Circular Steps

[agla]

A landscaper that I know has asked me for advice about building a semi-circular set of steps for a modest home. I'm asking you. The homeowner is pushing for this look.

It will be going from a proposed paver patio to a back door. They want it to be 5' in diameter against the house (too small a landing in my opinion) with two treads going down from that. Being a tight area they want to pave right up to the foundation to store a barbecue and toys (why then they want to spread the steps east-west is beyond me). Obviously they want the steps to be a complete half circle. The current idea is to go with a SRW type block as a riser.

The question is: What product is going to lend itself to the easiest construction of the treads while maintaining a good look? The concerns are having tiny intricately cut pieces, having exposed saw cut edges, and getting it done in a reasonable time. It is not a big budget job and the 'scaper, while very capable, is not a highly skilled stone mason.

Any tips on glue and finishing joints on the treads would also be appreciated.

[Stonehenge]

I'm imagining these being concentric half circles, right? Are the patio doors 6' wide (and sliders)? If so, i'm assuming you are centering the steps over the actual door. Otherwise, you're looking at a 9' diameter set of steps when you get to the bottom of the steps.

With a 5' radius, from a practicality standpoint, Versa-Lok isn't a good choice, because every block will have to be cut to be able to make that tight a turn.

Quarry Stone from Unilock might be an option - take that back. Too tight for Quarry stone, too. Roman Stack will work - it's a garden wall type of stone, 4" tall, 8" deep. It has a min outside radius of 29" - 1" under your min radius.

As for overlaying the pavers, to give them better adhesion we like to cut some grooves into the bottom of the pavers before gluing them. As for the gaps in the paver, we cut every other paver in an application like this into a slight wedge shape, so the seams are tight.

I'd post a pic, but everything is still a bit disorganized after the move, and the hardcopy photos of the projects we did like that are not readily found.

[Lanelle]

We recently did one of these using Celtik wall and Celtik caps. We filled the landing with Mega Bergerac which matched the patio. So that was not a low-dollar solution. Anyway, we filled and compacted the interior of the base with 3/4-. I'll see if we have pictures of it yet.

[PSUscaper]

Funny you mentioned this. Just finished a Techo mini-creta set today.

Got some pictures so you can see what you think.

the very top stoop at the door was probably about a 6ft diameter. Had to use all of the smaller mini-creta pieces in order to make that. If I went any smaller, I would of had to do a lot of cutting.
With the 6 foot, you have to make a few cuts just to keep it flowing, but not to many. Anything less is cut city.

The second circle was about a 5 ft radius, that went easier.

Cutting the cap wan't too bad for the small diameter. It was pretty able to get it to flow around with out getting to choppy.

as for the 5 foot landing being too small, I'm in agreement. The 6 foot diameter felt alright when opening the door, but any smaller and you would just about have to be on the next step down to get clearance.

I use PL landscape block adhisive. I swear by it! The best stuff I've ever used so far. Just be sure to give it ample time to set. I like to glue my cap one day and come back the next for the brick to give it time to set. If you don't, the cap will 'push' out while compacting the brick, never mind the fact they move while you are standing on them working on the brick. Thats why I like the PL brand. A lot of the others seem to take days to become solid enough to work with.

All I'll say on the cuts is that you have to know what you are doing. If the guy who is going to do this has little experience, it is going to be a little tricky to get a nice, finished result. Need to be straing both horizontally and vertically to get good, tight seems. If the seems aren't tight, then sand will eventually wash out from under the brick.

[PSUscaper]

another

[PSUscaper]

1 more

[PSUscaper]

last one

[agla]

Thanks,

Penn' was right, they want a 5' DIA. not radius. That is one nice looking landing especially at that radius.

Now I'll have to see if Techno mini-creta is available around here.

He still wants to talk the client out of the circle for other reasons, so it might not fly anyway.

Thanks for all the advice and those pics really tell the story Penn'. Thanks to everyone that responded.

Andrew

[Stonehenge]

D'oh! I was thinking diameter, but my fingers decided to type 5' radius instead. :blush:

Mini Creta isn't available here, so I can't offer anything of value about that, except that Steve's project sure looks nice. :D

[jwholden]

Steve,

A lot of my pictures have two guys in the distance staring at the boss taking pictures as well. I've got them to the point now when they know there will be a photo shoot at the end of the job. The other day the new guy was shocked when I didn't take any shots...

Nice job, you like the tough stuff, don't ya!