Fixing the step

The step to the Red House has been broken for ages (years) but today we decided to fix it. Of course it turned out to be a much larger job than expected and at the end of the day visitors would be arriving to stay in the RedHouse.
The original thought was replace the missing slat but once it was cleaned up there was nothing but rotten wood to nail into. So then I took away the remaining two slats for a quick look at the state of things. That was a mistake because the state of things was not good. Stacks of rotten wood which I guess was the mould for the concrete that now forms the frame of the step. Two frogs were also holed up under the step waiting for the hot weather to come to an end. I tried to remove them but they hopped off to the back. I guess that leads out under the house and they hadn't got in through the front so I left them to their damp, cool shelter.
So, the answer was to build a new bottom tread, basically freestanding but fitting tightly to the original. Ok, plans made, step constructed, rubbish cleared away and there's just time for a swim before our visitors arrive!
It still needs painting but that's a job for after the visitors have gone home.