Wheelchair Ramp Instructions

Ramps and buildings.

• When you build a wheelchair ramp inside or alongside a building, you have to comply with different standards for a new building than for retrofitting a historical building. Design the ramp in a new building to have a 1 inch rise every 20 inches. This is easiest for a person in a wheelchair to manage. Alter this rise to 1 inch rise for every 16 inches if you are confined by the dimensions of the building and there is no way to build the more gradual ramp. In historical buildings when there is no alternative, if the rise is only 6 inches, a rise of 1 inch in 10 inches allowed.

  Regardless of the rise, design ramps to be at least 36 inches wide. However, an accessible route can go through a 32-inch doorway. Landings need to be at least as wide as the ramp, and if they go around a corner, rules dictate the size be 5 square feet--the size necessary to allow easy turning.

  Arrange for handrails to be on both sides of a ramp if it is more than 6 feet long. Place handrails 3 feet (give or take 2 inches) above the floor of the ramp. Attach the handrails 1 1/2 inches from the wall and in a way that they are able to be grasped continuously. Also ensure that the handrails are solidly fixed and not rotating.

Curb Ramps

• Curb ramps must be provided for any route which is used by a person who needs a wheelchair to get around. Such walkways are called "accessible routes." The curb ramp must not rise at a slope greater that 1:20. See Resources for a link to an illustration of the slope.

  Design the ramp so it is 36 inches wide to allow the person room for their hands to turn the wheels on the chair without hitting their knuckles. Ensure that the ramp surface is firm and slip resistant (having a static coefficient of friction of 0.8). The static coefficient of friction measures how much slipping occurs when two objects rub against each other, and is measured by physicists or building engineers. See Resources for a link to a table that gives the coefficient of friction for common surfaces. Rubber against concrete has the only coefficient that meets the safety threshold.

  Read guidelines for curb ramps as described in Section 4.7 of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (see Resources for a link to the guidelines), before implementing plans for a curb ramp.