We decided it was time to replace the rotting rickety wooden treads on the back steps leadint to the garage with retaining wall brick to give it that eco-friendly look. It was a safety hazard and we thought it was best to renovate with our own know-how. When you have elderly people around, the main concern is safety. And in between the treads, there is space big enough for a rattler to hide. All it takes is just one person walking down and they get bitten in the ankle.The demolition was the easy part. The rotting wood made for easy work with the crowbar and pick axe. Some treads just split and fell apart with relative ease. Two treads held together. Those can be recycled for another project. The other rotten strips can be salvaged as well. The splintered pieces got tossed into the burn pile.
I had to break out the reciprocating saw to cut through some screws and some bolts. Other than that, pretty easy.
Then there was the hard part...thirty bricks weighing at least 50 pounds a piece and moving 12 60-pound sacks of sand. Set, move, adjust, set, level, move, tweak, sweat, cuss, re-set, measure, scoop, scrape, sweat, brush, cuss some more, water break, coffee break, more set, adjust...
We left the stringers in place so that we can add a handrailing.
The muscles are sore. My right shoulder and wrist hurt. My back is fine.
The pain wanes with every brick down and set in place. One brick down. One brick closer.We will finish the project by erecting an arbor and a pergola.
At the bottom right of the picture, we will have our serenity garden with waterfall and small pond. The bottom left is still yet to be decided.
At the end of the day, looking good and still standing.
