I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold, no
problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14' to
fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to look
for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 2 Jul, 08:45, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. *The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold, no
problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14' *to
fit in a ramp. *That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? *Not sure where to look
for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Building regs approved document M should provide a starting point...

Phil wrote:
On 2 Jul, 08:45, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more
easily access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door
threshold, no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about
14' to fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where
to look for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Building regs approved document M should provide a starting point...

Cheers Phil, top man. Even found a free download...


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold,
no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14'
to fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to
look for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk



A Google for wheelchair ramp angles produced these sites

http://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/portableramps.html

http://www.northeastrehab.com/Articles/ramps.htm

http://www.mobilitysmart.cc/ramps-c-73.html

The recommended gradient for a static ramp appears to be 1 : 12

Where I have seen decking ramps for wheelchairs and disabled access they
generally have a piece of chicken wire stapled on top to increase traction
as decking ramps are decidedly slippery when wet

Tony

TMC wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message om...
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more
easily access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio
door threshold, no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about
14' to fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where
to look for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk



A Google for wheelchair ramp angles produced these sites

http://www.wheelchairjunkie.com/portableramps.html

http://www.northeastrehab.com/Articles/ramps.htm

http://www.mobilitysmart.cc/ramps-c-73.html

The recommended gradient for a static ramp appears to be 1 : 12

Where I have seen decking ramps for wheelchairs and disabled access
they generally have a piece of chicken wire stapled on top to
increase traction as decking ramps are decidedly slippery when wet


Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

Deck boards of the right profile are not slippery when wet. Chicken wire is
a trip hassard & dogs hate it.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:45:49 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14' to
fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

About 1:12 is the recommended maximum slope for a ramp of 2m or less,
1:15 for 5m. If it is self (occupier) propelled a lot depends upon
their strength, control and stamina. A lot of wheelchair users have
difficulty controlling descent on steeper slopes and when going up a
steep slope there will be a tendency for the chair to pivot if a hand
is removed from one wheel. On a narrow ramp you need to include side
walls to prevent the chair going off the side. Sometimes two short
but steeper sections with a rest platform are preferable to a long
continuous ramp.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to look
for the appropriate info?

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/eng...000000988.html
Page 21

On 2008-07-02 08:45:49 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
said:

I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold, no
problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14' to
fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to look
for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.

I made a ramp for this purpose for my father's electric buggy. It's
used for a wheelchair also. Deck boards were used for that. One
thing that I did do was to coat it in a non-slip coating - I believe
these have finely ground glass or something like that. Screwfix sells
it IIRC. At any rate, this improves the grip considerably for these
wheeled conveyances. I had a much longer slope than you are
proposing and it made a difference to that.

Andy Hall wrote:

I made a ramp for this purpose for my father's electric buggy. It's used
for a wheelchair also. Deck boards were used for that. One thing
that I did do was to coat it in a non-slip coating - I believe these
have finely ground glass or something like that. Screwfix sells it
IIRC. At any rate, this improves the grip considerably for these
wheeled conveyances. I had a much longer slope than you are
proposing and it made a difference to that.



The traditional non-slip for sailing boats is to sprinkle sand onto the
varnish while wet. I've also heard of sugar being used - it dissolves
out, and leaves little craters.

Or you can get the proper stuff, as paint or tape.

Andy

Andy Champ wrote:

The traditional non-slip for sailing boats is to sprinkle sand onto the
varnish while wet. I've also heard of sugar being used - it dissolves
out, and leaves little craters.

Or you can get the proper stuff, as paint or tape.

Andy

Isn't that supremely horrible to fall over onto? (Maybe the sugar
variant is slightly less nasty?)

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

On 2008-07-03 08:22:37 +0100, Rod said:

Andy Champ wrote:

The traditional non-slip for sailing boats is to sprinkle sand onto the
varnish while wet. I've also heard of sugar being used - it dissolves
out, and leaves little craters.

Or you can get the proper stuff, as paint or tape.

Andy

Isn't that supremely horrible to fall over onto? (Maybe the sugar
variant is slightly less nasty?)

No it's not, and yes I've done it. I tripped on something while not
watching what I was doing. Skin was abraded slightly but not enough
for blood to appear.

These things end up being a trade off. Having a slippery surface
where a wheelchair is involved is far worse.

Obviously if there is some height involved, a rail becomes important as
well. I was providing a ramp in front of a step of about 150mm
with earth either side so that wasn't an issue. I did put raised
boards on the sides so that the chair or buggy couldn't be driven off
of the ramp

The Medway Handyman wrote:
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold, no
problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14' to
fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Any chance you could use the space twice so to speak with a drop half
way in one direction, then a half landing in the middle, and another
drop to the ground back the way you came?


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more
easily access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio
door threshold, no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about
14' to fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Any chance you could use the space twice so to speak with a drop half
way in one direction, then a half landing in the middle, and another
drop to the ground back the way you came?

After a quick look at the Approved Doc M Phil suggested, I reckon that is
going to be the only way. Possibly using two sides of the deck.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Jul 3, 12:14*am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more
easily access the garden. *The deck will be flush with the patio
door threshold, no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about
14' *to fit in a ramp. *That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Any chance you could use the space twice so to speak with a drop half
way in one direction, then a half landing in the middle, and another
drop to the ground back the way you came?

After a quick look at the Approved Doc M Phil suggested, I reckon that is
going to be the only way. *Possibly using two sides of the deck.

1 in 7 really is way too steep, regardless of part M. If any doubt
just set up a 1 in 7 with some timber and get the feel of it.


NT

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold,
no problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14'
to fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to
look for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk


The Council have just changed our front garden as the existing ramp was too
steep for use with a wheelchair. Fortunately by going across the grass in a
diagonal we were able to have a virtually flat access. I beleive the
reccomendation for a ramp is no steeper than 1 in 12. Ultimately though for
a ramp into the garden it may be possible to go steeper than this although
it will depend on the user/pusher.

I have just decked over our back patio to get the same effect (*) - I needed
to raise the floor by 7 inches in order to be as flush as possible - there
was no way that I was going to lift and relay the patio. Also doing it this
way saves (hopefully) a lot of issues with the DPC as this is actually at
the level I needed the ground made up to.

Cheers

Mark

(*) My deck is possibley one of the best travelled ones going - the actual
decking was supplied by Jacksons and so came from Kent and was delivered to
Sheffield :-)

In article ,
Mark Spice wrote:

(*) My deck is possibley one of the best travelled ones going - the actual
decking was supplied by Jacksons and so came from Kent and was delivered to
Sheffield :-)



Interested to know your opinions on the Jacksons decking - they are just up
the road from me and are one of the suppliers that I'm considering -(they are
a fair bit more expensive....but we have one of their fences and I'm impressed.

I also know of people who will use nothing other than their jacure wood (our
fence has a 25yr no rot warranty - is that the same on the decking?)

Cheers,

Darren

dmc wrote:
In article ,
Mark Spice wrote:

(*) My deck is possibley one of the best travelled ones going - the
actual decking was supplied by Jacksons and so came from Kent and
was delivered to Sheffield :-)



Interested to know your opinions on the Jacksons decking - they are
just up the road from me and are one of the suppliers that I'm
considering -(they are a fair bit more expensive....but we have one
of their fences and I'm impressed.

I also know of people who will use nothing other than their jacure
wood (our fence has a 25yr no rot warranty - is that the same on the
decking?)

I'd be interested as well. Their fence panels are truly excellent quality.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
dmc wrote:

Interested to know your opinions on the Jacksons decking - they are
just up the road from me and are one of the suppliers that I'm
considering -(they are a fair bit more expensive....but we have one
of their fences and I'm impressed.

I also know of people who will use nothing other than their jacure
wood (our fence has a 25yr no rot warranty - is that the same on the
decking?)

I'd be interested as well. Their fence panels are truly excellent quality.


The only deck boards they offer appear to be more like the standard wickes
profile ones (albeit with an extra slot in the back to help prevent twisting)
- I can't find anywhere that sells the ones like you use dave (raised profile
instead of slotted). I like that idea - but no bugger around here seems to
sell them!

Cheers,

Darren

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
I've been asked to build a deck so that a wheelchair user can more easily
access the garden. The deck will be flush with the patio door threshold,
no
problem there.

The other side of the deck will be 2' above ground and I have about 14'
to
fit in a ramp. That works out to a 7 in 1 slope.

Will a wheelchair cope with that in both directions? Not sure where to
look
for the appropriate info?

Google seems just to throw up people selling ramps & stuff.

Ebay item 280224042043

would be essential I reckon. Safe for all concerned.

On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 21:06:59 +0100, "RW" wrote:

Ebay item 280224042043

would be essential I reckon. Safe for all concerned.

Actually not. Many people, especially those whose feet drag a bit
when walking, find "non-slip" pads to be quite hazardous. It is far
better to have a surface with a coherent finish than one which varies
in friction in different places. This is especially important on
ramps, which present a greater hazard than steps, to people who can
walk but have some difficulty with balance.

Peter Parry wrote:
On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 21:06:59 +0100, "RW" wrote:

Ebay item 280224042043

would be essential I reckon. Safe for all concerned.

Actually not. Many people, especially those whose feet drag a bit
when walking, find "non-slip" pads to be quite hazardous. It is far
better to have a surface with a coherent finish than one which varies
in friction in different places. This is especially important on
ramps, which present a greater hazard than steps, to people who can
walk but have some difficulty with balance.

Like Inspector Morse... :-)

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

On 2008-07-03 22:11:06 +0100, Peter Parry said:

On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 21:06:59 +0100, "RW" wrote:

Ebay item 280224042043

would be essential I reckon. Safe for all concerned.

Actually not. Many people, especially those whose feet drag a bit
when walking, find "non-slip" pads to be quite hazardous. It is far
better to have a surface with a coherent finish than one which varies
in friction in different places. This is especially important on
ramps, which present a greater hazard than steps, to people who can
walk but have some difficulty with balance.

Yes I completely agree. I tried tape first and ended up removing it
and using the non-slip paint for exactly that reason.

The other thing was to taper the front edge right down to zero - not
even 6 or 12mm. Again for I think the same reason of feet dragging
a bit, but perhaps expecting a transition rather than a tiny step, it
was clear that certainly a 18-22mm deck board or even less was going to
be a problem. Eventually I solved this by using a jig in the
thicknesser to plane the last board to a point.