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, on the facades of private houses most often you can see wooden, metal or concrete street stairs.
Steps for the porch from the boards
Wood is a durable, easy to process and economical material. 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 2 cm board. These elements can be attached to braids or bowstrings. In principle, the type of support does not affect the structural strength. Kosoura are boards with cut-out landing nests. On the bowstrings - under the treads and risers - bars are packed. The fastening of the latter is usually carried out on bolts with nuts. Thus, pretty comfortable steps for the porch are obtained. You can see a photo of such an inexpensive and easy to assemble design below.
Log steps
The porches of chopped houses are often erected from logs cut in half. Such steps can be fixed, for example, on blocks of wood dug into the ground in a vertical position. Often they are also laid on concrete or brick plaits.
Finishing wooden steps
Since the porch is a street 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 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 street 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 stands are attached to them from below. The steps themselves can be made either of wood, or also of metal. In the latter case, at the final stage they are covered with anti-slip materials.
Sometimes the steps of metal stairs are latticed. However, this option is more suitable for emergency entrances. Metal treads often have a relief pattern and look quite aesthetically pleasing. 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 expensive, but it is a very solid option. The construction of such a porch includes several stages:
- Parapets are being built. They are usually collected in the "brick" way.
- An orientation cord is pulled between the parapets. Next, lay a partition from the brick under the first step.
- The space between it and the base of the house is filled with broken bricks, stones, etc.
- Then everything is poured with concrete.
- Having departed from the first partition to the width of the tread, erect the second.
- The resulting first stage is bricked.
- Then, the space remaining to the basement is again filled with stone and concrete is poured.
- After this, a third partition is erected, etc.
Natural stone steps
Sometimes porches are laid out from natural stone. The method of their construction is similar to the option of building a street staircase of brick. In this case, basalt is usually used as the material. Porches made of finished polished granite blocks are very beautiful. Of course, this option will be quite expensive.
Concrete street stairs
Steps for the porch, filled with cement mortar, are also a solid and durable option. When erecting such a porch, formwork is used. Concrete is made of 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 erect steps of any configuration, including oval or round.
How to assemble a concrete porch formwork
For a regular rectangular porch, the formwork is made of boards about 2 cm thick. Assemble it as follows:
- The side walls are fixed strictly vertically along the height of the porch.
- Between them, with preliminary marking, jumpers from the boards are fixed.
- Install reinforcing mesh in all the resulting cells .
Steps for a porch of a round or oval form usually pour out in a plastic formwork. If you wish, you can try to make it from tin strips. They are bent and fixed in position with metal rods.
Pouring concrete porch
Next, let's see how steps for a concrete porch are poured. The fittings for such a street staircase are connected from a rod with a 10-12 mm 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. To tamp and remove air, each step is pierced with a wooden stake several times. From the upper edge of the reinforcement to the surface and sides should remain at least 5 cm.
What materials can be used to decorate concrete porches
For the decoration of street stairs poured from a cement mixture, tiles are usually used. The budget option is paving. Porches of prestigious houses are most often faced with clinker tiles. It is an ordinary ceramic, but made at a very high temperature. Clinker steps for the porch look very solid. However, such a tile is quite expensive. In any case, when choosing a material for decorating a street staircase, you need to pay attention not only to its beauty, but also to safety. The tile should not be slippery. In addition, you should not purchase material with too deep a relief. In this case, dirt will accumulate in it. Of course, the selected tile should be in harmony with the facing of the yard.
Sometimes concrete steps for the porch are also finished with natural stone. This is usually granite or marble. Such constructions look, of course, very richly, but are also expensive.
How to revet concrete steps
Clinker tiles for steps of the porch are usually laid on cement mortar in a ratio of 1: 4 or on special glue. In the latter case, the cladding will cost more, but it will turn out 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 picture even, you can use special crosses or a cord. Also, in order to comply with the figure, lighthouse tiles must first be installed along the edges of the surface being 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, 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 is suitable in shade to the color of the tile itself and intended for use on the street.
How to make a canopy over the porch
In order for the finished steps of the street stairs to last longer, a visor should definitely be fixed above them. It can be made from a variety of materials. The frame is usually knocked out of the bars or welded from the corner. Then it is covered with a professional sheet, metal tile, boards with gluing with roofing material, polycarbonate, etc.
Typically, the visor is attached on one side to the support posts, and the other on the wall, on the anchor. Sometimes the canopies 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. Finished is quite expensive.
Also a very beautiful option is a carved canopy. They usually install it over wooden porches.
Parapet and railing
How to make steps for the porch with your own hands and how to revet them, you now know. However, a street staircase will only be safe if there are fences 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.
For the manufacture of porch fences use a variety of materials. It can be wood, concrete, brick and even polycarbonate or glass. The choice of a particular option depends primarily on which material was used to manufacture the porch itself.
Railings are most often wooden 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, in operation, wooden options are much more convenient. This material does not heat up in the heat and practically does not cool in the winter. Un galvanized metal railings are usually lined with wood.
Which porch option to choose
The choice of material for the manufacture of street stairs primarily depends on the design features of the building itself. For example, concrete steps at a chopped house will most likely not look too harmonious. In this case, a wooden staircase is usually assembled. In concrete or brick buildings, a porch of the same materials is more often installed.
So, now you know how to fill the steps for the porch of concrete, 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 required technology. In this case, you will get a reliable, durable and beautiful porch.