Can You Use Pavers to Make Stairs?

Determine Length and Fall

• Mark the area for the paver stairs and measure the length. Determine the fall or depth of stairs by putting a stake at the top of the area and a tall pole at the bottom. Stretch mason's twine between those points and level it with a line level. Measure from the ground to the string on the pole; that is the fall, or the distance stairs must go down from one level to another.

Decide Steps

• Use those dimensions to calculate the number of steps, the height of each riser or vertical distance and the width of each tread or stepping area. Multiply the height of the riser times two and add the depth of a tread; that distance should be between 24 and 27 inches. A 12-inch-wide tread with 6-inch risers would work well if that conforms to the pavers being used.

Conform to Pavers

• Make treads at least a foot, and risers between 6 and 12 inches. Use wider treads and shorter risers on gentle slopes, narrower treads and taller risers on steep grades. Plan the treads and risers to conform to the dimensions of the pavers, to avoid having to cut pavers to fit. Use 6-inch risers, for instance, for 8-inch paver blocks, with 2 inches set in the ground for stability, and treads of 16 inches for 8-by-16-inch blocks; bricks or other shapes of paver will have different dimensions.

Mark the Stairs

• Lay out the route of the stairs with stakes and mason's twine; usually stairs are 32 to 36 inches wide. Mark the location for each riser with a stake. Use a shovel to dig steps in the dirt at least 2 inches deeper than the depth of the pavers; 4 inches for 2-inch pavers or bricks, for instance. Set temporary wood barriers across the width of the stairs at riser locations, to hold sand or gravel underlayment.

Make a Base

• Spread 2 inches of coarse sand or fine gravel over the stair steps. Compact it firmly with a hand tamper. Use a level to get this base level, across the stair tread and from front to back of the tread. Lay the first paver at ground level at the bottom of the stairs. Set all pavers for that step tread and level them with a level, adjusting the sand or gravel base as needed.

Lay Paver Stairs

• Set a vertical paver to replace the temporary wood barrier for the second step. Put it 2 inches into the ground abutting the first tread to hold it and add pavers on the tread behind it. Fill the second tread with pavers, install another set of risers, fill that tread with blocks and work your way to the top of the stairs. Finish the sides of the stairs by replacing dirt around steps. Add a handrail, of wood or metal, for any steep stairs.