How Do Ramps Help Overcome Access Issues for Wheelchairs

If you have someone very older or impaired to move in and out of your house, you might have once thought of installing ramps to help the person overcome the inability to access.  Wheelchair ramps for homes are without a doubt the wisest solution to provide safe access to the disabled members by making some slight architectural modifications in your home. There are threshold ramps if you want to have the ramps permanently installed in your premise. Then there are portable ramps if you want some temporary accessibility solution. Specifically, the type of ramp needed depends on the users, disability, house structure or space.

Here is a briefly explained how ramps of any type can be equally useful if you want to provide convenient access to the wheelchair-enabled persons.

Portable Ramps

The intrinsic characteristics of portable ramps for homes make them highly preferable to many.

• They are built with light aluminium material and hence are easy to clean and maintain.
• As the name says, they are portable i.e. can be folded and have a handle to carry from one place to  another. So, you can keep aside the ramp from the door or threshold when is not required to use.
• They are adjustable in length. For this, it is easy to get one single ramp and use it at different places or entrances of the house.
• They are long-lasting and slip-resistant. Being portable, it does not mean that ramps are not durable. Being, made with aluminium, they will last as long as it is needed. Besides, they are made slip-resistant to prevent risks of tripping down of the users.

These features of portable ramps imply that they are apt for providing accessibility to someone who is injured and need a wheelchair to move for the time before recovering. Likewise, families with elderly grandparents might consider installing portable ramps.

Threshold Ramps

These are permanent ramp structure made of wood, concrete or steel to provide lifelong accessibility to wheelchair-enabled member in the house. They are not usually ready-made solutions bought but are pre-fabricated solutions which are installed by the professional ramps supplier after studying the needs of the users and aspects of the house. Apart from providing lifetime accessibility, there are many other advantages of threshold ramps.

• They can be tailored according to the space available and the house’s architecture. Thus, after installation, they can enhance the look or style of the house too.
• They can be easily fitted in all types of entrances, in the interior or exterior of the house. Since they are customised, you can have them installed even at the raised landings, curbs, or ground porches. 
• When a house has built-in ramps in the appropriate places, it raises the resale value of the house. So, this is a long-term benefit you can derive.

Bottom Line

Both threshold ramps and portable ramps are brilliant solutions for handicapped, injured, partially impaired or aged persons using wheelchairs to move. While portable wheelchair ramps for home are more useful because they can be used anywhere on the go, even if you are taking the disabled person to the park, to a friend’s house or for some vacation by car. Likewise, the threshold ramp’s permanency is what you can never ignore because it will relieve you of all the hassle of unfolding, laying the ramp every time for use and then keeping it aside.

Also Read - Why You Should Consider Getting A Modular Wheelchair Ramp For Your Home