Concrete Ramps | Factors to Consider When Constructing Concrete Ramps

Concrete Ramp Design Considerations

When constructing a concrete ramp, you must adhere to basic design principles, for residential, multi-residential, or commercial concrete projects. These can include the maximum permissible slope, ramp landings, cross-drainage-slope, ramp length and handrail supports. Ramps make for great access points to and from buildings, offering wheelchair accessible points for entrance and exit, in addition to being visually appealing. However, there are essential design considerations that have to be taken into perspective when constructing these important building features!

Ramp Slope Considerations

Maximum permissible slope of a ramp would be dictated by the building code pursuant to your jurisdiction. Along the lines of anything over over 5% of slope in a path of travel could be considered a ramp though.

In Calgary for instance, a typical maximum ramp slope might be ~8% depending on the usage requirements. There may be different requirements for barrier-free and non-barrier-free concrete ramp designs, so understanding that, employing the services of a professional concrete contractor is imperative to ensure you are well within the guidelines of standard building code practices.

Ramp Landings

Ramp slope landings are the flat portions of concrete that break up the path of travel for a concrete ramp. They have minimum width and length (area) requirements and have to be installed at various locations along the length of a ramp. Ramp landings are like stop points or rest points, critical for people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues. These ramp landings serve as resting points on their way up the ramp!

Other Slope Considerations

In some cases, where the mechanical or landscape design of a building and property permit, you could provide a trench drain at the bottom of the ramp. Ideally, though, proper drainage can help prevent ice build-ups and allow proper snow-melt run-off.

Ramp Lengths

As noted earlier, really long ramps are not done because they need landings, but they also just take up too much space. For instance, in a barrier-free path of travel, a landing could be suggested at 9 meters of travel distance. So instead of a really long ramp, the rise of the ramp is routed up to the entrance, where double-wide landings are provided.

The selection of ramp length should take into consideration the appropriate space available for the concrete ramp pour.

Handrails for Ramps

Ramps should also be provided with handrails in general. Concrete ramps can benefit from embedded steel handrails on one or both sides of the ramp concrete walls. It really depends on the width of the concrete ramp that is being constructed. If the ramp width is too wide, then two handrails should be provided. This is basic logic as if the ramp is narrow, only one handrail should really be needed. But if two paths of travel are needed in the ramp, then a handrail on either side is best.

Concrete ramp handrails are typically installed or affixed to concrete ramp walls with concrete anchors. These can be installed after the fact and don’t necessarily have to be embedded in the concrete.

Set Back of Landing from Doors

Ramps also need to be set back from doors or entrances and access/egress locations. There has to be a sort of landing or flat location before the entrance or egress from the building can be made. This distance may be greater than a typical landing because additional clearance could be provided for the swing of the door.

This is so a wheelchair user or other patron using the ramp can still be on a flat concrete surface, without having to be concerned about space to open the door and enter the building or trying to hold on to the handrail at the same time.

So, with the door’s swing and leaf width considered, the ramp’s top or bottom landing, depending on the location of the access point, can be accommodated accordingly.

Elevation Changes

Other features that can be provided, such as curbs at two different elevation changes, are safety features. A small curb can prevent a wheelchair user from rolling off the side of a landing or other design feature. This is specific to the design of the ramp, of course.

A guardrail might be required if there are any really large elevation differences, and the slope on the other side is very steep. A guardrail offers the added benefit of additional structural support that a handrail might not have.

Guardrails and handrails are different in that sense, where the force requirements and actual elevation of the metal railing may differ. But the two often serve the same function: supporting mobility and preventing falls.

Serious elevation changes next to concrete ramps may also necessitate concrete retaining walls, to aid in retention of the sub-grade used to support the concrete ramp.

Sidewalk Curb Ramps

Just like building ramps, concrete sidewalk ramps or curb ramps act as a vital access point for mobility-impaired individuals, or even just people with shopping carts for example, to get onto the sidewalk.

Specific design considerations for concrete sidewalk curb ramps must also be accounted for. In some cases, tactile warnings are provided prior to entering the concrete curb ramp. This gives a vision impaired person an idea that a change in elevation is forthcoming with the sidewalk they are using. Concrete curb ramps, like the one shown above, slope down into the street or parking lot grade elevation.

Raised Concrete Pedestrian Access

However an alternate concrete ramp setup for pedestrian access could be provided. This style can avoid the necessity for a concrete curb ramp, and instead provides a raised portion of concrete in the line of the path of travel from the sidewalk, to cross parking lot aisles and driveways.

There is then no change in elevation as the wheelchair user crosses the street to get to the destination, unlike with typical concrete curb ramps. But this does make for a speed bump for vehicles in the parking lot, having to slow down anyways to get over the pedestrian access raised portion. This slowing of vehicle traffic in itself is one of the benefits or raised pedestrian access.

Choose a Professional Concrete Ramp Contractor

As a professional Calgary concrete contractor, it is our responsibility to ensure that your concrete projects are constructed properly and to code in the best possible manner. That’s what makes us a full-service concrete contractor. We work with designs and specifications provided to us but can also meet the requirements of our clients by providing design input.

Several design considerations have to be taken into account, such as slope, ramp length, drainage, material selection, landings, curbs, and ramp railing supports.

Any way you look at it, concrete ramps are not the most simple of concrete elements. Serious consideration has to be taken for the building code, lest, issues with concrete ramp code compliance could lead to a significant cost impact, negatively affecting your business or project operations.

Conclusion – Concrete Ramp Designs

We hope you learned something about construction practices for concrete ramps!

Calgary concrete stairs and ramps also don’t have to be boring. We can integrate custom finishes, colored concrete, exposed aggregate concrete, or other finishes for you. Tying a concrete ramp in with your building access, parking lot access, or through custom accessible entrances is always a special concrete job for us, because we know how important these structures are to those with mobility concerns. People rely on properly designed and constructed concrete ramps for safe access and egress to buildings, not only during regular building usage, but in emergencies too, where all these little design requirements are even more important!