MillieF

We had the falling down concrete steps knocked down this summer and a beautiful verandah and wooden steps built ...but now it's cold....and the steps are frozen and like a skating rink.

We can't treat them until the spring, and we can't put that Arctic salt stuff down as it will damage the wood. Can anyone suggest anything please, I am set to break my bloody neck moving to Florida for the next four months isn't possible sadly

Many thanks

magnumpi

Use the back door ?

Or a plastic door mat on the deck/step

R I C H

Snow Melting Heat Mats, Snow & Ice Melting Systems, Heated Floor Mats for Stairs, Driveways & Outdoors | HeatTrak LLC

http://www.costco.ca/ProductDisplay?...mber=100072117

Tootlepootle

I saw the advert for the stair versions last week and thought they looked like a very clever thing!!

Oink

Already?

Tirytory

We have wooden decking too both sides of the house... The main living area is upstairs and so is the dog.. We need to sort this out too for us and the dog.

MillieF

Oh thank you all so much for your replies. RICH I am going to look into this, I had seen a version of something similar for big driveways, but they can't be used here as we have such heavy snowfall, maybe for the front steps it might be good.

Yes Oink, we had quite a big fall of snow last Monday (had to visit Moncton for a meeting on Tuesday....none there!) and then it got warm in the daytime and froze at night and the steps are lethal....so is the path but we can salt that!

For the back deck, which is seasoned wood, we mixed some sort of speciality sand stuff with the stain last year and it worked well and the traction has been good. I will do this for the new verandah when we can treat it in the spring. We have nice wide treads so the whole length of your foot can sit nicely, it 'looks' lovely....but boy oh boy, I had never imagined 'anything' could be so slippery....my feet were like two greased pigs I was really scared, my knees locked and I couldn't move...I felt quite pathetic

We have more snow forecast for Wednesday.

Alan2005

I know right? I'm still mowing the lawn every couple of weeks.

Shirtback

Oh. Dear. Lord. It's that time of year again, already?

(Yep, just checked & it's snowing - lightly, thank deities - here).

How many steps? Do you have any carpet off-cuts you could tack onto said steps for the duration? Slide down the bannister instead??! (last comment only half-facetious: I have been known to do so in extreme circumstances ... )
S

MillieF

Shirtback, last night I went out to a 'thing' and came home through a veritable snow storm...really bad, BUT, it didn't settle.....it's coming and 'this' year I'm going to cope...I let myself down badly last year, but it won't happen again! Last year I cried in front of my kid for weather related problems....how pathetic is that

RICH sent me links to something I had never imagined were in my ballpark...for what we need it's nothing at all...I want to see if I can get commission as all my neighbours will want it too!

Shirtback

I cry, swear, bitch & freak out every year about stupid winter weather here. In front of I Don't Care Who! So maybe I'm pathetic too !

Yep, those look like good links

S

Dashie

We ended up using strips of outdoor carpet on ours.

MillieF

We seem to freeze for six full months, so when we put a mat onto the back deck it froze solid, but then rotted the wood underneath, and we had to replace a couple of boards. It's getting easier, as we understand more about what we are about!

RICH has really given us a great idea that we are following for these step heaters....I'd never heard of them, but they do sound great. I haven't spent as much on my verandah that I have, to either break my neck on it, or rot the wood with noxious products and if I set my son on it, he will gouge out bits of the step with the snow shovel!

I really do appreciate your opinions...it's 'such' a bloody alien climate to me and it brings considerably more thought provoking 'challenges' than I had originally envisaged....

CanAngel

you can try rubber stair threads, that's what we use:
Recycled Rubber Stair Tread | RONA

bats

Have you considered a parachute and just jumping?