ramp for me ma

[notfjk]

Greetings all from a new cricket nation, Ireland :)

Anyway, your challenge.

My Ma has been discharged from hosptial having suffered a TIA, sometimes called a mini or warning stroke.

The OT (Occupational Therapist) has decided I am " a handy little man" and has given me specs for a ramp for the front door so I can build it my self.

The main criteria include a slope of 1:20, so if I build it straight out, the end of the ramp will be in the nighbours garden across the road!

No materials are specified. I have never worked with cement, concrete etc so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Francis," a handy little man"

[Dave Fawthrop]

|!Greetings all from a new cricket nation, Ireland :) |! |! |!Anyway, your challenge. |! |!My Ma has been discharged from hosptial having suffered a TIA, |!sometimes called a mini or warning stroke. |! |! |!The OT (Occupational Therapist) has decided I am " a handy little man" |!and has given me specs for a ramp for the front door so I can build it |!my self. |! |!The main criteria include a slope of 1:20, so if I build it straight |!out, the end of the ramp will be in the nighbours garden across the |!road!

I have seen one which turned through 90 degrees just outside the door, so a little ingenuity might be called for.

[Stuart B]

So at 1-20 how long will it be when it touches base ?....I guess what you say is a slight exaggeration ..lol Anyway . I'd imagine that you'll need some sort of wooden shuttering which slopes as you want the finished ramp and fill it with concrete..you'll need a railing as well won't you ? (?)

You might find something here that helps

why not get in touch with your Social Services ( Social Work Dept in Scotland ) and explaing your predicament and that you would like them to provide a ramp ..

[notfjk]

Slight exaggeration.. it actually ends in the middle of the road!

Er, no, not quite.

A drop of about one foot, so ramp would be 20 feet long or as the OT is Australian that's about 6 metres.

I'm in Ireland and we are quite primative when it comes to social services.

Don't get me going on physios and OTs, hospital based, community based...

Yes, it has to have a handrail and a kerb.

I'm thinking of a mini deck thingy at the door- ten foot ramp- nudder mini deck thingy- nudder ten foot ramp at right angles to first

i'll look at that url

francis

[John Rumm]

Does this need to be a temporary or a permanent structure? A temporary one could be built as you describe using a studwork frame with ply decking (with non slip material stuck over). For a permanent solution it sounds like building retaining walls out of brick or blockwork, filling mostly with hardcore (or type 1 MOT), tamping down and finishing off with a few inches of ribbed concrete would do it.

[The Medway Handyman]

When I read the header I thought you wanted a ramp for an ambulance.................

[notfjk]

Good one. It might come to that yet!

We had to bring my Ma to A&E yesterday, she was choking on her tea. When we got to hosiptal, she was able to drink normally. After about 6 hours of tests, it suddenly clicked with us. She had her teeth in because she was going to see the doctor! So, teeth in, drinks normally; teeth out at home, chokes on tea. Wah!

[notfjk]

Depends on how long she hangs around. By the time she goes, I'll probably need the ramp myself

[nightjar]

I used to use a couple of four foot lengths of 4" wide x 2" deep x 1/4" thick aluminium U channel. That allowed me to push my 20 stone father in or out of most doorways and they were readily stowed in the back of the car, along with the wheelchair. A 1 in 20 ramp is only really needed if a wheelchair is to be worked by the occupant alone.

Colin Bignell

[Terry W.]

"nightjar" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

For what it is worth from someone who was in a wheelchair for many years:-

Young people in a wheelchairs build up upper-body strength very quickly through pushing themselves around. Therefore younger fitter people can usually cope well with a short steep ramp - in fact I preferred a short steep ramp rather than loooooooooong climb.

Older people and those with an upper body disability never build up sufficient strength to manage anything other than a very gentle slope.

Pushers (as opposed to wheelchair occupants) come in all shapes and sizes as can be imagined. Longer and gentler slopes are considered best for general use. It's no fun being pushed up a steep slope and then to hear your pusher declare that they are out of strength and stuck!

When building a slope for an Electric wheelchair, enquire whether it will be an indoor or outdoor type - some indoor types are far from powerful and will struggle on a steep slope.

Just my thoughts :-)

Terry W

[notfjk]

Replying to Colin and Terry,

At the moment, we only use the wheellchair for visits to the hospital where there will be a lot of walking involved. It is a push chair.

At the moment the chair would not be used on the ramp.

For short distances my Ma is able to walk with the aid of a tri-rollator. she would use the ramp with the tri-rollator to get to the gate for the minibus which takes her to the day centre. the minibus has a lift to get in and out.

The OT has gone back to Australia so I'm waiting for her replacement to check things.

For a trirollator, what would a suitable slope be?

Francis

[Terry W.]

[e-mail] wrote in news:0lm723lrqdp59t7gn0v2akurpmcipo4udd@

4ax.com:

Your Ma's biggest problem on any slope with a rolling walking aid is going downhill, when the walking aid is likely to "run away". She really will require a gentle slope, using turns if you don't have enough space for a long ramp. Turns (with a flat area) are very useful to regain your balance and have a rest.

If she can manage with a wheeled walking aid, you might consider shallow steps that will take her and the aid. If she can lift the aid over the doorstep and use it for balance while she steps over the doorstep, then down another shallow step etc. I don't, of course, know her walking ability, but large area shallow steps are sometimes easier with a walking aid than a slope.

Good luck, and I wish your Ma well.

Terry W

[notfjk]

She's pretty nifty on the tri-rollator.

I've come across a Low Rise Lift and will check that out

have a new front door with a very low saddle 1/2" if even that. I'll check the steps idea. Thanks

Francis

[nightjar]

My mother had that problem on level ground. In the end, I fitted the whole house out with handrails along all passageways and along at least one wall of every main room. I used industrial tubular handrail as it came in 6 metre lengths and was relatively cheap.

Colin Bignell

[RoundSquare]

Working in social services, I would advise you to get your mum a "Community Care Assessment". She would more than likely be entitled to have a ramp installed free of charge. The only problem being the time it takes to have it done. However you might just get the funding for it which means you could do it yourself and wouldn't be out of pocket.

RS

[notfjk]

we're in ireland, so it's not as simple as that.