Chas, give those bad knees and hips a break. Buy yourself a
Bruno Stair Lift - you will love it!
I purchased this device for my wife about 4 years ago so she could get downstairs to the basement family room. However, because of my distal neuropathy I use it every day because I can no longer negotiate stairways safely. It is a true life saver, at least for me. It was not that expensive and the company installed it in a few hours.
Us old guys have to help each other when the need arises,
Gary

(The old codger!)
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PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)