Whatever type of wheelchair materials you decide on (aluminum, steel or wood) as well as the materials used in your wheelchair ramp, one of the most important considerations is your wheelchair ramp design. This includes the standard inclination of the ramp’s plane for easier, less stressful accessibility for users who cannot use the stairs but use wheelchairs instead.
More for making certain the safety measures, the design on how it should be constructed is definitely a necessity. Designing also take into account not just the dimensions, sizes, form and the materials used. The overall objective is mostly hinged on user safety as defined by the regulations in ADA or the American Disability Act.
In it, ADA details the right safe width, the signage, and the inclination of the ramp. You also need to refer to the building codes of your homeowners’ association, your city or your municipality to check if you are also within their guidelines.
The design
After making sure you are well within the required limits, you need to consider several elements in the actual construction of your ramp. Foremost of these would include the important specific point of entry to the house and the availability of the area for the planned ramp.
Another big point would be the slope of the planned ramp. The ramp’s inclination is dependent on the height of the level that the wheelchair will navigate. This will take into account the ramp’s total length from the entrance to the inside of the house.
Entry
Making sure of its easy access, the area for your wheelchair ramp should meet the user’s needs, and is safe for all types of weather. Your wheelchair ramp design must have provisions that can accommodate and match the existing house features (stairs, porches, doorways and platforms.)
One other consideration: if your wheelchair ramp has a rise more than 6 inches or longer than 72 inches, handrails are to be constructed on them. For safety purposes, these handrails have to be on both sides of the ramp.
Slope
There may be other slope ratios that can be used on your ramp. However, the ADA’s 1:12 is the most commonly used slope. (Example: If your porch is 24 inches above ground, your ramp should safely be 24 feet long.) Again, you and your construction group should check on the local building codes if there are differences in the ratio.
The ADA guidelines also specify that the ramp must have a slope or inclination that should not be more than 1 inch per foot. Also, the ramp’s width should be at least 46 inches in order to fit in the wheelchair, the 1½-inch space between the handrail and any surface and the 1½-inch size of the handrail itself.
At present, wheelchair ramp design is still needed for the many shapes, types and sizes that will fit the needs of the users. Examples would include the semi-permanent ramp, the permanent one, the portables, for track wheelchairs and the many varieties for vehicle types. The design is for construction to follow the standards set by ADA in the name of greater safety.
