter would have made things too bulky looking on that side (plus, my water and sewer lines ran under the old wooden planter box; easy enough to access in the old version, it would have been a serious issue to have to repair, if need be, under several hundred pounds of concrete. So, now it runs on the outside of the new wall that replaced the old planter, not under it). I saved all of the old brick, and I'm going to face-and-cap the two walls, and the large planter with the tree in it. The actual steps will remain concrete.

The risers on the steps are at 4 3/4", which is lower than usual, but it traverses easily (actually, the city building department characterized it as a "series of landings" which, in their estimation, re-classified it as "landscaping hardscape" rather than a walkway. So...no permit required; although, they did advise me to follow code on riser minimum/maximum, and "tread" depth).



.