Thursday, 11 February 2010

STEPS 25-30
Step 26 has now come completely out and is the darker step about half way up.
Step 25 below it is now completely missing.




Steps 29 and 30 are leaning over and likely to give way soon.
Step 28 though seems to have held.



Another view of 29 and 30.


From left to right step 30 (just in view), 29 leaning over, 28 sound, 27 only one post left and rotten, 26 now fallen out, 25 (would have been under 26) missing.


From the bottom 24 sound but too shallow, 25 (missing) with 26 loose over the top of it. Behind 27 rotten and one post missing and behind that 28 sound.


Choices - (1) replace as is - i.e. remove existing steps and replace the rotten steps with the same design. (2) do more work (significantly more) but replace with a stairway with side "strings" in order to try to hold the whole thing together, hopefully over a much longer period.

See diagram below:

For reference this photo shows the actual slope of the steps. The post does actually slope slightly in towards the embankment. To within a degree or so this photo is vertical: