Installing Timber-and-Brick Steps

Steps like these take only about as long to build as concrete steps. The result, however, is more stylish and inviting. If the timbers are fastened firmly with rebar and spikes and the sand bed is well tamped, the steps will be nearly as solid as concrete and much easier to repair should settling occur. Choose timbers that will withstand the climate in your region. Pressure-treated landscaping timbers are readily available; choose from 5x6s, 6x6s, and 6x8s. Pave the steps with severe weather (SW) brick.

Time: A day to build a landing with two or three steps.

Skills: Laying out stairs, cutting timbers, laying brick in sand.

Expert's Insight: Stair height and depth. It's important for an entry stairway to be comfortable for walking because it's used so often. By laying 6x8 timbers narrow side up, you will get 7-1/2-inch step rises, a comfortable height for most people. For elderly people and children, 6x6 timbers will make a shallower than normal step. For the depth, 11 to 12 inches is suitable for a single step. Add 1-foot increments for deeper steps.

Tool Tip: Dealing with timbers. You need high-quality, long-shank 3/8- and 3/16-inch drill bits to bore holes through the landscaping timbers for the spikes and rebar. A normal-length bit attached to a bit extension also will work but tends to come loose with use.

Drilling through the timbers will put a strain on 3.0- or 3.2-amp drills. Don't force the bit and allow the drill to cool down frequently. Or, rent or buy a 3.5-amp drill that will handle the job with ease. You can cut the timbers by sawing all four sides with a circular saw, then sawing the middle with a handsaw. This takes some time, so if you have a lot of cutting to do, rent an oversize circular saw.

Step-by-Step

1. Lay out the stairs

The rise of each step is determined by the thickness of the timber you use. If the total rise is not evenly divisible by that thickness, make up the distance at the lowest step and at the door sill. Avoid making the bottom step more than 1 inch higher than the rest. Use a line level and a homemade story pole (or modular spacing rule) to determine your layout. For a short stairway, use a straight 2x4 and carpenter's level instead of the line level.

2. Build the frame

Excavate the site according to your plan layout. But when you dig, allow an extra 6 inches of working space on each side. Lay a 2-inch bed of well-tamped gravel for the bottom timbers. Make sure the steps slope away from the house 1/4 inch per running foot.

Where the tops of the timbers will not show, drill 3/8-inch holes about every 2 feet and drive 3-foot rebars through the timbers and into the ground to anchor the steps. Where the tops will show, drill long pilot holes with a 3/16-inch bit and fasten the timbers together with 12-inch spikes.

3. Screed and tamp

Starting with the bottom step, tamp the gravel firm, then spread 2 to 3 inches of sand. Notch a screed board the thickness of the bricks or pavers and screed the sand to that level. Tamp, add more sand if needed, then screed again. Once you install the bricks, move to the next higher step and prepare it in the same way.

4. Lay the bricks or pavers

Choose a pattern and install the step surface. Cut the pavers or bricks with a brick set and baby sledgehammer or use a masonry cutoff saw or a circular saw with a masonry blade. Use a rubber mallet to pound in hard-to-fit bricks. Once each section is finished, spread fine sand on the surface and sweep it into the joints. Gently spray with water, add more sand, and repeat until the joints are filled.