Well, the old garden steps left little to be desired. But don’t get me wrong they were quaint and were made from local field stone. But they were very difficult to walk on due to the difference in rise at every step. Not to mention the run of each step created an odd cadence. Therefore, Kristina and I wanted something made from natural material, safe, and easy to navigate. Here are the original steps and the new garden steps to Paradise Patio.

Selecting The Materials to Reach Paradise Patio

Kristina and I took a trip to a local granite distributer (Getty Granite). After that trip we decided on granite steps and blue stone pavers. Because the rise of the front garden required seven granite steps (seven inches tall) to reach the deck landing, but the run would have required 15 steps. Therefore, we needed landings. So, the plan was to use granite steps and blue stone pavers to cover the rise and run of the garden slope. This would require seven steps and two landings three feet wide by four feet long to reach the deck landing. Then two steps to reach paradise patio from the deck landing.

Building The Garden Steps to Paradise Patio

We bought nine blue stone pavers and ten granite steps. We started by digging a whole seven inches deep and filled with compacted crushed stone. When the crushed stone was leveled along the run and sloped to allow drainage into the garden (left side) we set the step. Then we dug out behind the step and compacted seven more inches of crushed stone. Basically, this process of digging, filling, compacting, and setting stones repeats until we reached the top. Then, every few steps we added a landing of blue stone pavers on a bed of seven inches of crushed stone. Therefore, the landings plus the seven steps cover the 15 feet of run and 49 inches of rise to reach the deck landing. From the deck landing we added a four-foot granite step to reach the deck steps and two granite steps to reach paradise patio.

Garden Steps to Paradise Build Gallery