Concrete Bag Steps

Question from Heidi:

I recall you sharing this technique to create steps in a garden, & would like to do it in a small incline in our yard. Are there any strategies to laying the bags down, eg cutting into the slope to provide a support for the bags? Should it be the same width as the bags? Any need for reinforcement bars to prevent the bags from slipping down? Thanks for any direction.

Answer from Pat:

I have two flights of these I made myself that have lasted many years. No rebar or anything. One lasted 50 years I built myself. The thing one does is dig the staircase first in damp soil with a hoe. Then roll the bags of concrete over and over to mix them inside. Then roll one bag onto the place where you want the bottom step and then the next over it and place on the next earthen step up—I was down on my knees when I did this— then the next bag rolled up over these two bottom ones and so forth from the bottom up. The height of each step is the height of the bag of concrete mix, so each bag MUST rest on the bag below, at least partially, for example a corner and the rest of the bag must be firmly and securely placed where it is level and has earth beneath it. No jutting edge since this would fall off once the concrete mix gets wet. Look at the photos on my site (and in one of my books). This shows how it’s done. If you do it this way and if you leave the bags long enough before walking on them, you will have the most wonderful steps that look almost like stone and last for years. Will NOT work in a cold-winter climate, however. Must be a warm, mild Mediterranean or tropical climate for these steps. By going sideways with the steps one can adjust for the angle of the slope. Play around with it to see how it goes, but I promise you it’s next to impossible to start at the top and have it turn out right. I worked with a contractor once to do this and he started at the top and would not listen to me and so it did not work right.