When you decide to build a wheelchair ramp yourself, there are several things that you need to know, so before you buy that first piece of building material, go over the safety specifications. Not only do you want the ramp to be safe, but you want it functional for a very long time to come, and you will need to consider this also. There are also different kinds of electric chair and scooter ramps, you will need to choose the one that best suits your situation. Continue reading about requirements on how to build wheelchair ramps for homes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has certain requirements for ramps to be used by people with disabilities. They define a ramp as a wheelchair-access route to a building that is at an incline of at least one inch for every twenty inches that it is long. They require that all ramps should be built with the least amount of slope possible. The steepest rise allowed is thirty inches.

For newly constructed ramps the requirements of slope are one inch for every twelve inches of length. They do allow for ramps to be slightly steeper if they are being built over curbs or added on to older buildings, in these cased they can be one inch for every ten inches of length for six inches of rise. They will also allow one inch for every eight inches for three inch of rise. All ramps have to be at least thirty-six inches wide of clear space.

All ramp landing must be the same width as the ramp, which is thirty-six inches, and at least sixty inches long. If it will be necessary for the wheelchair to change direction on the landing, then the landing has to be at least sixty by sixty. Any ramp that has higher than a six inch rise or is more than seventy-two inches long has to have handrails.

You will also need to take in consideration the weight that will be placed on the ramp that you are building. Are you building for an electric wheelchair or scooter. This will change the type of building materials you will decide to buy. If you feel you cannot build a ramp to specifications, there are many ramps that you can purchase that comply with regulations. It may be more costly for you to build.