Our higher edge sizes and bespoke cutting service provide customers with the opportunity to create steel terraces and otherwise technical steel steps with ease. This can be a part of existing edging projects or standalone features within themselves.
Steel is the perfect material for retaining soil or substrates, other alternatives such as wooden sleepers can rot within a little as 8 years despite their size. Brick or block walls are expensive and both take up additional space which may be at a premium.
In addition to weathered steel being very functional you’ll be pleased to know it is also very “on trend”!
On sloping sites, terracing is a great way to produce level areas to absorb a gradient or as a means of introducing interest into an otherwise flat site.
Creating terraces with our metal garden edging is the same process as installing edging for more standard applications although they typically require a higher edge. With our taller edging options you will receive longer stakes and higher joining plates to cope with the additional weight of the
substrate to be retained.
Our tallest edging is 300mm high and 3 meters long as modelled beautifully by our least camera
shy fabricator Keiran
The next size down is 200mm, then 150mm, if possible we advise setting the lower portion of the edge in the ground, so ideally use a taller edge than required to allow for this.
We would also advise our thicker 6mm metal edging strips for terracing, this won’t bow and can be walked on with no adverse affects. All our our metal edging comes with the joining plate, stakes and nuts as standard.
Terracing with steel whether for aesthetics or functionality, brings another layer of interest into the garden. You can create sweeping bends or rigid lines and, with our fixings hidden on the unseen face, a smooth uninterrupted steel band is all you will see. Terracing with steel can provide an opportunity for additional planting areas, a contemporary stepped lawn or hard landscaping.
Creating steel steps can seem like a daunting process.
In their simplest form steps can be created from our standard metal edging just with additional base plates welded to the bottom, these anchor the steel edging riser and once backfilled behind, this is in addition to the standard staking system. This system is ideal if either end of the edge (riser) finishes between two fixed points (a wall for example). We can even add lugs to either end of the edge for fixing to a solid surface, just let us know.
If there is no fixed point to the ends we can add sides to the front steel riser, in effect creating a U shape and if more than two steps high we recommend adding a back to create a box, these boxes then stack on top of one another with the back of the lower box providing support for the front of the box on top.
We recommend bedding steel steps on a mortar mix and haunching up the unseen sides for additional stability.
So while it’s more involved than edging a straight forward border it’s a simple stage by stage process which doesn’t require any specialist equipment or knowledge. With our cut to length service and ability to fabricated bespoke solutions we are keen to step up to the challenge (sorry !)
Bespoke cut to length edging orders ready to go
Please email over your requirements or call us for a bespoke quote one the same (working) day.
Some quick tips on installing steel terraces and steps
Mark out the area first with string lines, spray or sand, make sure your happy with the steel runs and proportions of your garden once divided, especially important with terracing which can be fairly high impact. It’s much easier to remove a line or rub out spray than move a steel edge!
As with most things preparation is key, ensure the ground your installing on is flat, for terracing it doesn’t have to be level but bear in mind the edge will want to follow the ground it’s set on.
With steps ensure the steel heights and number of risers will provide the correct overall height you require. You ideally want to achieve the same riser height (exposed steel face) on each step. It is usually possible to bed the bottom of next riser lower than the face of the step below if required, unless your using the premade boxes, this provides additional flexibility to finish the levels exactly the hight you want. With the fully fabricated box steps the heights are set so ensure when ordering you choose the correct edge height and number of boxes. PHOTO ST1
When installing steps keep an eye on the levels both back to front and sides, keep the risers parallel to one another and the treads the same width (unless a your intentionally looking to change this). Bed the steel on cement and haunch the unseen sides with cement too.
When installing we recommend leaning the edge back just slightly into the raised side so the bubble of a spirit level is touching the centre line this should then flex to the upright when backfilled.
The remainder of installation should be the same as regular steel edging please see our installation guide for more information. It all starts with a conversation so why not call Dawn or Jimmy in the office, we love to talk edging.
WOVEN STEEL FENCING
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