Another glorious day (though still plenty bugs about) for Andy, Jerry and Angus to tackle the upper section of these steps where they enter into Highfield Farm. Thank you again to the landowner for allowing us to park in their yard.
This was the trickiest section as the original steps had rotted away leaving a very steep, overgrown slope which the overnight rain had made even more slippery! . . . otherwise, no particular problems!
The section outlined in red is where the bulk of today's work was done.
Removing the vegetation revealed a slippery and somewhat treacherous descent.
Angus and Jerry tackled the upper section whilst Andy worked further down, replacing damaged steps and repositioning others to give a more even and regular step height.
Jerry ensuring all was kept level. The 14 lb hammer has been invaluable on this job.
The completed top section from below . . .
. . . and from above.
During our lunch break, a walker negotiating the steps, turned out to be a member of the Long Distance Walkers' Association who have funded this work (Again, many thanks for your support). We don't think he was on quality control duties but nevertheless he was very happy with the improvements.
Having finished this top section, we moved lower down to where a section of the steps had started to erode into the beck. The plan was to fit two sections of revetment board to the existing steps and reduce this erosion. Getting a tight fit against all steps was impossible due to the irregular positioning of the risers. However, we managed to get a reasonable fit and were able to backfill the larger gaps.
Difficult to get a tight fit against irregular step positions.
The finished revetment should stop any future erosion of the steps.
This was another project where the use of hex-head wood screws made a huge difference, in terms of speed and more importantly strengthening the work as it was put together. Traditionally nails would have been hammered to secure the stobs to the riser boards. This is all well and good but every time a nail is hit there is a chance it can loosen the stob. The hex-head screw used with an impact driver pulls itself through the stob and pulls the riser to the stob to give a firm construction.
Similarly, fitting revetment boards in difficult situations such as the slope experienced today, allows screws of up to 150 mm to be driven through the revetment and into the risers again giving a firm construction. Whilst these screws are more costly and you need to invest in an impact driver, they are relatively easy to use, give a strong fit in difficult working conditions and are reusable. They are not suitable or practicable for all jobs but they are a welcome addition to some construction projects.
Angus securing a revetment board with a hex-head screw.