Dealing with a Disability

Equipping a home with a wheelchair ramp is largely a do-it-yourself project. It can involve simple carpentry, pouring of concrete, or even welding, depending on the materials you wish to use in your wheelchair ramp. The first type of wheelchair ramp that comes to mind is one built so that a disabled person can have access to his or her home by rolling right up to the front door. However, there are different types of wheelchair ramps that are used in different ways to help assist you in dealing with a disability.

For instance, you may need a wheelchair ramp designed specifically for helping you get your wheelchair into a truck or van. There are also small ramps designed to help you cross over thresholds (threshold ramps). In some cases, a bumpy threshold can make entering a house or room a real difficult accomplishment until a threshold ramp is installed.

Some portable ramps fold up, either into two parts or more. In addition, there are wheelchair ramps that are built in a modular fashion, or that telescope to become the length needed. Some are even designed to roll up. Aluminum is a common material used in these ramps, because it is tough but lightweight. There are a variety of companies that produce and sell these portable aids to mobility. A ramp designed to help people get their wheelchair into a van costs around $400 and up.

When building a wheelchair ramp to help a person in a wheelchair access a building, a good rule of thumb is for the incline to equal about one inch up for every foot in length. This results in a nice, gentle slope that can be climbed by electric wheelchairs, scooters, or people in manual wheelchairs. A wheelchair ramp like this is helpful for people who must use a walker, too.

Plywood makes a good, inexpensive building material for making a wheelchair ramp, but it will need to be treated if it is to be left outside. Otherwise the rain and weather will cause it to age quickly. If people will be walking on the ramp, it might be wise to install rubber treads. Otherwise a plywood ramp can be slick, particularly in wet weather. A hand rail is another feature that should be included in the well designed homemade wheelchair ramp.

Wheelchair ramps are required on public buildings to provide access for disabled people ever since the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. Homes don't need them unless there is someone living in the home who uses a wheelchair or walker. Even then a ramp is only needed if steps are used to get up to the front door. For more durable ramps, concrete can be used

An alternative to a wheelchair ramp is to install long tread, low riser steps. These are low steps that are each long. For disabled people who can walk some, these can be a safe alternative to a ramp, which can be hazardous is slick. For people in a wheelchair, long tread, low riser steps can be maneuvered if an assistant turns the person backwards and backs up the steps.