Steps for our House

Our entrance all decked out for the 4th of July

Last week the big new improvement on our house was steps! It really made things look much more finished and we are really loving them.

 There are quite a few different options when it comes to steps. Our first plan was to have cement ones. We liked the idea of the colored cement that is made to look like cobble stones or something of that nature. So we started pursuing that. We found out in that process that most cement workers do not like to make steps. They will avoid it if possible (at least the ones around here). The guy that did our basement did come out to talk to us about it and we decided he was probably the biggest wet blanket that we had ever dealt with. :-) He told us that doing steps was something nobody wanted to do, that he only came because he had done our other cement work, that we didn't have proper footings for cement steps and they would pretty much certainly tip or crack over time and that colored cement wouldn't last well. After our visit with him we decided we would really prefer to find somebody that would like the job rather than be doing it out of obligation but found that he did seem to be correct that people didn't want to make cement steps when calls Ken made weren't returned.

  We did also think about the idea of wood steps but that wasn't our preference. We are constantly on the look out for low maintenance, long lasting solutions.

 Then Ken heard that a local landscaping company made steps from pavers. That was the look was were wanting anyway. That guy (the same one that I bought the agates for our shower from) came out right away to visit with us about it. He was overly fond of steps either I don't think (He encouraged us to think about doing a ramp instead which I thought sounded practical but Ken didn't go for) but was totally willing to do whatever we wanted. I was concerned that the steps made out of pavers wouldn't last well but he said they should be better than cement steps. They were more expensive but should last better and they look way cooler we think so we are happy.

 For now we had them put steps at the front door and the mudroom door. We would like a patio eventually out the dining room french doors but that was going to cost to much for us right now so I made temporary steps from cement blocks.

 That is the mudroom door above. The first step was to dig some of the dirt away so that they could pack the dirt super good and then fill the area with crushed concrete and sand and then start laying the pavers.

This picture above shows the completed steps. I do still need to finish putting the cement stone on beside them now that I know where the steps are.

 The guys busily working on the front steps. They had to make sure everything was level and pack things very thoroughly.

 They started on the lower step and worked in.

 The completed steps. We really like them. We do still plan on putting stone part way up around the pillars.

 The steps are not held together with mortar but they seem very sturdy anyways.

It is so fun to have this "step" on the house done. :-)