Articles were published in the monthly newsletter, a non-profit organization that serves thousands of gardeners in Pennsylvania. These articles are not intended as a rule book or set of formulas, but rather as a guide and source of ideas for exploring design concepts that have evolved from my own observations in the garden. The specific plants mentioned are ones that are suitable for growing in USDA zones 5/6 but keep in mind that the ideas and concepts presented can be applied to any temperate zone garden.

Like any formwork for the concrete, it must be solid, but still pretty easy to remove once the liquid concrete has become dry and hard.

We therefore use smooth nails and screws to build the formwork, which makes the task of dismantling easier. Stakes and embers will be used to maintain formwork in place.

Of course, if you sink the balcony along the steps, you can do one formwork for the balcony and external staircase, as in the image below.

You must be a base of gravel to a depth of approximately 24-30 inches to prevent the gel makes the moving staircase. Once the base well compacted, you can build the formwork.

It begins by asking the sides of the formwork of the staircase. It is not necessary to cut the shape slopes, as this wood will be removed and then reused. You plant stakes, measure and install the embers that will keep the sides in place and leveled. You can use plywood, simply check it is firmly united, and sprinkle a little oil to it off more easily when dry cement.

You then make as though the sidewalls are a straight stair stringers and draw the shape that the steps will be completed once. You can use my page, calculate the stringers of a stair. After tracing the steps, you draw the line that will form the sloping bottom of the stairs. If you want a bottom 4 inches, you must add the thickness of the plywood panel. So if your panel has 3/4 inch thick, you draw a line 4 3/4 inches from the hollow of the steps. You then screw a 2×4 under the line, inside the shape of each side. Then you just have to remove the back panels on them and fix it.

For the shape of the steps, you use joist lumber, like 2×8 or 2×10, you screw up through the side panels. If you want you can fit a board on the joist to give the form of a riser that will produce a stair nosing. For example, you use a 2×6 as a form of running against you and attach a board to give the shape of the step that will exceed the thickness of the 2×6.

Once the joists of the steps in place, you ask an ember that will hold the center of the steps so they do not move when you are going to pour concrete. You can then put the metal to form that will give more rigidity to the cement. Once you have rechecked all good, everything is straight and level, all panels and joists that form the shuttering of the stairs are well secured and that nothing can move, you can pour the concrete.

As the concrete is stiff enough, we must make it a little more liquid so that it leaves no air bubbles. If you have a vibrator in cement, this is ideal, otherwise you must stir the cement with a stick to make sure it anywhere in between the joists and remove air bubbles. You start by running the landing, or base, then you fill up the stairs. You can leave slightly more cement in the steps and then when you remove the finish.

Once the concrete has become stronger, you use a trowel to smooth the wood above the cement, but leave it pretty tough not to become slippery. Then, with a trowel edges, you smooth the contour of the steps to make it look more decorative. Then you let the cement dry slowly, because if it dries too quickly, it may crack. If the temperature is high and the sun is powerful, you can cover the concrete with burlap that you water for the concrete dries more slowly.

Once the stairs of concrete is dry, you can undo the casing being careful not to bump or rub the cement for several weeks because it is fragile until the chemical reaction of curing is complete. Make the formwork and pouring a concrete staircase is not that hard, just to properly calculate, assemble and verify that the form is properly constructed.

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source: larenovation