Update Tuesday

Update Tuesday? Oh, wait. That's Micro$oft-speak on how to totally mess up Windows. This has nothing to do with that. I hope so, anyway. But, it is Tuesday, 04 October, 2016, and this is a Tuesday Blog posting.

I don't think I've mentioned this before on the blog. We bought a used metal circular staircase from Eric Burson out in Progresso. It's blue in color, so what could go wrong with that? Anyway, I want to install it so that we can get up to the flat roof over the kitchen, and where the weather station is.

My thinking is that we can use that area as an observation deck. Just a finishing touch to the house. Anyway, I really hadn't thought that much about important stuff, such as, where it would be installed.

I think we've come up with the answer to that question. We'll be putting in an 'accessibility ramp', otherwise known as a wheelchair ramp to get from the parking area up to the deck. The circular staircase, I think, is going on a pad, the same height as the deck, just south of the ramp. It will be essentially the same structure. I'll have more on this as the project gets ready to focus on it. I think it will be pretty cool.

Accessibility Ramp

The ramp ends up being larger than I thought it would. We decided on one inch in every foot. So, it takes twelve feet to rise one foot. Since our height from ground to the top of the deck is two feet, we needed twenty-four feet to make that rise. We cheated by putting an 'L' in the design, so it only uses twelve feet. I probably didn't explain that worth a poop, but we're happy with the concept. We'll let you know how it comes out.

Now, in English, so you can understand it... When somebody is using a walker, or is sitting in a wheelchair or scooter while they climb or descend a ramp, ADA recommends a 1:12 slope, which means that every 1" of vertical rise requires at least 1' (12") of ramp length (5 degrees of incline). There, wasn't that easy? Thanks to Wikipedia for that concise explanation.

Where the Circular Staircase is Going

Looking at the photo at left, the deck is pretty much where it is. The ramp will be in front of it to the left and out of view. The pad for the staircase will be against the wall you see. The bush will be coming out. The pad will extend roughly to the window with the stairs themselves more or less spliting the difference between the corner of the building and the window.

Chain or Beam Form Begins

Now, briefly, back to the colums. Indir has been measuring and cutting and banging all afternoon. Here's the result. the bottom piece of the chain forms are going up. The rest of the box will be assembled around them once the steel for the chain is positioned.