How to pour concrete steps – we create a strong and reliable structure in our home

A useful way to improve your home’s look and functionality is to pour concrete steps. Whether you’re installing new steps or replacing old ones, a sturdy framework is crucial. In addition to increasing the value of your property, concrete steps offer a long-lasting and low-maintenance way to access the various levels of your house.

To ensure that concrete steps are strong and long-lasting, meticulous planning and execution are required. Formwork is erected and the site is prepared in order to shape the steps. To create a smooth, even surface, the concrete mix must be poured into the forms and properly finished. You can create steps that withstand weather and daily use by using the proper techniques.

We’ll lead you through the process of properly pouring concrete steps in this guide. You’ll discover how to build a solid foundation and a dependable set of procedures that will benefit you for many years to come, from planning to finishing touches.

You must adhere to a few crucial steps in order to construct reliable and durable concrete steps at home. To shape the steps, begin by creating a mold and a strong foundation. The concrete should then be mixed and poured, being careful to distribute it evenly and compact it. Ultimately, allow it to properly cure for the highest strength and longevity. You can design steps that are not only long-lasting but also functional by paying attention to these little details.

Introduction

Prefabricated and monolithic structures for reinforced concrete staircases are widely used today. They are everywhere—from opulent mansions, where skilled designers have placed them, to the stairwells of apartment buildings. When organizing the building’s entrance group, these stairs are even more frequently chosen as the primary ones.

Advantages and disadvantages

Today’s concrete porch won’t be able to surprise anyone besides itself with its unique form and texture.

Concrete sounds like "Concrete" in English, so that’s an interesting pun. Several factors have contributed to its popularity:

• The main, of course, is its very high strength. The material easily tolerates destructive factors of various nature: mechanical influences, chemical, atmospheric. Such a staircase will definitely serve for several decades, and if you properly take care of it and carry out repairs in a timely manner, then enough for a lifetime.
• The lack of concrete in the form of its unpresentable appearance, for people who have an unconnected budget, is an undeniable advantage. And the whole point is that the designer is free to use absolutely any materials for its decoration, as long as they cope with the functions assigned to them, that is, withstand mechanical loads and have high resistance to abrasion.

• The plasticity of liquid concrete mass is the second weighty argument in favor of this material. If you want to create something monumental and unusual in shape, then concrete will allow you to do this with minimal costs and without the involvement of super-professional craftsmen – there are enough of those who can create formwork of the desired configuration, but many can handle the pouring.
• An interesting fact is that concrete stairs can be both a budget solution and an elite, expensive one. This happens because the main components of the solution are widespread and relatively inexpensive, but this is if we are talking about small-sized structures.
• If a large interfloor staircase is planned, then it is worth understanding that its implementation will require a large volume of mixture, plus add here the cost of pouring and cladding work, including the finishing material itself. In general, you need to look at specific projects to make a final decision on the construction of a reinforced concrete staircase.

Actually, the only disadvantage of these structures is their high cost.

The primary challenge in building these stairs is their size, which necessitates building a substantial capital foundation. And while garden stairs and porches are examples of structures outside the home, we should pay particular attention to indoor reinforced concrete stairs because they will directly affect the building’s walls and floors.

Counseling! Generally speaking, it’s important to realize that these kinds of structures can only be built during the building’s actual construction. The project needs to contain the related computations.

It’s also important to remember that pouring requires a lot of labor. You’ll be perspiring a lot even if you hire concrete mixer trucks, and if you plan to mix everything by hand—or, heaven forbid, with a concrete mixer—you should be prepared for some intense endurance exercises.

Parameters of public staircases

It is obvious that requirements for staircases situated both indoors and outdoors will differ greatly, but they will also share many characteristics:

• Of course, we are talking about the parameters of the flight itself. First of all, this is its width, which should have a minimum value of at least 80 centimeters. One person can comfortably move along such a staircase in one direction. If you want two walkers to be able to calmly disperse on the flight, then the value increases to 120 centimeters.

• Any staircase with more than three steps must be equipped with handrails for safe movement along it. On the open part it is closed with a fence filled with balusters, gratings or shields. If there will always be small children in the house, then it is not recommended to install horizontal elements in the fence, and the distance between the vertical elements should be reduced to 10 centimeters so that it is impossible to squeeze between them.

• The next important component is the angle of inclination of the march. This parameter largely determines how convenient the ladder will be to use. The diagram above shows the main ranges of inclination angles, and we see that the optimal value falls within the range from 26 to 41 degrees.
• It would seem that choose the most convenient one and build, but no, because the length of the staircase directly depends on the angle of inclination, that is, flat structures will take up a lot of space, while steep ones will take up much less. In order not to sacrifice one thing, various rotary structures are often erected, dividing the ascent into several sections – flights.

• Well, the last thing you need to pay attention to is the parameters of the steps, which also depend on the angle of the flight and its length. The following values ​​are considered optimal: for the height of the riser, this is 15-20 centimeters, and for the depth of the tread – 25-33 centimeters. It is important to select harmonious ratios of these values.
• The figure above shows a small formula, which, when decoded, shows that two step heights and one of its depths should be equal to a certain "S", which corresponds to the average step of an adult – from 60 to 64 centimeters.

When creating a staircase drawing, all these considerations will ensure that the staircase is used safely in addition to conveniently.

Concrete volume calculator

Pouring process

Now that you have a basic understanding of the components of a concrete staircase, let’s look at how professionals pour a concrete staircase using an example. We’ll discuss a particular item where the staircase is built upon a capital floor consisting of slabs of reinforced concrete rather than a separate foundation, which is also acceptable.

That’s interesting to know! When a building has a strip or columnar foundation, a concrete staircase typically needs its own foundation.

Beginning

The location of our staircase is shown in the first picture. It is evident right away that it will be close to one side of the brick wall. The master benefits greatly from this arrangement since it makes marking and arranging the formwork much simpler.

It is important to realize that the adjacent wall needs to be at least one brick thick and load-bearing in order for a capital connection to be made. The partition can only be used as a guide if it is thinner.

• We make a drawing of the future staircase directly on the wall, for which it is convenient to use chalk. It is very important to strictly observe the dimensions and level of the steps. Also pay attention to the load-bearing part of the flight – this is the distance from the inner corner of the steps to the lower edge of its support platform, in fact, the stringer. In the next photo, the master shows this place with his fingers.

• In the example under consideration, a not very large staircase will be poured, so the masters chose the minimum possible distance of 10 centimeters, which is more than enough to withstand the weight of the staircase itself and people walking on it, including possible loads, for example, large-sized furniture. If you plan to build a large structure, then this distance can be increased to 15 centimeters.
• When drawing the border of the lower edge, you must also take into account the thickness of the lower formwork sheet. Usually this is an OSB panel or a sheet of plywood 16 millimeters thick.

• So, we take a fairly flat board 40-50 millimeters thick and screw it along the marked line. For this we use a hammer drill with a drill of the required diameter, and metal dowels, which are screwed into the finished holes with a screwdriver.

• The number of attachment points is determined empirically until the board is securely fixed, but in any case there should not be less than three.
• The upper horizontal beams for the interfloor landing are immediately mounted. The joints of the boards are cut at the required angle and tightly joined.

• No matter how well the dowels hold in the wall, they may not be enough for the entire mass of concrete that will lie on top, so the structure is necessarily reinforced with vertical supports.
• They are made from the same board. The parts are cut to length at the required angle, which is most conveniently done with a miter saw, but if you don’t have one, a circular saw will do.

• The supports are driven under the inclined beam until they stop and are pulled to it with a self-tapping screw. After that, to avoid even the slightest displacement, it is additionally screwed to the wall from below with the same dowels.
• We must install additional supports along the edges of the structure. In general, the number of these elements is not limited, so you are free to install as many as you want if you are not sure that the structure will reliably hold the weight of the stairs while it is gaining strength. So that you understand, one cubic meter of concrete that will go into this staircase will weigh about 2,300 kilograms. Add reinforcement here and you will come to a figure of 2.5 tons.

As soon as we move in time, we observe a nearly completed foundation.

How did it come to be?

• To begin with, the builders needed to install the same boards along the entire perimeter of the landing. Here everything depends on the specific project, so the recommendations will be general.
• Then a second bowstring is made exactly the same size as the first, and mounted to the horizontal beam with an indent from the wall, according to the design width of the flight. The junction of these elements is also reinforced with a support, which can be seen on the left in the photo, after which part of the beam inside the flight is cut off.
• All elements are securely pulled together with screws. You can also notice that the number of supports on the left bowstring has increased significantly, which is not surprising.
• Next, a 25-30 mm thick strip is screwed onto screws along the lower edge of the bowstrings to create a strong support for the lintels, which are made from the same fifty-mm board and installed in increments of 40-50 centimeters. The upper border of the lintels should be flush with the bowstrings, after which they are screwed to the supports.

• We do not stop there, and continue to strengthen the structure. A support is also installed under each lintel to prevent them from sagging. This measure is also mandatory, since any final curvature of the flight is an additional difficulty in its subsequent finishing, which no one needs.

• It is much easier to strengthen a free inclined beam, since it is not necessary to make corner cuts. We put the supports with some overlap and simply tighten the elements with screws. It is recommended to screw the lower parts of the supports to the floor through metal corners or a common board to prevent their displacement.
• Please note that by screwing the supports in this manner, we immediately form a base that will hold the sides of the future formwork.

• Of course, the supports fixed in this way will hold much weaker than those that were on the opposite side, and we will not leave it as is. For reinforcement, we take small scraps of board and screw them directly under the bowstring

• After major strengthening of the deck, we proceed to cutting the boards from which we will build the bottom for our stairs. In this case, OSB panels 15 mm thick are used, which have good resistance to moisture and sufficient strength.
• To make the cut as smooth as possible, use a rigid guide: a rule or a long and even strip, which can be screwed for convenience with screws, without going through the panel. The rule can be pressed with a clamp so that it does not “play” when working with a circular saw.
• The main thing in this work is to conveniently arrange the material horizontally, for which you can build small goats.

• Next, we fasten the OPS to our deck with screws. There is no need to screw them often, since the panel will not go anywhere, and under the weight of the concrete it will be pressed tightly to the base. It is enough to place screws every 40 centimeters.

• Then the bottom for the platform is cut out of the same OSB, the base of the second flight is assembled, if your project requires it, and the sides are mounted, also from OSB
• It is very important that the structure is sealed and does not allow water to pass through, because poured concrete, which intensively loses cement laitance, will dry unevenly, which will certainly affect its final strength.
• After all the formwork is assembled, the joints of the sheets are vacuumed. Then these places are moistened with a spray gun, and everything is thoroughly foamed. As an option, you can use polyethylene film, which is pulled over the formwork from the inside.

It is important to discuss the lower step independently. This element is very firmly fixed and is set immediately in accordance with the drawing. To prevent the entire mass of concrete from pressing through this element, spacers and various stiffeners are used.

Make sure you use sturdy dowel screws to secure the stops after drilling into the floor. Using anchors will make it difficult to disassemble them later, so avoid using them.

Making a reinforcing frame

Thus, we will have a rare frame composed of four strips of 12 millimeter-diameter reinforcing rod. Once more, this is because the ladder is lightweight and not overly large.

The rods could be positioned more frequently in other circumstances.

• We mark the places where the rods will lie. It is very convenient to use a laser level for this.

• Across the marked lines, with some periodicity, we screw small pieces of OSB.
• Then we lay the rods on top of them and screw in two screws on the sides so that the reinforcement is fixed and does not dangle.
• This is done in order to raise the frame above the bottom and allow the concrete to completely cover it.

That’s interesting to know! GOST generally states that there should be a minimum of 2 centimeters of concrete between the reinforcement and the concrete. Again, the compactness of the structure permits the craftsmen to stray a little from this rule in this instance.

• On the site, the free ends of the reinforcement are inserted into pre-drilled holes. Such a bundle will significantly increase the strength of the entire structure after the concrete has hardened. The same can be done when installing transverse rods, although the procedure is not mandatory.

• Next, jumpers are mounted, which are connected to the longitudinal rods with knitting wire, forming a lattice with cell sizes of about 25 by 25 centimeters. Joining by welding is possible, but not recommended, due to the fact that there will be a very high internal stress inside the structure.
• When assembling the frame, you should focus on the project. It can be single-level, as in our case, two-level, with or without step reinforcement. We cannot give specific recommendations on this issue, since the reference is made to the dimensions and weight of the structure.

Formation of steps

We are now halfway to the finish line, and filling is just one step away.

• We begin to cut out blanks from OSB panels that will form the sides for the steps.
• It is very important that both the height and width of the element clearly correspond to the parameters of the steps. By the way, one useful tip. When choosing the height and depth of the steps, even at the design stage, plan in advance what material you will use to finish the stairs so that the dimensions of the materials and the base clearly match. Believe me, this approach not only greatly simplifies the work, but also makes it cheaper.

• The strength of one OSB sheet is not enough to withstand the concrete mass. Therefore, we reinforce the elements with pieces of 50-millimeter boards, plus we separately screw on supports through which it will be convenient to attach to the wall, as shown in the photo above.

• The next important part of the work is the exact marking on the sides for the steps. Here, everything should stand strictly according to the level and without distortions, otherwise the stairs will turn out crooked.
• After that, you can start attaching the sidewalls. We attach a small limiter from a piece of OSB panel at the bottom, as shown in the photo. This element is temporary – we will move it as we move down.

The installed and reinforced step appears like this.

Note that sturdy crossbars composed of slats are used to further connect the sides to one another. Generally speaking, a whole board could be screwed up to make the uncured stairs easier to navigate.

Filling

This is where it gets really important: we use concrete to make poured stairs! We’ll do it ourselves, just like everything else we’ve done, especially since these instructions will be the easiest of all the ones that have already been explained.

• We start by thoroughly cleaning the base of our stairs from debris and dust. If this is not done, the concrete will not stick to it well. Ideally, the whole thing should also be primed, or at least pre-wetted with water.

• Next, we start mixing the concrete. We will have it with a plasticizer so that it is comfortable to work with the mixture – it becomes more mobile and fluid, the water-cement ratio decreases, which has a positive effect on the rate of hardening of the mass.
• At home, concrete is most conveniently mixed using a gravity-type concrete mixer, which is inexpensive and easy to maintain; if you don’t have this device, you can rent it for a few days.
• Concrete for the stairs is mixed in the following proportions: a bucket of cement, 3 buckets of sand and 4 crushed stone. This whole thing requires about 50 ml of plasticizer.

• We deliver the finished concrete to the site and begin to fill the stairs with it, carefully distributing it with a trowel.
• After passing three steps, you need to tamp the solution using a deep vibrator.

• In this case, the mass will begin to sag and squeeze out on the lower steps. We remove it with a trowel and throw it onto the upper steps. There is no need to try to accurately align the steps at this stage, we will do this after a while, when the concrete loses its fluidity a little.

• This happens about a couple of hours after pouring. You will need to dilute a strong cement solution (1 to 3 sand) and cover the steps with it from above with a small slide. Due to the fact that the bulk of the concrete is still fresh, the result will be a monolithic structure.
• What does such a measure give? The fact is that it is impossible to cut concrete evenly due to the presence of stones in it, but the mortar, while it is still quite fresh, is very easy to trim.

One day later, the front portion of the formwork is taken down, and a template is used to trim off any excess mortar. Such even steps are thus obtained. Next, in order to prevent the concrete from drying out too soon and to give it a gradual strength boost, water is periodically poured into the stairs in large quantities. That’s it!

As you can see, anyone can make concrete poured stairs, even though it can be challenging. The video in this article will provide more details on the subject. Best wishes!

Step	Description
1. Plan and Measure	Decide on the dimensions and layout of the steps. Measure the height and width to ensure a comfortable step.
2. Prepare the Site	Clear the area where the steps will be poured. Remove any debris and level the ground.
3. Build Forms	Construct wooden forms to shape the steps. Make sure they are secure and level.
4. Add Reinforcement	Place steel rebar or wire mesh inside the forms to strengthen the concrete.
5. Mix Concrete	Prepare the concrete mix according to the instructions. Use a mixer or mix by hand.
6. Pour Concrete	Pour the concrete into the forms, ensuring it fills all areas. Use a shovel or trowel to spread and smooth it.
7. Finish Surface	Level and smooth the surface of the concrete with a float. Add texture if desired.
8. Allow to Cure	Let the concrete cure for at least a week. Keep it moist during this time to ensure strength.
9. Remove Forms	Carefully remove the wooden forms once the concrete is fully set. Clean up any remaining debris.
10. Inspect	Check the steps for any imperfections and make necessary repairs. Ensure everything is sturdy and safe.

Careful planning and execution are necessary to create long-lasting concrete steps. You can make sure that your steps are durable and practical by adhering to the proper protocols. Every stage, from properly mixing the concrete to employing the appropriate equipment and methods, is vital to the result.

Be mindful of the little things, like the formwork, the curing process, and the reinforcement. Your steps’ strength and stability are greatly enhanced by these components. A final product that satisfies your practical and aesthetic requirements can be achieved by taking the time to carefully plan and carry out each step.

Your concrete steps can be a dependable and beautiful addition to your house for many years to come if you take the proper care of them. Recall that patience and close attention to detail will pay off in the end.

Video on the topic

A guy made a PORCH OF THE HOUSE with his own hands. How to make CONCRETE STEPS in the house

How to make concrete steps

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Porch of the house. Part 1. Foundation.