Building a Box Step for the deck

Decks and construction--you're wondering how exactly this falls into the category of gardening.  Well, it does and it doesn't.  You see, for years, we've had a deck surrounded by a flower bed.  It has always been pretty.  In the spring, we have tulips.  In the summer, daylillies and black-eyed susans, and in the fall, shasta daisies.  However, over the years, the flower bed has become overgrown and the built-in deck benches were ripped out.  This left a wide open space, and a much too large step down from the deck.  This past weekend, we solved the problem with building a deck step.  Let me rephrase that, my wonderful/handy husband built a box step and I helped. 


When we set out to build this simple, free-standing step, I could not find any direction online.  All google searches for "deck box step" led me to "build a deck step-by-step".  So therefore, being that a box step can be an entrance to a garden (as in our case), in a flower bed, or even used in a bed on a hill, I thought it appropriate to document this simple, but internet-elusive step.  And many lessons were learned in our garden that weekend.



First we began by digging out the existing black-eyed susans and listing them for free.  Notice, the new deck boards and railing already in place thanks to an earlier project.



After the many necessary trips to Home Depot,

Kyle was ready to begin the frame for the box step using 2x6 boards

Along with the frame, center supports were added using 3" deck screws.  The top board being added is a 1 1/4" x 6" board and 2 1/4" deck screws were used to attach the top boards. 
These were the same boards used on the deck to keep the look consistent.

While Kyle was busy building, I was hard at work digging out the remainder of the flowers, moving bulbs and digging up weeds.  The daylilly on the end will stay as an "anchor".



The completed step.  Now on to digging the 4" trough and filling with paver base gravel.



One of the lessons we learned that weekend was to never underestimate the time it takes for tree roots to die.  Barely 2" under the ground were roots from our old maple tree, too many to count!  Many were as large as logs.  We took turns with a hatchet, a saw and digging.  We finally won!



After laying the base gravel, tamping it down, and making the step level it was in place.  To make sure the step doesn't shift under the excitement of kids running up and down, we placed long metal spikes in the front and back to keep it in place. 

In the next few weeks, the deck will be powerwashed and stained to complete the project.   The old wooden beams will also be removed and we'll reconfigure the deck bed.  The new edge will be rounded on the corners and come in much closer to the step.  Look for a followup blog when the flower bed is finished!