The project is to design and build a small (18" tread total 44" rise) circular staircase around a six foot cedar hot tub. No attachment to tub is allowed and the whole kit & caboodle will be moved next summer. No problem.
My plan was to build 5 tread supports which look like this.
Then I cheated by attaching some 2x4s to the beams under the tub with a couple of screws that could be removed later for the move. Now comes the fun part. Simply support each step in it's proper place and secure them to each other so that an elephant could use them to get into the tub.
I think it would have been easier to start with a tree nine feet in diameter and cut out a four foot section and have at it with a chain saw.
I cheated again by attaching two more 2x4s to the supports (once again with accessible screws) to keep the whole thing in town. There will be a skirt around it all of 1x6s; 1x8s would have been a better size (something about radials getting farther apart the further out from the center, I suspect it has something to do with the Mayans) but good cedar in the size you want is hard to find. I did find stainless steel brad nails for attaching the skirt in only one place in town, Woodcrafters and they are only about 35 times more expensive than galvanized.
As you may guess, it will support the elephant but the move will be interesting. We lost one outside day to snow but the forecast looks good with only a chance of snow on Christmas, so stay tuned as we are scheduled to hit the road again on the 27th.
Stay warm and enjoy the children.
