How to Build a Wood Wheelchair Ramp With Rails

Plan pier placement. Cut 4-by-4 timbers long enough to sit in footings that extend below the frost line and rise above the ramp from 36 to 38 inches. If your soil’s frost line is 36 inches and your front door is 12 inches above the stoop, cut your first four piers no less than 86 inches long. A 12-foot ramp requires four piers for the top landing and two more for the middle and bottom of the ramp, approximately 80 and 40 inches long, depending on placement. If the ramp turns, additional piers will be needed for landings.

Dig post holes down below the frost line and line the holes with a few inches of gravel. Mix up small batches of cement in your wheelbarrow and fill each hole about halfway with cement. Set the piers in, 42 inches apart to hold the deck. Support them vertically with cement blocks or other weight items to hold them in place until the cement sets up. Remove the blocks and fill the rest of the post holes.

Build deck framing with 2- by 6-inch lumber. Use four 12-foot 2-by-6 boards for the ramp itself and build a separate frame for each landing. Cut 11-foot 4-inch cross braces to go between the rails every 4 to 6 feet and attach them with 16-penny nails or face mount hangers.

Attach the frames to the piers with two carriage bolts at each connection. On longer ramps, add a 2-by-6 cross brace across the piers below the frame to help support it.

Lay exterior decking boards across or lengthwise on the ramp, allowing up to quarter-inch between the boards for drainage. Attach the boards with galvanized deck screws.

Add the hand rail frame by attaching 2-by-4 rails between the tops of the piers and 4 inches above the deck. Nail 2- by 2-inch balusters between the upper and lower rails on the outside. Space balusters according to local codes; plan on 4- to 6-inch separations.

Cover the piers and top rails with smoothly sanded 1-by-6 board as a finish rail. Attach it with deck screws. Finish it with a urethane varnish after painting or staining the ramp to control splinters. Alternately, you might also wish to add a continuous metal railing along the 2-by-4 upper rail.