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

By Tanisha Berg


At present, the handicapped are provided access to buildings by law. Wheelchairs cannot climb stairs or mount a curb or stepped entrance. Some older buildings may fall short in this regard. Private residences, too, are often without features which make them accessible to wheelchairs. If you are trying to accommodate the handicapped, you should speak to wheelchair ramp installers in Greenville SC.

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 traction of the ramp is also important. The ramp's surface has to have a non-slip surface. The wheelchair and its user may have a high total mass. If the surface is too slippery, the wheels may spin helplessly on it. This is frustrating for the user and is also dangerous. The ramp should provide traction in both winter and summer 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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