Guide To Building A Wheelchair Ramp

You may have decided to install a wheelchair ramp in your home in order to make coming and going on the wheelchair much easier. But why spend good money on a store bought wheelchair ramp when you can construct your own. Building a ramp may sound very difficult, but it is not so. If you are used to working with your hands, and have some experience building things, then building a chair ramp should not be a difficult task at all!

First of all, you need to enlist the help of a relative or a friend to help. After that, you have one of two choices when it comes to building your own ramp. You can either build your chair ramp from a modular ramp kit, or you can construct it from scratch by using wheelchair ramp plans. The question, “how to build a wheelchair ramp” is best answered by the following guidelines:

• Decide which type of wheelchair ramp you want to build. You can either go in for a straight wheelchair ramp, or an L shaped wheelchair ramp (which runs straight for a bit then curves in either direction), or a switchback wheelchair ramp (which has a landing in between). This decision will depend on your individual accessibility needs and on what is best for the person for whom the ramp is being constructed.
• Next you need to decide what type of material to use. Wood is perhaps the best and easiest material to handle. But make sure that the wood that you choose is of a good quality and is pressure treated. Plywood is an absolute no-no as it does not give good traction and can get spoiled very easily.
• After deciding on the type of ramp and material to be used, your next decision is the size of the wheelchair ramp. When building a ramp, it is of paramount importance that you get its width and length right, lest it be of no use to you and dangerous to use. The length of the ramp is decide by its elevation - per inch of elevation requires one foot of ramp length. Thus, if your doorway is ten inches off the ground surface, your wheel chair ramp has to be at least ten feet long. As far as the width is concerned, it should be no less than 36 inches wide.

Thus, by following the above guidelines for building a wheelchair ramp, you can ensure that it is solid and safe for use. Also ensure that your ramp is designed keeping in mind any building codes and permits that are applicable.