The Mother of Invention

So busy have our outside staircase makers been, they are unable to erect the final flight of stairs - just to deliver it in parts.   "It's just a big Meccano set" says maker John Robb.   A very heavy Meccano set though.   First job was to assemble it at ground level.  Ideally, this involved building it in the same way as if it is in place - at an exact slope therefore.  Then to crane it up in one piece.

Inspiration came in the form of our main entrance stairway - massively strong and sloping and 40mm wider than the new one so everything fits comfortably.  A bit confusing but here are the top and bottom steps of the shiny new staircase nestling on the slightly wider existing stairs:

And this is the view from above.  Note that the top landing is deliberately out of parallel.   So too are the extension and the Wendy House.  The white rectangle to the right is the lower landing - very heavy indeed.

The black framework at the top of the stairs was once a swinging garden seat.  The spring attachments on the frame were at an ideal height to attach a winch to get the heavy stringers into place at the correct angle.

Next job, now that we have the real thing as a template, is to lay accurate concrete foundations top and bottom and to make plans to get the thing lifted - probably in bits for re-assembly as Settle Coal's big crane is out of commission just now.

Meanwhile God's County in high summer is as beautiful as ever.