The porch is an important structural element of any country house. It must be designed in such a way that it is as convenient and safe as possible. Currently, the facades of private houses are most often seen wooden, metal or concrete street stairs.
Porch steps from planks
Wood is durable, easy to process and economical. Therefore, porches are most often built from it. Their steps usually consist of two parts - treads and risers. For the first, you need to take a board with a thickness of at least 2.5 cm. Risers can be made from a board of 2 cm. These elements can be attached to strings or bowstrings. In principle, the type of support does not affect the strength of the structure. Stringers are boards with landing nests cut out along the edge. On the bowstrings - under the treads and risers - bars are stuffed. The fastening of the latter is usually carried out on bolts with nuts. Thus, quite comfortable steps for the porch are obtained. You can see a photo of such an inexpensive and easy-to-assemble structure below.
Log steps
The porches of log houses are often erected from a log sawn in half. You can fix such steps, for example, on logs dug into the ground in a vertical position. Often they are also laid on concrete or brick stringers.
Finishing wooden steps
Since the porch is an outdoor structure, and even subjected to constant loads during operation, special attention should be paid to the finishing of the steps. Varnishes for this purpose can be used, but only intended for outdoor use. However, more often the porches are still covered with wood oil. In addition, various stains can be used for this purpose. Painted wooden street steps for the porch also look good. In the latter case, you also need to choose the right tool. Usually, for structures located on the street, alkyd enamels or oil paint are used.
Metal steps
Steel outdoor stairs are also a very popular option. In this case, the steps are welded from the corner in the form of a frame. In order to be able to fix them to the bowstrings, two racks are attached to them from below. The steps themselves can be made either from wood or also from metal. In the latter case, they are covered with anti-slip materials at the final stage.
Sometimes the steps of metal stairs are made lattice. However, this option is more suitable for emergency entrances. Metal treads often have an embossed pattern and look pretty.aesthetically. In this case, they are painted with oil paint.
Often the steps of metal stairs are attached not to two, but to one bowstring. Due to the fact that steel has a very high strength, the structures in this case are reliable.
How to make steps for a brick porch
This is quite an expensive, but very solid option. The construction of such a porch includes several stages:
- The parapets are being built. They are usually assembled using the “brick” method.
- An orientation cord is pulled between the parapets. Next, lay out a brick partition under the first step.
- The space between it and the plinth of the house is filled with broken bricks, stones, etc.
- Then everything is poured with concrete.
- Departing from the first partition to the width of the tread, the second one is erected.
- The resulting first step is lined with bricks.
- Then, the space remaining up to the plinth is again filled with stone and poured with concrete.
- After that, a third partition is erected, etc.
Natural stone steps
Sometimes the porches are laid out from natural stone. The method of their construction is similar to the option of building a brick street staircase. Bas alt is usually used as the material. The porches made of ready-made polished granite blocks turn out to be very beautiful. Of course, this option will cost quite a bit.
Concrete street stairs
Steps for the porch, filled with cementsolution, - the option is also solid and durable. When building such a porch, formwork is used. Concrete is made from cement, sand and gravel in the same way as for the foundation. One of the advantages of this material is that with its use it is easy to build steps of any configuration, including oval or round ones.
How to assemble concrete porch formwork
For an ordinary rectangular porch, the formwork is made of boards about 2 cm thick. It is assembled as follows:
- The side walls are fixed strictly vertically along the height of the porch.
- Between them, with preliminary marking, jumpers from boards are fixed.
- Install a reinforcing mesh in all the resulting cells.
Round or oval porch steps are usually cast in plastic formwork. If you wish, you can try to make it from strips of tin. They are bent and fixed in position with metal rods.
Pour the concrete porch
Next, let's see how the steps for the concrete porch are poured. The fittings for such a street staircase are connected from a rod of 10-12 mm with wire. The concrete mixture is prepared from cement, sand and gravel in a ratio of 1:3:5. Lay it in the formwork with a shovel. For ramming and air removal, each step is pierced with a wooden stake several times. At least 5 cm should remain from the top edge of the reinforcement to the surface and on the sides.
Whatmaterials can be used for finishing concrete porches
Tiles are usually used to finish street stairs poured from a cement mixture. The budget option is pavement. The porches of prestigious houses are most often faced with clinker tiles. It is an ordinary ceramic, but made at a very high temperature. The clinker steps for the porch look very solid. However, such tiles are quite expensive. In any case, when choosing a material for finishing a street staircase, you need to pay attention not only to its beauty, but also to safety. Tiles should not be slippery. In addition, you should not purchase material with too deep relief. In this case, dirt will be packed into it. Of course, the chosen tile should be in harmony with the facing of the yard.
Sometimes the concrete steps for the porch are also finished with natural stone. Usually it is granite or marble. Such designs look, of course, very rich, but they are also expensive.
How to clad concrete steps
Clinker tiles for porch steps are usually laid on cement mortar in a ratio of 1:4 or on special glue. In the latter case, the lining will cost more, but it will turn out to be much more reliable. Like all ceramic products, clinker tiles can have quite significant differences in size. Therefore, when laying between them, it is worth leaving the seams wider (8-10 mm). To make the pattern even, you can use special crosses or a cord. Also, to comply with the drawing, you must firstinstall beacon tiles along the edges of the surface to be trimmed.
Start laying clinker tiles from the top platform. The glue is applied with a notched trowel both on the cladding elements themselves and on the concrete surface. After the entire porch is lined, they wait a day. This time is necessary for the glue to set. Then proceed to grouting the seams. To do this, use a tool that matches the color of the tile itself and is intended for outdoor use.
How to make a canopy over the porch
In order for the finished steps of the outdoor stairs to last longer, it is definitely worth fixing a visor above them. It can be made from a variety of materials. The frame is usually knocked down from bars or welded from a corner. Then it is covered with a profiled sheet, metal tiles, boards with gluing with roofing material, polycarbonate, etc.
Usually, the visor is attached with one side to the supporting pillars, and the other - to the wall, on the anchor. Sometimes sheds are supported from below with wooden or metal struts. Forged options for visors look very nice. However, it is unlikely that it will be possible to make such a design on your own. Ready-made is quite expensive.
Also a very beautiful option is a carved canopy. They usually install it over wooden porches.
Parapet and railings
How to make steps for the porch with your own hands and how to veneer them, you now know. However, a street staircase will be safe only whenfenced on both sides. Sometimes porches are erected without a parapet and railings. But only if the design of the structure requires it, and it is not too high.
Porch railings are made from a variety of materials. It can be wood, concrete, brick, and even polycarbonate or glass. The choice of a particular option depends primarily on what kind of material was used to make the porch itself.
Railings are most often made of wood or metal. The latter option can be made of ordinary or galvanized metal. Such railings are most often installed on concrete or brick porches. Of course, wooden options are much more convenient to use. This material does not warm up in the heat and practically does not cool down in the winter. Metal non-galvanized railings are usually lined with wood on top.
Which porch option to choose
The choice of material for the manufacture of outdoor stairs primarily depends on the design features of the building itself. For example, the concrete steps at the log house, most likely, will not look too harmonious. In this case, a wooden staircase is usually assembled. Concrete or brick buildings often have a porch made of the same materials.
So, now you know how to pour concrete steps for a porch, as well as how to assemble them from metal or wood. As you can see, the procedure is not particularly complicated. The main thing is to comply with the established technologies. In this case, you will get a reliable, durable and beautiful porch.
