Pavers over railroad ties

ejdonnelly21

I currently have some railroad ties as stairs leading up to a walk way on the front of my house (roughly 9 steps). When these get wet they are extremely slippery. I would like to remove them and put in some paver stairs.

A couple people mentioned I should build on top of the railroad ties and not remove them, which I'm a little skeptical of doing. If I leave the railroad ties down, is it possible to place pavers on top of them? I'm concerned the tred and risers will get thrown off if I do this, especially leading up to the walk way. Would pavers even hold properly over the railroad ties? The railroad ties do seem pretty settled.

Part of me would like to rip them out completely and just put in pavers. Any ideas or thoughts?

Thanks
Ed

concretemasonry

It sounds like a big mistake.

Pavers require a uniform base and it seems the RR ties would provide support, but other areas would be inadequate.

Pavers are stable surface system and not "patch" cover.

Dick

sdsester

Even if not showing, those RR ties are rotting. Get rid of them but do not underestimate what that might mean if you wait much longer. They are environmental nightmares. The sooner they off your property the better.

And, indeed, pavers need a stable base.

Call in a landscape designer or landscape architect to help with this. You will be pleasantly surprised that they are affordable. They may save you a chunk on materials too.

ejdonnelly21

Hey guys, thanks for the quick responses. I think you helped me finalize my decision. As I mentioned in my original post, I was hesitant about leaving the railroad ties down and going over them.

Ed