Hello- certainly this would work for garden beds! Just backfill with some organic soil and off you go! Thanks for watching!

but then what would you use for stairs to attend to those beds?

Some people say not to use treated lumber for garden beds, but the general construction method could still be applicable.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience on the first run. Good luck on the rebuild!

Great idea!

Ditto... but Spring in Wyoming may not get here until August.

Thanks for watching Gaby Hidde! I’m very happy with the stairs. Good luck with yours!

That’s great! I’m happy you can get some use from the video! Good luck!

Hi @Donald Ritchie - Thanks for watching and sharing your kind words! Good luck on your project!!

Thanks for watching, John! I appreciate your comment!

Hi gregmgm06- thanks for the kind comment! Good luck on your project!

Hi @Ben Minus! I’m so glad the video helped! Good luck with your project!

Hi Ken- sounds like some nice touches you’re adding! Should be a solid project! Nice!!

Thanks for the comment!

Hi Paul! Good luck on the project! I’m glad my video helped out a bit.

Hi mike- thanks for the comment!

Good luck with your project! More gravel is always better. It ends up being a balance with how much digging you can or want to do. I’m over a year in, and the stairs look great! I’ll need to add a little gravel topping next spring, as it has settled down a bit. Thanks for watching!

Hi Lisa gr! Thanks for the comment! Good luck with your project!

Railroad ties are toxic - I’d consider using a material that won’t be carcinogenic for family, pets, wildlife, etc.

Thanks @Christopher Orapello! They’ve held up great for me the past couple years. I just need to top off the gravel a little bit, as it has settled with the freeze-thaw.

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching and commenting! I appreciate it!

Thanks for watching and commenting! I appreciate it!

Cut and Seal is the product I use to seal cut ends.

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for the comment! The tracking isn’t bad, but you have a good idea!

Hey GM Andres! Thanks for the comment. Yes, the measurements on this project were total luck! And you’re right, it seems to never go that way. Just yesterday I was pounding on a wall to try to gain 1/4” that I needed to squeeze in the final cabinet. That’s more normal for me! Good luck with whatever method you choose!

Glad it helps! Good luck my friend!

Thanks for the comment!

Hi PS- thank you for that kind comment!

Glad I could help!

Yeah mine's rottening out after ten years😢

@@elaineclark6210 Curious if you used pressure treated 4x4's, looking at the wood it didn't look like it was. Was thinking of doing a build using your process but with treated wood.

Hi David Stout- yes, the rubber pavers are a great idea! Good luck!

Good comment! I dug out the top inch or so and refilled with a crushed product from a local mine. It’s sort of like class 5. It’s hard on bare feet, but not nearly as messy as the black sand. That stuff got everywhere!

Glad it was helpful!

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment!

Thank you kindly!

Thanks! Still loving the stairs years later!

Thank you! I’m happy with the end result!

Thanks for the comment!

Hi Von Trap, yeah that seems like a great way to install the rebar. Thanks for the comment!

Hi Jacob- I bought 30 six-foot 4x4’s and about 15 eight-food 4x4’s. It took a lot of lumber! Good luck!

Hi Lynn- landscape fabric or even just poly sheeting isn’t a bad idea. Because each of my steps is filled with a packed, very inorganic, sand, I chose not to use fabric. On the rocks toward the house I definitely used plastic sheeting. The idea of using planking is great! Should work out nicely. For estimating your materials, it is nice to measure the total height, then divide by your chosen step height. This gives you total number of stairs. Winging it is certainly ok too!;) Good luck!

It’s held up really well actually. The only maintenance is adding some gravel to the treads every spring. If I did it again, I’d lay fabric below the gravel so it wouldn’t sink into the existing soil. I’m very happy with it !

Hi uhudla42! I’m glad it’s useful for you! Good luck!

Hi Dave, yes they do go somewhat into the ground, just to anchor the stairs if I bump them with the mower, or whatever. The stakes were 18-20” long.

It looks perfect this spring! The only thing I see is that my gravel topping settled a little bit, but it will only take a few buckets worth to top it off again. Thanks for the feedback! Good luck!

@@NashwaukSteve I have finished the stairs. Not as many as yours, and I had to change the length to match the changing grade. If you are interested in seeing what your tutorial has inspired, I'd love to share some pictures with you. I don't know if you have a social site for something like that. Either way, thank you so much for your help. The path that was quite treacherous in the mud is now safe.

I’m so glad to hear that your project was a success!! It is so satisfying to hear your feedback, so I can share in your sense of satisfaction and pride. I’d love to see the final product, but I don’t know the best way to do that from here.

Yeah that’s a good idea. I scraped out the top inch or two and replaced it with a crushed gravel product. It packs tight and doesn’t get on everything. Tough on bare feet though.

Hi Igor- my method was very crude. I stood at the bottom of the hill and sighted across a level to a point higher up the hill and marked that spot. Then I measured from the ground to my eye. That measurement is then the rise between the base of the hill and the point I sighted in. Then starting at the top, I was able to use a 4’ level and measure down to my sighted in point. Adding those two measurements together have me the total rise I had to deal with. Very rudimentary, but it works! You can then divide that rise by your stair height (7” in my case) to get the total number of steps. Finding the tread depth is trickier, as you need to get a true horizontal length measurement. You can probably estimate it, then divide by E number of steps. That is your average tread depth. Mine was 39”, but I varied each tread to match the existing slope. Some were 42”, some were 32”, depending on the adjacent ground. Good luck with the rocks!

Nashwauk Steve Steve , thank you very much for reply sir!

Hi Jason! Yeah I think you should do that. At first I was thinking about ease of replacing the top riser piece, but in reality I can just pull the whole riser off by backing out the screws going into the tread pieces. Fewer holes exposed to the elements is always a plus! Good idea and good luck!

Hide the screws by using joining plates with screws in buried under the fill material.

Thanks for watching and commenting! It didn’t take all that long if I recall correctly. Mostly done in a weekend.

Yeah, you could pre-drill the holes if you didn’t want to use the huge wood auger bit. You’d need something long and skinny to align the holes before pounding in the rebar. Not a bad idea! The wood auger bit was a beast to use. Thanks for the feedback!

Nashwauk Steve 👍 Thanks again for taking the time to film and share your knowlege.

Hello- the rebar stakes were 18-20” long. I just cut them from a few 10’ pieces I bought at Lowe’s. Angle grinder worked great!

Thanks!

Hi Troy- yeah I think you could probably rotate 10-15 degrees. You just might need to drill your rebar holes closer to the edges of your riser or angle them slightly to still get into the tread below. If you were willing to make each riser custom, you could measure each one on the angle you want before making it. That would be a more aesthetic way of doing it. Honestly, my plan A was to make my stairs on a curve going around the house. Plan B won. Good luck!

Hello- I did not remove all the topsoil and grass from inside the steps. I ended up taking out only what I needed to, as I didn’t want to bring in more fill sand than necessary. So the sand is certainly thicker near the front of each stair and thinner near the back. I hope that helps!

Thanks for the comment! I used 1/2” rebar with a 1/2” wood auger bit. There was definitely some friction when pounding them in!

Could you have predrilled the lower wood to save your back a bit?

Good luck! Thanks for the comment!

Hi Samuel- yes my runs were differing lengths. I did that intentionally to match the grade of the surrounding terrain, as I wanted to avoid any extra cut or fill. I see your point about the tripping hazard. It’s good to mention that. The previous access was walking up a hillside that was very slippery in rain or snow. I biffed it a few times! These stairs are certainly a safety improvement over that.

The treads are just stacked, but the rebar spikes from the riser above go through both to keep them aligned. You certainly could attach them. I just didn’t want to add extra holes or spend any more... I’m a bit cheap!

Hi Martin- not sure I completely understand, but I’ll try to explain. I started by digging out where my bottom stair goes, then adding in some gravel for a base and leveling. Then the first step is just like the others as I show. 2- 4x4’s as the riser and two more ick from the riser on each side. I hope that helps, but feel free to clarify.

Hi Ian- yes I made a line parallel to my house and aimed for that. Also the “tread” pieces pairs were always the same length, so as long as each upper step overlapped the lower treads equally, I’d stay straight. Hope that helps!

@@NashwaukSteve Thanks and thanks again for the great video!😊 We are using it as the 'base' of our project😉

Thanks for watching, B. Chaney! Yes I did put rebar on the first step to anchor it. I have a tendency to bump things with the mower, so I want to give these some strength!

This is my exact thought. I have some steps like this and the fill washes out through the step below. When I redid them I made “boxes” for each step so the step front above sits on the step back piece below. This provides a full block so the soil can’t “bleed” through. Basically imagine what he did in the video, but with an additional piece of wood in the back.

Hello! It takes a T-40 bit, otherwise known as a Torx 40 bit. The box of Spax screws I bought came with that bit, so that helps. Good luck!

@@NashwaukSteve Thanks very much. I ordered SHOCKWAVE T30 Torx 2 -inch Impact Duty Steel Power Bit as I couldn't find the right answer in google. I will order the T-40 bit. The other aspect I am wondering is about the rebar. Is it necessary and if so is there a way I can get "cut rebar" as I don't have the tools to cut it. Thanks

Hi Natarajan- yes I think the rebar is necessary to keep the steps from moving around relative to one another. Without the rebar, I think the stairs may shift over time. But yes, it looks like Lowe’s sells “rebar stakes” that are precut to around 18”. I hope that helps!

@@NashwaukSteve Perfect thank you. Will check it out.

Thanks for your comment! Yes, very fortunate indeed! That was definitely the exception to the rule for me. Good luck making yours work out.

Hi @jose suarez- I was pretty unsophisticated. I stood at the bottom of my hill and sighted across the top of my level to a point on the ground. Then I measured the height of my eye and knew that that point on the ground was exactly my eye-height value. Then my point on the ground was tall enough that I could use a 4’ level and tape measure to figure out the test of my rise. Number of stairs needed = total rise divided by stair height (7” in my case) Average tread depth = total length or run divided by number of stairs needed Good luck

Hi Ryan Keenan - they are called Spax screws. I was using 6” ones, but they come in a variety of sizes. Thanks for watching and good luck!

Hi David- yeah you might be able to drill the 4x4s ahead of time. My concern would be keeping the drill holes perfectly plumb so the hole exits the bottom of the 4x4 exactly where it was started in top. If the bit wanders or if you hole isn’t plumb, then your fit will not be flush when you pound in the rebar in to join the pieces together. Thanks for watching!

@@NashwaukSteve i was so inspired by your creativity I am going to make a couple. Thank you for sharing. If you glued them wonder if nails would work just as good?

Good luck! I’m glad my project inspired you! I think construction adhesive and big nails would work just fine. “Liquid Nails” is a staple for me around my place.

You’re welcome!

Hey 925riv! I just posted a quick update vid. I hope it helps!

The stairs are doing great! The only maintenance is adding a little gravel to the stair treads to level them off in the spring. It seems like my gravel is slowly sinking into the native soil. Your idea sounds good to me, especially the fabric, as that’s probably why I’m losing gravel. Go for it and God speed!

@@NashwaukSteve thank you. 🙏

Hi @Smalls1316 - yep, rebar in each step. Each one was about 20” long. Good luck on your project!

Hi Joshua- yeah your method would work, I think. I was pretty unsophisticated. I stood at the bottom of my hill and sighted across the top of my level to a point on the ground. Then I measured the height of my eye and knew that that point on the ground was exactly my eye-height value. Then my point on the ground was tall enough that I could use a 4’ level and tape measure to figure out the test of my rise. Number of stairs needed = total rise divided by stair height (7” in my case) Average tread depth = total length or run divided by number of stairs needed Good luck!

Hi Dave- I actually didn’t use the long screws on the tread pieces, so that’s why you don’t see screw heads there. The fronts are screwed to the riser and the rebar holds the backs in place. You certainly could use screws to hold the treads together, not a bad idea at all- I was just being cheap!

Thanks, npw for the steps could you flip them so the screws do not not show?

Yes, certainly. I almost did that on mine. After thinking about it, I wish I would have. My initial thought was “if I ever need to replace a piece, having access to the screws would make it easier.” Now I realize with the rebar stakes in there, it’ll be some work anyway. I vote for hiding the screws now.

Surprisingly no substantial weed growth! If I did it again, I’d put some fabric down to keep the gravel from sinking into the existing soil though.