Decking ramp - update

[Jethro_uk]

So, timber was delivered yesterday, 11am. The original plan was to do the job over the weekend. However the weather forecast was starting to look poor for Saturday, so I decided to make a start asap (working from home helps :) )

Laid out joists, and they were perfect in height. I discovered that 4.8m decking was actually 190" when I cut 4 1.2m lengths and the last was an but over :). Ensured joists were spaced evenly and parallel, and started screwing the decking boards down. Built enough of the deck to allow SWMBO to wheel onto it, and discover she can easily 360 within the width (so can come out forwards, turn around, and go back in forwards). Decided to leave the rest of the deck and build the ramp.

E.H. Smith (big plug again !) had worked magic, and supplied 2 3mx9" joists cut diagonally to give 4 sloped joists. Levelled them with the deck, and started putting the decking timbers in. Finished just in time for tea.

We had to go out last night, and SWMBO was almost in tears as she was able to gently wheel out. Rather than stand, step down 9" - hold on for dear life to the grab handle (I fitted) whilst I pass the chair down. (Getting back in was more effort !).

Got a few little bits to finish off:

- finish laying the decking timbers on the flat deck

- finish the final 2" of ramp to taper rather than have the 1" step (can be easily bumped with the wheelchair, but in for a penny ...)

- find some nice channel trim to hide the slightly uneven edges

- fit a safety rail/banister (more to stop people walking across the lawn onto it)

So, total materials cost c. £250. Certainly no more than 8 hours (of my) labour (3.5 yesterday, plus finishing off to be done). True it's not to any code or specification. But it's solid, safe, and we didn't have to pay £1,000 - maybe £2,000 to have somebody bodge it and run. Hurrah for DIY.

Since it's in no way decorative, I'll revisit the posts I got when I originally floated the idea here. Someone suggested a non-slip covering.

I was hoping by sneaking the work in when it was fine (glorious day), I'd stave off the rainy weekend, but a quick check suggests not :(

So thanks to all over the past few months for advice here - I would never have tackled the job without it.

[Tim Watts]

Awesome! I like the bit about getting the joists pre-cut diagonally by the merchant :)

[Jethro_uk]

Photos will follow ...

[Tim Watts]

Just one thought - as decking gets rather slippery in the deep winter, would it be a good time to add some grip strips?

[Nightjar]

ISTR from the earlier thread that this is a short term solution, pending a move, so that may not be a problem.

Probably would have been better to buy non-slip decking to begin with, although stapling chicken wire over the top is an inexpensive option.

[Jethro_uk]

As Colin follows, there's always chicken wire ... or a bucket of sand. Maybe some gritted roofing felt (the tough stuff).

[Jethro_uk]

If we're still here in 2017, then something has gone wrong ....

But then the cost rises, with little appreciable gain *for this project*. And every penny spent here is a penny less towards moving. Bearing in mind we've already discovered how shit new builds are. The only 2 good things that can be said about them is (1) the wider internal doorways and lack of sharp turns, and (2) the modern idea of combining kitchen with dining space, so for the few days a year you don't have guests (we don't entertain massively) you have a massive kitchen.

However our floor area is 1400 sq. foot. No house we have seen - even four bedroom ones - comes anywhere near to that. Basically it seems to be a case of what room will we lose. However it does wipe the smile off the sales agents face.

[GB]

We do have a separate dining room, but we usually entertain in the kitchen as it seems simpler.

[Nightjar]

The Victorian house I lived in during the 1960s had doorways 3ft 3ins wide x 7ft tall. The only sharp turn was a stair landing if you wanted to go up to the attic rooms and the kitchen was quite large enough to allow a dining table in the centre, had we wanted one.

[Capitol]

Sadly, housing has followed the same miniaturisation path as electronics. Some how the fact that people are now larger has escaped attention.

[Jethro_uk]

One of our bugbears is our kitchen which has the area, but is narrow, so less practical. We noticed the majority of new builds have relatively massive kitchens, at the expense of a separate dining room. Which is a cunning way of shrinking a house, but, as I said, for most people, it's a good trade off. Certainly for us. Especially since SWMBO is pretty much in the wheelchair 100% of the time now. We can work together in our current kitchen, but need to be careful when passing. Plus the surfaces are all too high :(.

[Jethro_uk]

Ours are the standard (is it 30" ?). Also we have a sort of "landing" which leads to two bedrooms and a bathroom which is a 90degree turn from the kitchen, and which is a doorway wide. Even with SWMBO lightweight small frame wheelchair, we've managed to plane the skirting boards down by half an inch :(.

One interesting concept that we heard whilst checking out new builds (we reckon we might be able to get one off-plan and have them make adaptations as part of the sale) was lifetime (or was it lifelong) houses. Basically houses you grow with, so are are designed to accommodate less able people as they get older.

[Dave Liquorice]

And damn effective as well, far better than most "non-slip" finishes. Easy to repair or replace as well.

[GB]

You'd think it would be easy to make a wheelchair that can be raised a bit, like a barber's chair.

Can SWMBO use a perch stool still?

[Jethro_uk]

Hmmm, now there's an idea ! They do make electric wheelchairs that lift the seat for people of restricted growth (saw it on CSI).

Yes, but then you have problems of knees, and the fact you're rooted to the spot.

Prep work isn't too bad - the dining table gets used. But it's tricky using the hob (oven is OK) as it's a regular height. Of course when/if we get a lower hob, it'll kill *my* back. And I love cooking.

[Nightjar]

They do exist:

There are also devices for the kitchen that allow the work top / sink / hob to change height and others that bring wall mounted cupboards down and forward. However, they are not cheap:

Perhaps a suitable DIY project.

[Peter Parry]

The iBot 4000 used the same balance system as the Segway, the party trick was to have someone in it when it was balancing on two wheels and toss a sack of potatoes to them. The IBot barely moved. Unfortunately the company ceased production in 2009 although it seems it may be resurrected.

[Peter Parry]

On the tourists trails through their temperate jungle the New Zealanders now favour plastic mesh such as

rather than chicken wire as an anti slip material on perpetually wet wooden walkways.

[stuart noble]

Strange they don't mention anti-slip properties on the website

[GB]

The IBOT looks like an amazing bit of kit.

I was thinking of something a bit more low-tech, such as a cushion that inflates to raise the occupant. Our worktop is 6" higher than the table, and I'd have thought that a cushion could inflate to cover (most of) that quite easily. It would make the wheelchair less stable, but probably okay for indoors use, as long as the user does not try to lean too far. Maybe the arms would need to raise, too. A small, refillable air cylinder would cover multiple raises and lowers before needing to be recharged.