Home Page link

Cement ramp advice

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Cement ramp advice Charlie S. 06-04-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by Charlie S. on June 4, 2006, 3:21 pm
Looking to make a four foot handicap cement ramp at the end of the house
walkway. The walkway is about 3 feet wide. There will be about a 5 inch
drop in those four feet. I am going to remove the last 4 feet of level
concrete before I begin.

I was thinking of making a form with 2x4's on the long sides and thinner
plywood at each end. Then, nail a piece of plywood over the top. Pour
cement into the form and let it harden.

Couldn't find much on how to actually make this type of ramp. From what I
read, it didn't say anything about putting a top piece over the form.
Rather, (if I remember correctly) it said to make the mix somewhat firmer
and start pouring at the lower end.

Which way would be better? Or, should I look at this project differently?

Other questions:
Should the flooring be level and just the surface angled? I plan to add
some small stones before pouring.

We live in New England. I bought the cheap $3.00 a bag Quickrete Concrete
mix from Home Depot. Should I have bought the better mix for the colder
weather?



Posted by hallerb@aol.com on June 4, 2006, 3:56 pm

Charlie S. wrote:
> Looking to make a four foot handicap cement ramp at the end of the house
> walkway. The walkway is about 3 feet wide. There will be about a 5 inch
> drop in those four feet. I am going to remove the last 4 feet of level
> concrete before I begin.
>
> I was thinking of making a form with 2x4's on the long sides and thinner
> plywood at each end. Then, nail a piece of plywood over the top. Pour
> cement into the form and let it harden.
>
> Couldn't find much on how to actually make this type of ramp. From what I
> read, it didn't say anything about putting a top piece over the form.
> Rather, (if I remember correctly) it said to make the mix somewhat firmer
> and start pouring at the lower end.
>
> Which way would be better? Or, should I look at this project differently?
>
> Other questions:
> Should the flooring be level and just the surface angled? I plan to add
> some small stones before pouring.
>
> We live in New England. I bought the cheap $3.00 a bag Quickrete Concrete
> mix from Home Depot. Should I have bought the better mix for the colder
> weather?

Ahh your probably better off building a wood ramp. Sadly house buyers
are turned off when seeing a handicap ramp at a home entrance:( Perhaps
they fear their time and fear prepping for it. it will be a issue if
you ever decide to sell

It will take many baggs of concrete to build what you need.

use treated wood and stain.

hope things go well for you and yours


Posted by Robert Allison on June 4, 2006, 4:54 pm
Charlie S. wrote:

> Looking to make a four foot handicap cement ramp at the end of the house
> walkway. The walkway is about 3 feet wide. There will be about a 5 inch
> drop in those four feet. I am going to remove the last 4 feet of level
> concrete before I begin.
>
> I was thinking of making a form with 2x4's on the long sides and thinner
> plywood at each end. Then, nail a piece of plywood over the top. Pour
> cement into the form and let it harden.


Forget the plywood over the top. You will never get a good
finish that way and it is unnecessary. The concrete can be
placed out of level as long as you don't use too much water in
the mix.


> Couldn't find much on how to actually make this type of ramp. From what I
> read, it didn't say anything about putting a top piece over the form.
> Rather, (if I remember correctly) it said to make the mix somewhat firmer
> and start pouring at the lower end.
>
> Which way would be better? Or, should I look at this project differently?
>
> Other questions:
> Should the flooring be level and just the surface angled? I plan to add
> some small stones before pouring.
>
> We live in New England. I bought the cheap $3.00 a bag Quickrete Concrete
> mix from Home Depot. Should I have bought the better mix for the colder
> weather?

Can't comment on the cold climate problem, but the better the
concrete, the better the finished product.

--
Robert Allison        
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

Posted by Greg M on June 5, 2006, 11:43 am

> Looking to make a four foot handicap cement ramp at the end of the house
> walkway. The walkway is about 3 feet wide. There will be about a 5 inch
> drop in those four feet. I am going to remove the last 4 feet of level
> concrete before I begin.
>
> I was thinking of making a form with 2x4's on the long sides and thinner
> plywood at each end. Then, nail a piece of plywood over the top. Pour
> cement into the form and let it harden.
>
> Couldn't find much on how to actually make this type of ramp. From what I
> read, it didn't say anything about putting a top piece over the form.
> Rather, (if I remember correctly) it said to make the mix somewhat firmer
> and start pouring at the lower end.
>
> Which way would be better? Or, should I look at this project differently?
>
> Other questions:
> Should the flooring be level and just the surface angled? I plan to add
> some small stones before pouring.
>
> We live in New England. I bought the cheap $3.00 a bag Quickrete Concrete
> mix from Home Depot. Should I have bought the better mix for the colder
> weather?

FYI, per the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards:



Ramps for new construction can have a slope no greater than 1:12



Ramps for existing sites can have a slope no greater than 1:10 provided a
maximum rise of 6-inches and a maximum run of 5-feet.



5-inches in 4-feet is a slope of 10.42%, which is greater than 1:10. The
maximum rise you can have in 4-feet is 0.40-feet or about 4-13/16-inches.



Greg M.



Posted by Goedjn on June 5, 2006, 3:44 pm

>
>> Looking to make a four foot handicap cement ramp at the end of the house
>> walkway. The walkway is about 3 feet wide. There will be about a 5 inch
>> drop in those four feet. I am going to remove the last 4 feet of level
>> concrete before I begin.
>
>Ramps for new construction can have a slope no greater than 1:12
>
>Ramps for existing sites can have a slope no greater than 1:10 provided a
>maximum rise of 6-inches and a maximum run of 5-feet.
>

Which means that, if the the ramp is for your own use,
you should probably build it out of something easy to remove,
like aluminium grating, and if it's intended to be for
rental/commercial/permanant use, you need to make it longer.

You're sure you can't sneak out in the middle of the
night and steal the drop-gate off someone's trailer?


Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
Advice on Sealing the Joint Between Drywall and Cement Board? August 1, 2005, 2:32 pm
slippery ramp January 19, 2008, 10:27 am
need traction on a deck ramp July 6, 2006, 2:36 pm
skateboard ramp materials? April 30, 2008, 8:13 am
A tile transition ramp? May 18, 2008, 4:35 pm
Shed ramp question September 18, 2008, 8:58 am
Building a ramp for a storage shed November 22, 2005, 5:01 pm
Cement Backer Board on Cement Subfloor? December 5, 2005, 4:01 pm
Cement Patch July 14, 2005, 10:51 pm
Cleaning Cement July 17, 2005, 4:39 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap