Steps and slopes calculator
How many steps a garden slope needs, the rise and tread of each, what to fill them with, and how steep a gravel path may be.
Steps and slopes calculator
How it is worked out
Easy steps near the house have a rise of 75–150 mm and a tread of at least 280 mm; trail steps a rise of 150–200 mm and a tread of 250–300 mm. Twice the rise plus the tread should be about 635–686 mm (see 8.6).
Slope = height ÷ length × 100. Gravel paths: up to 5 % for any path, 5–8 % in short lengths, over 10 % steps. Cross slope about 2 %.
Sources
- USDA Forest Service, Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook: steps: rise about 150–200 mm, run 254–305 mm; twice the rise plus the tread 635–686 mm; build from the bottom at a break in grade; “Bury the first rock; it will act as an anchor”; pin timber steps; tamp the fill; crown or tilt each step; a grade reversal or drain dip at the top of the steps
- UK Government, Approved Document M, volume 1: dwellings (2015, with 2016 amendments): approach route at least 900 mm wide with a cross fall of at most 1 in 40; stepped approach with uniform rise 75–150 mm and going at least 280 mm; no flight rising more than 1800 mm; landings at least 900 mm long; a handrail on flights of three or more risers, 850–1000 mm above the pitch line
- USDA Forest Service, Accessibility Guidebook for Outdoor Recreation and Trails (outdoor recreation access routes): surface “must be firm and stable”; cross slope at most 1:33 (3 %), 1:48 on paved surfaces; “Crushed rock (rather than uncrushed gravel)”
- USDA NRCS Vermont, Conservation Practice Standard 575: Trails and walkways (2021): “A geotextile or other approved underlayment shall be designed and installed on all gravel trails and walkways”
Steps and slopes calculator
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