How to make stairs

Let's learn how to make a precise and beautiful stairway. Building stairs seems challenging, but it's really quite simple if you use the proper formula. This is how you can measure and build professional-looking stairs with exact accuracy.

Before we can start putting up the stairs, we'll need to take a few measurements. We need to think of it this way: we have so much height that we need to reach and we have to do it within a certain length.

The part of the stairs that will help us accomplish the height is the risers. The length part is the treads. The part of the stairs that will hold all the weight will be the stringers.

The treads are usually around 10-inches. That's kind of standard, but the risers completely depend on the height from the bottom floor to the top floor.

Now we need to get an exact measurement from the bottom floor to the second floor, including the second floor particle board.

Now, we use the formula for getting the height of each stair riser.Suppose the distance from bottom floor to top floor including the thickness of the second floor is about 9 feet or 108 inches.108 divided by 7 equals 15.428. That tells us that 15 risers will be needed.Next, let's divide 108 by 15 and we'll get right around 7 inches or the exact height each riser needs to be. The treads need to be right around 10 inches.The amount of treads will be one less than the amount of risers, so to find the total run or length of the stairs, we just multiply 10 by 14 and that tells us that our stairway will be 140 inches long.

Now, select a knot-free 2 X 12 stringer. We can get prefabricated wood or a cheaper selection can be a strong softwood like Fir or Pine. It needs to be about one foot longer than your stair distance. This would need to be 120" or twelve feet long.Next, while the board is laying flat, measure up about 8 inches to mark the first stair tread.Use a carpenter's square to measure 10-inches over(tread) and 7-inches up(riser).We'll do this on every step. Once that is done, we'll go back to the bottom of the board and measure and cut the first riser. We'll use the carpenter's square to make it exactly 7-inches.

Once this is all marked we can cut out the stairs with a Skilsaw. We can cut almost to the inside corner, but we'll need to complete the cut with a hand saw to get into the corners.When we get that done we can use it as a pattern for the other stringers by tracing in the steps.We are now ready to stand them up and secure them with nails or screws. Once the stringers are in place we can put the tread plates on and then the riser plates.

We can buy special tread boards that are rounded on the front. They work good for carpeted stairs. If we want to have hardwood stairs that are exposed, we will want to use high quality oak or some other hardwood.That's how we make stairs.

How to do desert landscaping

One of the most modern and popular forms of landscaping is called, "going green landscaping". Ironically, there is very little green in the actual landscape because it is a landscaping method that saves water.

To start our plan for a front or backyard landscaping plan, we will have to decide if we want to completely have a waterless yard with stone and small rocks, or a yard with a few plants.

Most yards need at least a few plants. Desert plants use such a small amount of water and can be watered with a drip system.

Let's design the yard by deciding where to put a water drip hose system. These drip systems are available at most hardware stores and they can be installed in just a few minutes.

The large poly tube carries the water to the garden where it is then reduced to the drip tubing which waters each tree and plant.

Before we put in the rocks and gravel, we need to plant the flowers, plants, and trees. There are many kinds of desert plants and trees that are beautiful, but if we don't live in a desert climate, most of these plants won't grow.

We can still use the desert landscaping mentality of water conservation with local plants and trees that will flourish with the water drip system.

For those that do live in a desert climate, there are some fun plants that require very little maintenance.

The Joshua tree is a favorite of the Mojave Desert. I wish they could grow everywhere but that would make them less special.

Palm trees are very popular and there are hundreds of species to choose from.

Plants and bushes add a touch of beauty and with the drip irrigation system, the plants get watered, not the weeds.

The part of desert landscaping that requires little to no maintenance is the rocks and stones. This also includes "pavers" which is pathway stones.

Rocks and stones can be used as ground coverings.

Or they can be used as a yard centerpiece.

Curbing can be a nice addition to a front yard landscaping project because it adds definition. It separates and gives a yard symmetry.

Sidewalks, steps and stairs add completion to a sloped area.
There are many desert landscaping ideas that conserve water.

How to make a Koi pond

This article covers the basics on making a Koi pond. You will be able to plan and build a Koi pond with a circulating pump. You will also learn about the kind of bacteria Koi need to survive and how to make a bacteria containment system. You will learn how to line the bottom of the pond with plastic to keep the water from seeping.

We'll just start out by digging out the Koi pond. Most people like to have small waterfalls to keep the water circulating for the fish. If that's the case, you may want to stack some of the dirt taken from the Koi pond and make a sloping hill for the waterfall.

Once we have the hole dug out, we will need to put in a pond liner which is a plastic membrane made for this purpose. You can get pond liner kits online or at hardware stores.

Part of the pond construction will include a bacteria tank used to keep koi alive. Koi create a certain type of necessary bacteria which keeps the water conditioned for them. These tanks help that bacteria thrive.


Many landscapers will use the bacteria tank as a waterfall to run over rocks and down into the Koi pond. All ponds and waterfalls need a circulating pump. These come in many different sizes according to how high you need to pump the water and how fast you want the flow rate. The pump will need to be placed in the pond, but it needs to be off the bottom of the pond floor by an inch or two. This keeps the pump from sucking up sediment.

Rocks can be a beautiful part of any landscape pond. If you need to make a waterfall from rocks, you can use a rock adhesive/sealant to hold the rocks together. This also fills in holes really well. Natural rocks work the best, but if you're concerned about weight, you can get faux (artificial) rock.

Next, we can fill the pond to test it out for leaks. Once we know the pond holds water we can put all the extras in place to make it look nice. Plants and lilies are a great addition.

Plants can take awhile before they start to take hold and look healthy. We will need to wait for a few weeks before we put the Koi in. It's important to let the water circulate and build up some sediment.

Koi are such a tranquil feature to a landscaping project. They have become so popular recently. I think it's because the Koi are so tranquil when they're swimming around. They remind us to take life easy.



Larry Angell

How to make a sidewalk

Making a sidewalk is a lot easier than people think. It’s also a lot cheaper to do all your own labor. First we need to decide how wide we want to make it and how long. We also need to know how deep into the ground we want to dig.

It’s much easier if you don’t have to dig very deep at all when starting a sidewalk, but this depends on your building site. For instance, if you’re putting in a new sidewalk before you dump the top soil for a new lawn then you will want to keep the sidewalk on top of the ground. If you are setting the sidewalk into an existing lawn or walk area, then you will need to dig down an inch or two so the sidewalk isn’t too high. Sidewalks that are too high are tripping hazards because they stick up too far.

Let’s say our sidewalk is going to be four feet wide and thirty feet long. This will be a sidewalk where we’ll need to dig into the ground exactly two inches. We need to measure across the sidewalk area which we already know is forty-eight inches, but we also need to dig the extra area where the forms will go. The forms for sidewalks are often just 2x4 studs. They are cheap and really easy to work with.

The measurement across the sidewalk will include the thickness of a 2X4 stud on each side. The thickness of each stud is an inch and a half, so add 3 inches onto the width of the sidewalk. This will give us an area of 51 inches to dig. Of course, we can always dig a much wider area and just backfill the dirt once the sidewalk is done.

The excavated area will be 51 inches wide by thirty feet long. Sidewalks are usually dug out with a shovel because of the shallow depth. You will need to make sure the entire area is level and you may need to tamp the dirt where the cement will be poured. At this point we can start setting in the forms. The best way to join two 2X4 studs is by nailing a 2X4 block on the outside of the forms where the joint is. This will keep them secure. Next, make sure the forms are even with a consistent measurement of 48 inches the entire length.

You won’t need to use rebar like you do when pouring foundations, but you should use sidewalk mesh, which is a netting to hold the cement together. If you’re making a small sidewalk, then you can buy bags of ready mix, add water and pour it in, but for most projects, you will want to call the cement company to deliver and pour the cement. The cement needed for sidewalks is a smoother type of cement than foundations. Foundation cement is called “5-bag mix, but sidewalk cement is “six-bag mix. It has a higher cement content and uses smaller aggregate material.

The cement company will know what to do when you tell them the cement is for a sidewalk. They will ask you for the dimensions of your project and they will calculate the amount of cement needed. Cement is calculated and sold by square yards. Let’s take our measurement as an example. Our sidewalk is thirty feet long, four feet wide, and four inches deep. So our square footage is 120 square feet by four inches deep. Let’s convert this to square yards by dividing 120 by 27. There are 27 cubic feet in a square yard. This gives us 4.44 square yards, but we still have to divide that by 3 because the sidewalk isn’t a foot thick, it is only four inches, which is a third of a foot. So our final number is about one and a half yards of cement needed to pour the sidewalk. The price of cement varies by location, but if you live fairly close, you should be able to get it for around $90 per yard.

Now, we’re ready to pour the sidewalk. The cement truck will pour the cement, but you will need to shovel it around to get it even against the forms. You will need to get the cement evenly into the forms. Jab the cement constantly to break any air bubbles. Once the cement is where you want it, you will need to make it smooth. You can buy a screed or you can just use a level 2X4 to run across the top of the cement. This will make it basically smooth.

Once you have the surface fairly smooth, you will need to use a float or a long trowel to bring the fine cement to the surface. This will make a very smooth surface and will make the rougher aggregate material sink beneath the surface. You will want let this dry for a few hours before brushing the surface with a shop broom. Brushing will give the sidewalk some traction so you don’t slip on the smooth surface. Be careful not to overdo the brushing.

After about three days, you can remove the forms and start to back fill the edges of the sidewalk so they are even with the lawn or ground. Ideally, we like to have the side walk about a half inch higher than the lawn.

For the final step in the sidewalk process, we need to cut sections in the concrete so it doesn’t crack with the movement of the ground underneath. You can rent a concrete cutter or use a concrete blade on a circular saw and cut across the sidewalk every ten feet or so. This will give the sidewalk flexibility during expansion and contraction of the soil.

That’s basically how to make your own sidewalks. We can usually save about two-thirds the cost of a professionally poured sidewalk by doing it ourselves.