How to Make a Ramp for Stairs

Determine the entry point into your home and the point at which the ramp is going to touch the ground outside the house. Decide if the ramp will be long and gradual or if it'll turn and cover a smaller area close to the house. Sketch out a brief design before you build.

Tie a string to the top of the steps and extend the string out to the point at which the ramp will end, near the gound. If you have wooden stairs, you can drive a nail into the stairs on which to attach the string, otherwise you may have to find something heavy to hold the string down. Hammer a stake into the ground and tie the string to it on the other end. Repeat this process for the other side of the ramp.

Measure the length of the strings. This will be the length of your ramp. Leave the strings in place. They'll serve as a guide for the angle of the ramp and will save you some painstaking measurements later on.

Check with your local building department to determine if any permits are needed before you begin construction. If not, purchase your materials to begin the construction phase. You'll need enough 2-by-4, 2-by-6 and 4-by-4 treated lumber to accomplish your project. For every 8 feet of ramp, purchase six 4-by-4 beams, four 2-by-6 boards and about a dozen 2-by-4 boards. Additional supplies such as cement will also be necessary. At least six bags of cement will be needed for every 8 feet of ramp.

Dig holes for your support beams. These will be placed about every 4 feet, which is half the length of the 2-by-6 and 2-by-4 boards that will form the length of the ramp. The support beams will also serve as the vertical parts of your handrails, so having one every 4 feet will make it easy to attach your handrail as well. Dig your holes so your 4-by-4 lumber sticks out about 36 inches above the top of the string. As you near the bottom of the ramp, you may need to cut the 4-by-4s instead of digging deeper holes. Cut these as necessary using a miter saw before moving on to the next phase.

Mix your cement according to the manufacturer's specifications. This information should be located on the bag. Pour the concrete into each hole, then set the poles you've designated into the holes. Use a level to determine that each support beam is sitting in a perfectly upright position. Allow the cement to dry overnight. Fill the remainder of the holes with dirt the next morning.

Nail the 2-by-6 pieces of lumber to the inside of your support beams. If you placed the beams every 4 feet, you shouldn't have to measure and cut. Nail the 2-by-6 pieces in place at both the bottom of the vertical support beams and the spot where the string intersects each beam. Use 3-inch-long galvanized steel nails. When you finish you should have two parallel 2-by-6 supports running horizontally on each side of the ramp.

Cut and nail additional 2-by-6 supports at the top of each vertical support beam. These beams will be your cross supports that tie the two rails together and give additional support to the part of the ramp you walk on.

Nail an additional 2-by-6 support in the middle between the two outside, vertical support beams. These 2-by-6 boards should connect to the perpendicular beams you just nailed into place.

Measure and cut 2-by-4 planks to sit on top of your bottom 2-by-6 support rails. These will serve as the actual ramp portion of your structure. Each 2-by-4 should be nailed across the 2-by-6 supports and spaced about 1/2 to 3/4 inch apart from each other. Cut as many of these as it takes to cover the entire length of your ramp.

Nail full-length 2-by-4s on the inside of the top of each 4-by-4 vertical support. You shouldn't have to cut these, unless you chose a configuration with support beams less than 4 feet apart. These 2-by-4 boards will serve as your handrails.