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Steps on a slope, done right

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1Read the slope as a percentage first

Slope percent is the rise divided by the horizontal run, times 100. A hill that climbs 8 feet over a 40-foot run is 20 percent. Under 5 percent is gentle and needs little special handling; 8 to 16 percent is moderately steep, where walking and mowing both get harder; 20 percent and up is steep; past 30 percent it's too steep to mow at all.

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2The rise and run that codes actually require

A common residential code range: riser height between 4 and 7.5 inches, and a tread run of at least 10 inches, with every riser and tread in one flight matching the others within 3/8 inch. Private stairways may use an 8-inch rise and 9-inch run instead.

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3It's a drainage project as much as a stair project

Landscaping challenges on slopes involve the same soil, drainage and erosion issues as any other planting area, just harder to manage because water runs downhill faster than it soaks in — steps on a slope are often built alongside a drainage plan, not instead of one.

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