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How do you determine ramp length?

According to ADA standard, you'll need a ramp of 1 foot per inch of rise height. For example, if your rise is 20 inches, your ramp length is 20 feet.

homeadvisor.com - Ramp Calculator - HomeAdvisor
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Area Measurements Total Rise (in ft.) Inches of Rise Per Foot Calculate

Safety is a top priority when building a wheelchair ramp and can be achieved by complying with ADA standards. This wheelchair ramp calculator helps you find the appropriate length for your ramp to avoid accidents and improve ease of use.

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Measurements Needed

Choose the incline based on your equipment’s user guide. The ADA standard ratio is 1:12, but please check with your local city code. Based on the standard incline, you need to know the rise of you steps for your ADA ramp calculator. Just measure the distance from the floor to your top step in inches.

Ramp Calculations

According to ADA standard, you’ll need a ramp of 1 foot per inch of rise height. For example, if your rise is 20 inches, your ramp length is 20 feet.

Depending on the specifications of your equipment you can use other ratios.

The formula behind this second calculation is:

Total height in inches / inches of rise per foot

For example, if you need a ramp to go up 2 feet and have a ratio of 3:12, it would be 24 / 3 = 8 feet long Installing a wheelchair ramp costs between $935 to $2,915, depending on your specs. Contact your local wheelchair ramp builder for professional installation.

Tips

The following recommendations will help you built a ramp that is secure and endurable for your home: The best material to build a ramp are aluminum, wood, steel or concrete

Install your ramp near the most accessible exterior door.

Check with your local building authority for any permits you may need.

Keep your ramp in top condition to avoid accidents and a higher cost of rebuilding.

FAQs

Any business, organization, or commercial property must meet the ADA standards. To avoid fines, use our calculator and follow the above examples. Remember that the ramp must also have handrails to meet ADA regulations. No. The ADA standards are applicable for commercial properties using permanent ramps, not for personal use.

How are wheelchair ramps measured?

A wheelchair ramp is measured based on the slope or incline that is safe for your equipment. ADA recommends 1:12 slope.

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What is a comfortable slope to walk on?

About 1/4" per foot is good. Whether to do a steep ramp or steps depends somewhat on who will be using the walkway. For wheelchair use, of course, you can't have steps. Wheelchair ramps can be no steeper than 1:12, with 1:20 being preferred. But for people walking, steps are often safer.

finehomebuilding.com - Appropriate exterior walk grade?? - Fine Homebuilding

Can someone give me some guidance as to what an appropriate grade is for an exterior walk… so that it isn’t so steep it seems like a wheel chair ramp? Long story, but I’ve just done a paver walkway that I’m shaking my head over and will be redoing… it has a slope of 1 3/8″ per foot, which I was afraid would look like crap. And of course… I was right.

Also… The plan now is to add a landing and steps to break up the grade. The question is… should the landing try to match the grade of the rest of the walk? To be more specific, when you exit the house you’d step down three steps, hit a small landing (approximately 3 1/2 ft long), step down two steps, then hit the rest of the walk that goes out to the sidewalk. Should the small landing be of similar grade to the rest of the walk, or be close to level with a slight grade for drainage??

Thanks in advance for the input!

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