Portable Ramp Weight Capacity: Add Up the Chair, Not Just the Person
Most portable ramps are rated 600 to 800 pounds. A power chair alone can be 320. Here is how to do the arithmetic, and what voids the rating.
Guides
Ramp Handrail Height: 34 to 38 Inches, Both Sides
Handrails go 34 to 38 inches above the ramp surface, on both sides, and must run 12 inches past each end. Required on any ramp rising more than 6 inches.
Wheelchair Ramp Landing Size: 60 Inches, and Where You Need One
A landing must be 60 inches long, at least as wide as the ramp, and 60 by 60 at every turn. You also need one every 30 inches of rise.
How Long a Ramp for 2 or 3 Steps? Longer Than You Think
Two steps need about 14 feet of ramp. Three steps need about 21 feet. Here is the arithmetic, and what to do when that will not fit in the yard.
Grab Bar Mounting Angle: Horizontal, Vertical or Diagonal
Horizontal for pulling across, vertical for standing up and stepping in, diagonal for neither reliably. Which one to use where, and why diagonal is so common.
Grab Bar Distance From Wall: Why 1½ Inches, Exactly
The gap between a grab bar and the wall should be 1.5 inches. Too little and your hand will not fit. Too much and your forearm can slip through in a fall.
Grab Bar Length and Diameter: What Your Hand Can Actually Hold
A grab bar has to be 1.25 to 2 inches thick for a hand to close around it, and long enough to catch you where you actually slip. Here is how to pick both.
Walker, Rollator and Wheelchair Widths: Measure the Device First
Most adult mobility devices are 21 to 27 inches wide at the widest point. Measure the device, not the seat, and check the hallway before you blame the door.
Is ADA Required in a Private Home? No, and Here Is What Is
The ADA does not reach a private house. Here is what the Fair Housing Act covers instead, where the numbers come from, and the one rule that can actually bind you.
Holiday Visit Red Flags: The Twenty-Minute Walk Through Their House
You will be in their house longer than you have looked at it all year. Here is what to check, in what order, and what to leave for their doctor.