Concrete Steps, Building Decorative Steps
Step form liners are porous, they don't create suction. Unlike wooden forms that often pull little patches of concrete along with them, the foam forms let loose and will strip with very little finishing to be done.
by Stacey Enesey Klemenc
and they'll tell you that they'd rather pour
thousands of feet of concrete than build one 20-by-4-foot staircase — let alone a radius one. The day of the pour, many will readily admit that there's a knot in their stomach and that they wish the day had already come and gone… and left behind a perfect set of stairs.
Whereas a time machine doesn't exist, there are a few products on the market today designed to make the hard task of building decorative stairways a little easier.
Contractors may be familiar with one such product — namely Step Liners — made by Stegmeier L.L.C., headquartered in Arlington, Texas. The company also has a manufacturing plant in Henderson, Nevada, right outside of Las Vegas.
"These are foam forms that adhere to the inside of formwork to create architectural profiles that match cantilevered edges of swimming pools," says Bud Stegmeier, western division manager and son of the founder of the company. Basically, they're used to mold a fancy edge on one step or a whole staircase. They're not only easier to use, he contends, but they're also quicker.
"When you form steps out of wood, that wood is dense material. Water doesn't penetrate it and it takes longer for the steps to set up," he explains. "Step Liners are made of a porous material that will accept bleed water. This allows them to be stripped much, much earlier than conventional wood or steel step forms."
And because the liners are porous, they don't create suction. Unlike wooden forms that often pull little patches of concrete along with them, the foam forms let loose and will strip with very little finishing to be done.
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