The Final Steps

At last we complete our step building program
- a “project” which has taken 23 years

The Final Steps.

Over the years we have built some 13 flights of steps - all have proved necessary for moving around the property in wet weather without slipping and sliding to a mud-encrusted fate.

In September, 2015 we completed the last flight (so we believe) to provide all-weather peril-free perambulation throughout the property, hence “The Final Steps”.

And here's how we did it - as usual - relying largely on found materials stockpiled here and there around Middle Path (apart from the cement, sand and gravel needed for making concrete).

Waiting for the rain to stop .

The most challenging steps were to complete the direct and shortest route from the Temple to the swimming area - now known as “the Marina” - a vertical plummet down a 45° slope between 2 large clumps of large bamboo.

We had managed to carve rudimentary channels for footings (and a flat space for the concrete mixer) with an excavator in February and thought we'd be starting work that same month.

But it started to rain - not excessively, but sustained, intermittent downpours which kept the ground too slippery to contemplate clambering up the slope carrying buckets of wewt concrete - the only way we could envisage pouring the footings and steps at the pace we were best at.

March continued wet and drizzly with the rains continuing.

April looked promising but the brief dry period wasn't really long enough to dry the ground sufficiently for firm footing and so we continued to wait.

May came and went without any significant change and we came to feel we should come to accept the concrete mixer as part of the landscape.

June arrived and with it the end of the tax year and no relief.

July started well and continue to improve and we were finally confident enough to make a start.

And it came to pass.

We started pouring the footings - we figured these needed to be quite massive so as to be impregnable to the bamboo roots so there was a fair amount ofstaggering up the slope with buckets of concrete.

But it did mean staggering up a narrow, ill-defined track with heavy buckets of wet concrete. I kept thinking of how much money I was saving at the gym.

Footings in place.

That's the first pour - a solid day's work with the help of Cheerful Charlie - our live-in groundsman at the time.

First of the last bottles in place.

The next day we started adding the bottles to form the steps.
br> We were trying a new formula for the mortar - we used 50% 5mm aggregate and 50% brickie's loam which produced a mix which had the strength of concrete and the workability of mortar and proved the perfect mix for laying bottles.

Moving down the hill - step 3.

This was one of the most challenging working environments I'd dealt with at Middle Path.

The steepness of the slope meant that just finding a place to stand whilst working was no mean feet and the often=awkward posture produced unusual strain on muscles and tendons which were not slow to let me know!

It wasn't easy to get the crates of bottles, buckets of mortar and water to stay where they were put either!

Closeup of step 3.

A closer look at the construction - we use a lot of brickie's mesh to reinforce the ctructure as it is easy to bend and, being galvanised, is not prone to deterioration due to rust.

Chief cook and bottlewasher in action.

Behind the scenes there is as much work cleaning the bottles as there is laying them. These champagne bottles had been lying under the undergrowth for many years but came up sparkling with a little elbow grease.

It is really important they are clean so that the mortar/concrete mix bonds strongly to their surface adding substantial strength to the structure.

End of week 1 - the big drop.

After 1 week we had completed the top 6 steps and reached the end of the footings.

Faced with a big drop to the bottom layer and no simple way of connecting the footings we drilled some more 100mm post holes into the clay to serve as piers for the bottom steps.

Start of week 2 - from the top.

Here what it looked like from the top - the concrete mixer had to be moved to clear the space for the bottom steps and was ballanced on 3 stacks of wooden blocks to make it level.

It seemed to be inviting disaster but the remainder of the mixing went without a hitch - although I was always a mite nervous walking downhill of the mixer when it had a full load.

The bottom steps.

Here is a better view - ready to lay the bottom step, it's easier to see the mixer's odd setup from this angle.

The sandstone added.

Once all the bottles were laid we poured a mix on each step to form a base for the sandstone slabs.

But, wait - there's more.

Once this flight was complete it became obvious that we weren't finished and another mini-flight of 4 more steps would be needed to make the trip up and down the hill a smoother experience.

Fortunately there were ample materials left to make these to match the others.

Side view.

The slope wasn't as step as previously so we could build these steps a lot deeper.

The branches are there to add a border for a little triangular garden bed which will complete the landscaping in this area.

Top view.

Looking down on the completed steps,

The bottom flight with decorations.

The passage from the Temple down to the water's edge was now complete - this is the bottom flight which was completed before the rains and is an integral part of the outdoor shower.

The original flight ready for sandstone.

We were now very much aware of the state of the original flight (built in 2004see this page) and it's obviously incompletion.

The bulk of the wor was done and it was merely a matter of facing the top of the steps with sandstone.

We laid mesh on the original surface to prevent cracking and once again started carrying buckets of wet concrete up a steep hill - more money saved at the gym!

The top flight with sandstone.

And here is how it looked when finished - a huge visual improvement and very much more foot friendly.

At last a smooth passage from the Temple to the water's edge.

But wait - theres more.

The original poured earth steps we built way back in 1994 were showing a lot of wear and tear and becoming quite a hazard to the unprepared.

So we moved the whole step building machinery to the Railway Carriage to refurbish them.

The wheel was certainly coming full circle.

Relocating to the railway carriage.

What a treat! - flat ground to mix and work on, it felt such a luxurious working environment after the weeks of precariously clinging to the surface of slopes.

We were running out of sandstone by now and began scrounging whatever stone we could find lying around the property - as always what we needed was there and we anded up using granite and other stones which had been collected from landfill when we first moved on to the block.

Making the ends meet.

Theses steps needed to match the platform which wasn't hugely challenging but it did require some extra excavation as much of the stone was 75mm thick.

The result front view.

Here's what we ended up with - a huge imrovement over the originals and quirte a pleasant way to approach the railway carriage.

The result side view.

We even retained the wheelchair -friendly approach by incorporating a mini-ramp.

What to do with the stump

The finbal task was to deal with the old Sally Wattle stump at the top of the bamboo steps - it seemed a waste to trim it down to the ground.

We cut it vertically which provided a lovely framework for bromeliads with a little help from some shadecloth - which, true to style, we found just lying around.