6.02.2021 Onwards and upwards?

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Saturday 6th 21F/-6C cleared to a lovely sunny day. Except for the easterly gales! NO imaging today!

I swept up the snowdrift from the obs. floor with a dustpan and brush. Two dustpan loads. It was 25F/-4C in there and draughty.

Sunday 7th 24F/-5C. Continuing cold with gales but now overcast. With a snow drift warning. No building progress today.

I had the idea of reinforcing the new building using diagonal, timber braces alongside the access stepladder. These would be bolted to the obs. floor joists and descend to buried, concrete, foundation blocks. The braces would ensure the whole building would have to lift in a westerly hurricane rather than just falling over.

I am also looking into a gentle spiral staircase. To ease the climb while carrying "stuff." The near 70° stepladder is far too steep to provide handsfree climbing or descent. I have been up and down the stepladder countless hundreds of times by now and would much prefer something less steep. Somewhat surprisingly some stockists claim that the stepladder can be lowered to a 60° angle. The problem then is that the treads would no longer be horizontal. [See Postscript below.]

The increased radius [2m] of the new outer wall would provide more room for a 1/4 turn stair up to the raised obs. floor level. The one major problem is that this would require cutting away a central floor joist. The new floor opening would need to be very strongly framed to regain the lost strength. Though this area is outside the existing veranda. Allowing greater flexibility in design.

Here, I am thinking of increasing old age and my knees becoming a problem on the present stepladder. It is also impossible to descend without going backwards. 

Our [cottage style] indoor stairs at 58° are at the absolute limit for face forwards descent. My Achilles tendons strike the treads at every step. After 25 years of constant practice it feels safe enough but the experience simply cannot be carried over to the observatory stepladder. 

The 10cm/4" deep stepladder treads are excellent for providing feedback for balance. There are 10 treads for a 2.7m [8'10"] rise. There is  a rise of 26cm vertically between the treads or 23cm clearance. This is without any overlap between the ribbed, aluminium profile treads. 

This thing is usually called a warehouse stepladder and I would not have been without it. Made by Jumbo. They make a whole range of ladders and stepladders. This sturdiest model has built in, tubular handrails.

The main problem is just that the user's centre of gravity falls outside the safe limit when both hands are not firmly on the handrails. 

The climb and descent with the heavy laptop case is often a daily chore. There isn't room to hold the weight ahead of me on the climb. This is because of the steepness of the ladder ahead of me. So the laptop case has to be carried hanging down behind me. Which throws my balance backwards. While the other hand is holding onto one of the handrails. Fine in warm weather but slippery gloves are no fun in winter. Even [supposed] industrial, dipped cloth, rubber faced gloves are often remarkably slippery on polished aluminium.

Thank goodness I did not settle for a normal ladder. It is almost certain I would have given up or even fallen off by now! Don't ever be tempted to save money on your only means of access if you have a raised observatory. 

I don't even recommend a hole in the floor without the safeguard of a safety handrail. I fitted a bright LED light under the pier. To throw light onto the ladder when the trapdoor is open. I was careful to have the top tread of the stepladder at obs. floor level. So I can use it as a stepping stone to cross the yawning drop.

 

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