Aluminum Modular and Wooden Wheelchair Ramps

Modular Aluminum Ramp or Wooden Ramp
I get this question all the time from folks trying to make the difficult decision about a wheelchair ramp so I thought I would shed some light on what I think about the two types of ramps.

The first thing to consider about a wheelchair ramp is, "How long does it need to be?".
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) created in the early 1990's mandates that ramps in public access buildings have a gradient slope that is equal to 1 foot of ramp, for every inch of rise. This means that if your total rise is 24 inches, that you should in turn have a 24 foot ramp. The ADA also states that wheelchair ramps are to have hand rails with safety end loops at each end.

If you are installing a ramp in a private residence without public egress, you are not totally bound to the ADA standards because you will not have the general public gaining access to your home via this ramp. However, there are times when you will want to maintain this standard. If the ramp user will be in a manual wheelchair and will be propelling themselves up and down this ramp, you will most likely want to maintain this 1':1" ratio. This will enable to user to have a gradient slope that isn't too steep to propel up, and not so steep that coming down is hard to control.

In cases where a person will be using a powered wheelchair, most of these type chairs can safely go over an incline of about 9-10 degrees. In this case, you can shorten the length of the ramp some. Shorterning the ramp will save on costs, but will make the ramp a little steeper.

You would never want to attempt to have an occupied wheelchair on a ramp steeper than 10 degrees (1 foot of ramp for 2" of rise). This would be unsafe for the user, regardless of a powered wheelchair user, manual wheelchair self propeller or manual wheelchair being pushed.

Wooden Vs. Aluminum
There are some instant advantages to aluminum ramps compared to wooden ramps. Here are a few that come to mind quickly so this is not an exhaustive listing:

Aluminum wheelchair ramps do not require concrete footers or building permits
Aluminum wheelchair ramps can be installed in a few hours with short notice
Aluminum wheelchair ramps never require maintenance such as staining, painting or cleaning
Aluminum wheelchair ramps can be disassembled, moved, reconfigured all quickly and easily
Aluminum wheelchair ramps have a great resale value
Aluminum wheelchair ramps withstand salt and sand in the winter time wihout deterioration

Here are some instant disadvantages to wooden wheelchair ramps:
Wooden wheelchair ramps actually decrease the value of a home for sale and appraisal situations
Wooden wheelchair ramps cannot be easily taken down or moved to a diferent residence
Wooden wheelchair ramps have essentially no resale value and will end up being scrap wood.
Wooden wheelchair ramps require frequent maintenance, stain, paint, etc.
Wooden wheelchair ramps will rot and decay eventually
Wooden wheelchair ramps require concerete footers, a permanent attachment to the residence and require a building permit, coding inspections, etc.

The good things about wooden wheelchair ramps are that they are generally a little less expensive, especially if you have a friend that is a carpenter that is willing to donate some installation labor.

Access Mobility Equipment will be happy to come to your residence and evaluate your site for a wheelchair ramp. We will make sure that you chose the right length and type of wheelchair ramp. We will conduct a free site evaluation and you will be under no obligation to purchase a ramp from us. We will simply help you decide what is best for you. Access Mobility Equipment employs an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certified by the Rehabilitation Engineering&Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) to conduct all of our evaluations. So, you can be confident that the person evaluating your needs has your clinical and physical needs in mind while assisting you to make this important decision.

Access Mobility Equipment is based from Fredericksburg Virginia. We service northern Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Beach; Charlottesville, Virginia, Southern Maryland and Washington, DC.