Wheelchair Ramp Installers In Greenville SC: Equal Rights For Wheelchair Users

| Sunday, August 10, 2014
By Tanisha Berg


Nowadays, access for the handicapped is a legislated part of architectural design. One thing that people who use wheelchairs struggle with is a staircase or other stepped entrance. Older buildings may not have wheelchair-friendly features. Some homes are not equipped with them either. If you are facing this issue, there are wheelchair ramp installers in Greenville SC who can assist.

Buildings which are constructed to be wheelchair accessible have characteristic features, such as a rising concrete pathway at the main entrance, or a metal slope bolted down next to the entrance stairs. They might also have a curbless entrance, if the inside floor is level with the outside terrain. These are standard methods of accommodating those less able.

However, for new buildings, or those which require modification, there are specific guidelines in national law. Buildings need to comply with these guidelines to be classified as officially accessible to the handicapped through the use of ramps. The regulations are simple to apply and very specific in their detail.

Obviously, a ramp should not be too steep for the user to comfortably ascend it. This is an essential principle in its design. Private residences are allowed to use slopes with a gradient of up to 2:12, or a two inch increase in height per foot of length. Public buildings, on the other hand, are only allowed a ratio of 1:12, or one inch per foot. This ensures that the slope is not too steep to be easily passable.

Another dimension specified by the legislation is the structure's entire length. It may potentially cover any distance, but no section or stage of it is allowed to exceed 30 feet. After a maximum stretch of 30 feet, it has to have a landing or, if it has only one stage, terminate entirely. The user may simply not have the physical ability to ascend for more than that distance at a time.

Landings must be at least 60 inches wide, and if a landing is at a turn, it has to be at least 60 by 60 inches square. Wheelchairs take up more space than a standing or seated person. Moving or parking a wheelchair requires more room than able-bodied motion, especially if there is a turn involved.

The surface should be non-slip. This is extremely important because a wheelchair and its user may have a substantial combined weight. In the absence of proper traction, the turning force of the wheels might cause them to slide, which is disconcerting for the user and also hazardous. The surface should offer good grip in both dry and wet weather.

Some users prefer to mount ramps by pulling themselves along on handrails. Handrails are not supposed to extend higher than 28 inches. Their design should be such that they can be gripped hard without causing pain. Their material should be one that is possible to hold onto. Whether through choice or emergency, some users need to have rails available to them.

The independence of disabled people is a human right enshrined in the constitution. They too have employment and social lives. Ramps are one way of saying that they are equal members of society.




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