Door Step in place

In Feb 2013 the front windows and new kitchen main door are being delivered and fitted. 

They have all been bespoke made in the traditional French style the windows hardwood double glazed will be painted on both sides and the main door in Oak will be painted on the exterior and just oiled on the inside. The door is an copy of the original seen in the next photos showing the new doorstep going in. 
(apologies for the dodgy quality of the photos) 
When I say the door is a copy obviously I dont mean an exact copy with all the rot and gaps and stuff. 
It will be a new door in the same style three way opening made by Mick the artistically gifted carpenter who created our stairs and the main doorway from kitchen to lounge and the roof. 

The door step was next to be fitted

The granite step was cut to exact dimensions in the granite quarry up near Broons and measures 105cms x 45 cms x 15 cms and weighs in at 107 kilos. A lovely coloured granite (photos dont do it justice) that has little glittery shard in it and sort of matches the stone colour of the front. It will blend in even further with time and wear. 
My eternal thanks as ever to my good neighbour and his trusty old Massey Ferguson and his homemade pallet lifter.

 








I had already dug down the doorway and laid in the services such as mains water and a land drain that takes moisture out of from under the kitchen floor (see previous post) 
I then pegged out the levels 20mm lower than they needed to be and with a 1 degree tilt to the outside and made a batten wooden frame to which the concrete base be at the correct levels required. We then laid that and let it go off for a day. 
After checking the levels were good (which they were) we made up a firm mix or 4 sand 1 cement (with water-proofer).
WE had moved the step to lay parallel across the front of the door and it bwas resting ona sheet of zinc to make it easier to move
I laid out three battens 20mm thick on the base. 
I had put a flat webbing strop around the middle of the step and then using a method known as "union purchase" rigged a chain block to pull the step in and a ratchet strap to lift it as it went.
WE then put a load of cement in between the battens and a good 20mm higher than them and then just eased the step into position using the union purchase and a crow bar on either side to centralise it.
The weight of it coming in sat it at the correct height on the battens and it pushed any excess cement forward as it came.
A few minor adjustments and tweaks and it was in. 









You may notice in this shot that we also made and fitted a new oak window sill and refurbished and refitted the metal bars. After using a flappy paddle sanding dist to remove as much rust as possible we then primed and top coated them using a product available on the net called "Rust Bullet".