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Wooden steps can have a formal or informal look, depending on the type of wood and the style chosen. Wood can be slippery in the wet and needs a non-slip surface or treatment for safety. Decking wood that has been grooved to make it safer in wet conditions is widely available. Make sure that you explain the end use of wood when purchasing to ensure that your supplier can provide the appropriate product.
Uncut, stone steps are wonderful to look at but not suitable for high traffic areas. They can be extremely slippery in wet and frosty weather. Often uneven, they slow to navigate; you literally 'pick' you way up or down such steps, pausing often, it is true, to admire the garden.
Grass steps are wonderful to look at and relatively simple to create. They blend in seamlessly with nearby lawns and green plantings but they are the devil to maintain; mowing all those grassed treads is truly a nightmare job.
Styling Formal Steps
There are many options for formal steps, all giving a crisp and structured look.
Quarried and cut stone steps are a classic choice; although expensive they make wonderful, long lasting and uniform steps. Although some stone can be treacherous in wet of frosty conditions.
A single step can be made from more than one stone, but a single solid slab is better. Generally cut stone needs a concrete foundation and professional installation. The stone is pricey and adding installation costs makes this a major investment, so plan very carefully before you start!
If you plan to go it alone and make your own stone steps, choose stone cut to a manageable size, as stone is heavy and awkward to work with without the right equipment.
New or recycled bricks create a lovely crisp look, with softer colours and textures coming into play with recycled bricks. Paving or outdoor bricks should be sourced as bricks can splinter and crumble in the frost, attract moss and can become greasy, slick, and quite unsafe in the wet.
A concrete base can extend the life of brick steps, although a well-prepared foundation of compacted gravel and crusher dust over packed soil is perfectly adequate for steps that will have lower use.
Concrete steps are long lasting once made, but require quite an effort in construction. Excavation, making boxing and pouring concrete over a well-prepared foundation is a big job.
White concrete is very glaring and extremely hard to work into a garden scheme. Painting or using off-white concrete are good options. Avoid insetting rounded river pebbles into steps, as these are slick and dangerous on steps.
Tiles make an attractive outdoor stair, and there is a good range of suitable outdoor tiles available. A simple one-colour tile can be laid; elaborate patterns reminiscent of the Moorish gardens or mosaics patterns of broken tile are other possibilities. Do use only low-glaze tiles that allow a good grip.
Care should be taken to ensure water drains off the treads of any hard-surfaced step to reduce ice build-up.
Contemporary
In contemporary gardens steps have a major role to play and are an integral part of the design. Sharp, clean lines create a very up-to-date look and concrete and stone are great materials here. Smaller pavers can look fussy and too detailed, detracting from the uncomplicated style.
In rugged New Zealand, Australian and desert gardens of the American southwest, rough-hewn stone makes a bold statement, tying the landscape to the rugged environment outside the garden. These steps need care when navigating, however, and sometimes using massive rocks near the steps gives the same feel without compromising safety.
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Wood makes striking steps
Stone makes even, formal steps at Knightshayes, Devon, UK
Brick creates a crisp look
Handrails on long flights for safety
Recycled brick has a softer texture
Contrete, long lasting but avoid white
Tiles offer lots of styles;
here an exotic entrance
Clean and crisp contemporary garden
Rugged rock steps in a New Zealand garden | |
