Remember how this was all started?

This pile of salvaged deck parts in my driveway

On Day four Rick came over and he and the boys started lining up the railings to fasten them down.  A while later Richard, Karen, Robert and Tom show up again.  Richard came alongside the fence saying, what did you need us here for you got it about finished!  Yep, Rick and the boys really worked hard yesterday but we really need all the ideas and hands of everyone to get the railings just right and do the finishing touches so here they are.

It didn’t take them long at all to figure out a plan for the railings and get them fastened to the ramp.

Next idea was Richards, instead of another railing he thought a side runner would be best.  It would allow for moving things up/down the ramp.  He starts to set that plan into motion.

First a side panel is installed the length of the ramp and fastened to the body of the ramp. 

Since this is all salvage there are many areas where there are gaps. 
The next idea is to line up some 2×4’s as a bumper to cover the gaps.

This is the finished project.  The ramp now has railings on one side and a runner with a bumper on the other.  Some other finishing touches were done before sundown and a threshold was built from ramp to bedroom to prevent trips with my feet or my casters getting caught up.

There were some involved in this project I haven’t even met such as the person who donated their old unused deck, the person who took his chainsaw and cut the deck into portions that could be transported by pickup truck.  Everyone who helped to transport the sections to my home and of course many thanks and hugs went to Rick, Richard, Karen, Robert and Tom as well as Amy and my sons Josh and Donnie their friend Joey for all the hard work, sweat and laughs that went into turning that pile of salvage into a functional mobility ramp that will allow me full access between my bedroom and office and out to the parking spot.

While I enjoy the safe mobility access we can’t forget the animals too.  For a while now a blind cat, partially blind elderly dog, an elderly dog with a bad hip from an old fracture, a younger dog with a bad hip from a birth defect and an amputee cat have managed on those steep steps.  This ramp also allows these physically disabled animals safe and painless travel between bedroom, kennel and office as well.  I will not have to carry Ginger the elderly dog with the bad hip and fading eyes, she can now with all her feminine dignity walk slowly up the ramp and into the bedroom all by herself.

All the animals love lying on the railings and the dogs thoroughly enjoy the cool space under the deck to lie down.  Every living being in this family is pleased to have such a great deck and ramp in our back yard.

handicap, accessibility, ramp, DIY

The ramp is up!  I have walked up and down with my walker to test my ability to safely go from house to kennel to office and back on my own two feet.  The walking test was a perfect success.  Going downhill is much more scary for me because my knees give out and going up is hard because I have trouble thrusting my hip forward for a step but when you compare those risks against the frequent falling down those steep steps…this is nothing to worry about.

My son took my chair up first to see if my left hand would hold up for me.  I have never been on such an incline so this was my first challenge.  He said he thought my hand would hold up so here we go…

The sun goes down and the guys are done for the day.  Josh installs a porch light on the outside wall of my bedroom to light the ramp for safety.  The next day everyone is coming over to finish things up.  Please see Handicap access ramp is completed.

handicap, accessibility, ramp, DIY

Josh and Rick decide they want to get some stuff done on Tuesday

Josh is thinking

Rick is listening

They decide to work on the office ramp and if there is still daylight will work on more segments of the bedroom ramp.  This one will be fairly simple.

Joey, Josh and Amy each take a turn digging in a ditch to drop the beams of the segment into to make it level with the ground.

Now they just need to get between the segment and the wall and fasten those lag screws.

Ricks hands were too big, same with Josh and Joey.  Amy’s hands were just right so Amy tightens the lag screws and the ramp is now fastened to the building.  The dirt is kicked into the holes and an office rug protector is put on top to keep my wheels from sinking into the soft dirt.  I can’t roll up the ramp, it’s too steep and my tires spin out, but I can come down with no problem and I can wheel my walker right up the ramp and into my office safely.  The ramp is not extended at this point because it might overlap the bedroom ramp.  So for now it’s left alone.

The guys were on a roll, they didn’t want to stop with just this ramp so they drag in segment number two of the bedroom ramp and start preparing that.

Third segment moved in and trimmed up for positioning

Fourth and final segment brought in to trim and position.

After laying down the fourth piece Donnie comes out and wants to help.  Ditches need to be dug for burying some of the last segment to make it flush with the ground.  The trenches are marked and Donnie will dig the first one.

He does a great job, but the job I had him doing inside is important too so he’s sent back in to keep all the dogs and some of the cats under control and away from the work site.  Animals under foot around men with tools and heavy pieces of lumber is a recipe for disaster.  It’s also no easy task to keep a family of animals inside and quiet.  None of my animals has ever been forced to stay inside a house and most don’t like being inside, especially when there is something going on outside.

So, the ramp is up.  I will leave you with my getting ready to test the ramp for the first time.  Before I went up with the chair I said my feet were made for walking

I walked up the ramp first to test out my ability to get up and down the ramp with my walker.  If you want to see a video of my first time using the ramp by chair please visit, Handicap Access Ramp Wheelchair test

handicap, accessibility, ramp, DIY

Saturday, April 25 2009 we had some beautiful weather.  Rick borrowed a buddies truck and came by with stuff to build a gate in my kennel wall to allow for a way to bring in the salvaged deck pieces that were donated by someone wishing to help out with the wheelchair ramp project.

Monday, Richard and his wife Karen came over as well as Robert and Tom to pitch in and set the salvaged pieces of someone else’s deck into a deck and access ramp for our family.  All these folks are friends and fellow chapter members of the local Motorcycle Rights Organization that I belong to.  I am also the internet coordinator for this organization, that was how I became involved with these great bunch of folks to begin with.  They are Dixie Thunder of Aiken County

Come on into my kennel, and I’ll show you around.

Rick and the boys just pulled the steps out, brought in the first and largest piece of salvage, and are hauling in the footers to set the piece on.

They have it temporarily set on the footers while they measure off what needs to be trimmed to make it fit there permanently.

Robert is the first of the guys to show up along with his very sweet and well behaved dog Roxie.  It’s his day off and he comes with a ton of tools that will be needed for the project.  Everytime someone said I wish we had this or that…Robert says there’s on in my truck.

He helps Rick and the boys pull the slab off and get started on the trimming.

Shortly after this Karen, Richard and Tom show up to pitch in.  With a whole team here, the ideas start flowing.  The distance is measured out, marked with a string and plans are made.  Robert is int he foreground, Richard to the left, Karen next to Richard.  Tom is not visible behind Robert, then there is Rick and Josh.

The first piece of ramp is brought in and the guys make plans for how it will be trimmed, shimmed, footed and put into place, after all the planning this is what they came up with.

It’s starting to take shape.  After the first segment is in, the crew is done.  The sun has gone down and it’s too dark to work.  They plan to come back again on Wed to do more sections.  However…

Read Handicap Ramp Day Two for more!

handicap, accessibility, ramp, DIY