In order to increase home accessibility for people who can’t use stairs or need a softer, less stressful way to enter or exit their property, wheelchair ramps are frequently installed. A well-designed ramp that meets the needs of the home’s occupants complies with local building codes, is sturdy and safe, and can be used in any weather is essential for a successful wheelchair ramp installation project.
Launch the project.
Consider the following before designing and constructing a metal wheelchair ramp.
Asking questions like these about building wheelchair ramps:
- Who is the principal user?
- What kind of approach does the person take? Will the person’s abilities change if they use a wheelchair or a cane instead?
- What zoning laws apply where you live?
These are just a few of the queries you need to respond to before starting your project. The data presented here should help you with this procedure.
Planning
Prior to driving the first nail, it is important to take into account important factors. These factors are the exact point of access to your home. It is the area that can be used to build a ramp, the slope of the ramp based on the height of the level that the wheelchair must reach, and local building codes.
Front Door
The ease of access from inside the house to the entryway, doorway width, and whether a ramp can easily be fitted to any existing elements of the doorway, such as stairs, platforms, or porches, will all have an impact on which door to install the ramp on.
Increasing the Ramp
The maximum elevation of any one ramp segment should not be greater than 30 inches. Once the ramp has risen 30 inches in height, a level resting platform should be provided before it continues. At the top and bottom of every ramp, there must be a level landing. This landing should be at least as wide as the ramp and at least 60 inches long. The minimum size requirement for direction-changing ramps is 60 inches by 60 inches.
The choice of which door to install the ramp on will depend on a number of factors. It includes how easy it is to access the entryway from inside the home, the width of the doorway, and whether or not a ramp can be easily installed.
Dimension
The inner clear width of the aperture between the opposing railings must be at least 36 inches. It is helpful to accommodate a wheelchair.
In order to accommodate the 12-inch gap between the handrail and any surface and the actual 12-inch railing, it follows that the ramp must be at least 42 inches wide.
Standardized methods of operation
There are numerous traditional design techniques that are typically used on your project, depending on where you are. Even though they are not legally required for homeowners, the ADA Standards for Accessible Design establish guidelines for commercial ramps that may be worthwhile for you to take into consideration and possibly relevant or expected for residential buildings.
Dimensions and Slope
Important project considerations include the length or run of the ramp and the angle of the ramp surfaces. The slope will have an impact on the necessary planning, the associated costs, and the ramp’s ultimate usability. The angle created by the relationship between the vertical height (rise) and the horizontal length or projection is known as the slope (run). These two measures are typically expressed as a ratio, with the rising figure typically fixed at one unit. A slope of 1:12 means that the opposite side projects (or runs out in length) 12 units for every dimensional unit (typically an inch) of height that is increased (inches).