Handicap Ramps

Wheelchair ramps offer the wheelchair user, the walker user, or anyone with limited mobility, greater safety and freedom when constructed properly. They permit the user -as well as the person pushing – safe and easy access into and out of a building. In many cases, lack of safe egress poses not only a great inconvenience, but a severe safety hazard as well – especially in case of fire if the disabled individual does not have safe egress.

If the ramp is not constructed properly, the ramp quickly turns from being a safety feature, to one that is not only not easy to use, but hazardous as well. For this reason, Wood Wise Construction follows not only local and state building codes, but we encourage all users to consider the “ADA” (Americans with Disabilities Act) guidelines. Although these guidelines were designed primarily for commercial buildings, we encourage that they should be followed when at all possible for single family egresses.

A great perk of installing aluminum ramps is that they are maintenance free, with the ability to be easily removed and resold when no longer needed.

The ramp is then designed and constructed at the recommended 1:12 pitch (one foot of ramp for every inch the entry to the home is above ground level) so that even if the user does not have a power wheelchair, you can have safe and easy access into the home. A less steep rise can be easier for a wheelchair user to navigate, as well as being much safer in icy climates.

An important feature which we incorporate when at all possible, and is often seen missing in many ramps, is a continuous intermediate handrail installed at 19″ from the deck – designed specifically for the safety and convenience of the wheelchair user.