Last Friday, I was sure I would finish the studio side stairs over the weekend. That didn’t quite work for two reasons. First I decided to take a day off to relax and not think about home projects, so I lost a whole day of work. I chose air conditioning and relaxing instead of working in the sun. (Those side steps are exposed to direct sunlight almost all day).
But the second reason is the main reason. I wanted to do more research and reading before moving forward with my plan, just to make sure I was building steps that would stand the test of time. And I’m really glad I took the time to do it because from what I read, I ended up making a pretty significant change to the design of the steps.
My original plan was to cut the retaining wall blocks for the internal supports in half and only use them to support the four corners of each concrete paver. This was the last image I showed of that plan, but I took it before I got to the point of cutting the retaining wall blocks in half.
As you can see, if I had cut those retaining wall support blocks in half to use as supports at the corners where the pavers meet, I would have left the center of each paver unsupported.
But before I started cutting those blocks in half to continue with my plan, I decided to do a little more research to see if this was the best way to do it. So I sat down in front of my computer and started Googling. First, I wanted to know how much weight the 12″ x 12″ x 1.5″ concrete pavers can hold. This was Google AI’s response: “A standard 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch concrete paver can typically hold between 3,000 and 8,000 pounds of distributed weightas long as it is fully supported on a flat and properly compacted base.” It’s the last part that obviously caught my attention: fully supported by a flat and properly compacted base. Evidently, this is how pavers are generally used. Planes are used on the ground on leveled and compacted layers of gravel and sand. And I know they are very strong when used that way because we have random concrete pavers around our property that are in perfect condition and look like they have been there for decades.
Next, I asked how much weight they can support if they are suspended and supported only on the four corners. This is the answer I got: “If suspended and supported only at its four corners, a standard 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch unreinforced concrete paver will fracture under a central point load of only 150 to 350 pounds.” Obviously, that’s a problem and that meant my original design had to change. Thank goodness I hadn’t cut those retaining wall blocks in half yet, and none of the internal supports or any of the concrete pavers had been glued yet.
So I went back to the drawing board. To provide the necessary support for the pavers, I ended up filling the entire cavity inside the perimeter blocks with as many blocks as I could fit in there, with only small spaces between them. I still had to cut the back edge of each one so they could lay flat on the concrete pad, and once I fixed them, I glued them with the same Loctite PL 500 polyurethane adhesive that I used for the perimeter blocks. It really didn’t increase the price much as these blocks are only $2.37 each.
After giving the adhesive a little time to harden, I filled all the cracks with gravel. I had planned to use paver gravel, but that gravel is a little larger than pea gravel and I didn’t think it would fit into the smaller cracks. The gravel was the perfect size to fit into every crack. I packed it as best I could using various tools that fit into those small crevices, and then brushed off the excess, making sure there was no gravel on the top of the blocks.
I did not fill the gaps in the perimeter blocks. I’m not sure if it’s necessary, but I could still go back and do it.
Another thing I did different this time is that I used my wet tile saw to cut the curve in the front pavers. This worked far better! With the tile saw, I was able to make a clean cut on the first cut, and that gave them a better look. It wasn’t as quick and easy as cutting 1/4 inch thick tile, but with the right blade, it got the job done.
They still have some blade marks on them, so I still want to polish them once I get the grinder/polisher disc for my hand grinder. But even as they are now, I think they look great.
Here is a comparison of one of the pavers cut two different ways. The one above is one that I cut halfway with my hand grinder and then tapped off the excess with a hammer. You can see how much grinding and polishing would have been needed to make it smooth. At the bottom are the ones I cut with my wet tile saw. The difference is day and night. Cutting with the tile saw has improved so much that those blade marks don’t really even bother me that much. But I’ll probably still try to clean them up a bit.
I haven’t put these pavers in place yet. I need to do a little more readjustment before doing that. And after they have adhered, I want the grinding/polishing wheel to go over the top of all of them just enough to remove the dirt and dark color so the color is consistent. And then I would like to seal them before moving on to the next step so they are less likely to get dirty and dark again.
I’m so glad I took the time to research this more before moving forward. At this point, I feel completely confident in my plan. This step is solid. It took me a while to get the plan perfect, test it, etc. But now that I have a solid plan in place and know the exact steps I need to take to achieve this, I think the other two steps (and the other set of steps by the bedroom door) will go much faster. Trial and error, researching a plan, designing a plan, and then figuring out how to execute that plan is the slowest part of a project. But now that I’ve fixed all the kinks, the rest should be much smoother and faster.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 upper that my husband Matt and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and can’t do physical work, so I do most of the house work myself. You can learn more about me here.
