Ramps built to the stepyou actually have.
Safe, stable access in and around the home — threshold ramps, step ramps, and wheelchair ramps, measured on site and built to the gradients the standards require.
Accessible rampsfor every home.
Long-lasting access solutions for safer movement in and around the house.
Custom-made for every entry point
Shaped and sized to the doors, thresholds, steps, and uneven ground you actually have, rather than cut down from a stock length on the day.
Materials chosen for the job
Rubber, timber, composite, or aluminium. Which one you get is decided by the rise, where it is, and whether it has to come back up again.
Built to Australian Standards
Gradients follow the National Construction Code as a minimum and AS 1428.1 where the space allows. We tell you which one your site can achieve before you commit.
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- Projects completed
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Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
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Valued customers
Ramp surfaceoptions.
Five materials, and the rise each one suits. The right answer is usually decided by the height of the step, not by preference.
Rubber
For rises of roughly 20 to 190mm, inside or out. Slip resistant, weatherproof, nothing fixed to the building, and removable — which is what makes it the answer for a rental. Its leading edge is the thinnest of the built options.
Composite and fibre-reinforced mesh
For rises of roughly 60 to 190mm, outside only. The lowest-maintenance option we build: it does not need oiling, sanding, or recoating, and it holds up in weather that would grey off timber. Usually paired with an aluminium ramp at the top.
Treated timber
For rises of roughly 20 to 190mm. Indoors and under cover only, and not one to put out in the open weather. Fixed down with screws, so it is a permanent installation rather than a removable one.
Merbau decking
For rises of roughly 60 to 190mm, outside. The same hardwood we use on our decks, so a ramp and a deck built together match. Paired with an aluminium ramp at the doorway.
Aluminium ramps
For the small ones — roughly 12 to 34mm. A doorway lip, a shower hob, a change in floor height between two rooms. The thinnest leading edge of anything we fit, which is what makes it the smoothest transition for a wheelchair castor.
Options onany ramp.
Available on every material above, and specified at the measure rather than added later.
Kerbing
A raised lip along the open edge, so a wheel cannot run off the side. Standard on anything a wheelchair uses, and the reason we then recommend a rail alongside as well.
Wings
Splayed sides that fall away to the ground rather than stopping at a vertical edge, so someone approaching from an angle is not stepping off a drop.
Notches
Cut-outs so the ramp fits around a door jamb, a downpipe, a step nosing, or a post, instead of stopping short of the doorway.
Contrasting edge marking
A high-visibility line along the leading edge and the sides. It is what makes the ramp visible to someone whose depth perception or contrast sensitivity has changed, and it is the cheapest option on this list.
Gradient is the numberthat matters.
A ramp that is too steep is more dangerous than the step it replaced, because a wheelchair can get away from someone on it. The gradient — how far the ramp runs for every unit it rises — is what the standards actually regulate, and it is the first thing we work out on site.
Australian Standard AS 1428.1 sets the limits, and they depend on the rise. A threshold ramp over a door sill of up to 35mm can be 1:8. A step ramp over a single step of up to 190mm can be 1:10, no longer than 1.9 metres. Anything higher is a general access ramp at 1:14, with a flat landing at least every 9 metres. Longer is safer, and the limit is nearly always how much room there is to run it.
That is why we measure rather than quote from a photograph. A 190mm step needs about 2.7 metres of ramp at 1:14, plus a flat landing at the top big enough to open the door from — and whether the path, the garden bed, or the driveway leaves room for that is the whole question.
Work out your ramp,drawn to scale.
Enter the height of your step. The calculator picks the ramp type, works out the run and the landings, and shows where a long ramp turns.
- Minimum ramp run
- 1.80 m
- Gradient
- 1:10
- 10.00% · 5.7°
- Landings part-way
- 0
- Footprint, about
- 4.2 × 1.0 m
A step ramp
For a single step up to 190 mm, no longer than 1.9 metres. A rubber ramp or a small built ramp suits. If you have the room, a 1:14 ramp is easier to push up.
See rubber ramps| Type | Gradient | Min run | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| General access ramp | 1:14 | 2.52 m | Allowed for this rise |
| Step ramp | 1:10 | 1.80 m | Allowed for this rise |
| Threshold ramp | 1:8 | 1.44 m | Not suitable |
A planning guide based on AS 1428.1. Full compliance also depends on width, handrails, kerbs or kerb rails, crossfall, slip resistance, and door clearances, so every ramp we build is measured and designed on site. Open the calculator on its own page
The gradientswe build to.
1:14 — general access ramps
For anything higher than a single step. AS 1428.1 needs a flat landing at least every 9 metres, and at a home the ramp usually turns at a landing to fit the space.
1:10 — step ramps
For a single step up to 190mm, with the ramp no longer than 1.9 metres.
1:8 — threshold ramps
Only for a door sill up to 35mm, with the ramp no longer than 280mm. It is the steepest gradient AS 1428.1 allows.
Before you book,two things to know.
Rubber ramps are removable and rental-friendly
Nothing is drilled and nothing is damaged. They sit in position and can be lifted out again, so they suit an owned or a rented home equally, and they come with you if you move. We can silicone a small one down on request to stop it shifting.
Every other ramp is fixed work
Timber, composite, merbau, and aluminium plates are all screwed or bolted down so they are weight-bearing and cannot move underfoot. That means drilling.
If you rent, ask first
For any fixed ramp you will need the owner’s or the agent’s permission before we can start. Ring us and we will tell you what they usually want to see. If the answer is no, a rubber ramp is the version that needs nobody’s permission.
Ramps with kerbing want a rail beside them
A raised edge stops a wheel running off the side, and a rail gives a hand something to hold. On anything longer than a single step we will recommend both, and quote them together so there is no second visit.
How the jobactually runs.
Quoting and measurement
A licensed member of the team measures the rise, the run available, and the landing at the top, and works out which gradient your site can actually achieve. There is no charge for the visit. Where an occupational therapist has written a specification, we quote to it.
A fixed price in writing
Set out so a plan manager, case manager, or occupational therapist can approve it without coming back to us for more detail. Funding is approved before we start.
Manufacture
Cut and made up to your measurements rather than trimmed from stock on the day. Rubber ramps are the exception and are often in place on the first visit.
Installation
A second visit to fit it, by the same team that measured. Most domestic ramps are done in a day, and we take the offcuts and packaging with us.
Warranty
The work is carried out by licensed tradespeople and backed by the relevant warranties. If something is not right, ring the same number you rang the first time.
Ramps we havebuilt.
All photographs are of our own completed work in Melbourne homes.
A small step, andnothing to build.
If your rise is a doorway lip or a single step, and especially if you rent, a rubber ramp is likely the whole answer — no concreting, nothing fixed to the building, and often in place the same day.
It has its own page, with what it suits and what it does not.
Not sure what you need? We come out, measure up, and give you a written quote. It is free, with no obligation.
Questions
What people ask aboutramps.
Frequently Asked Questions
What gradient does a ramp have to be?
How do I choose the right material?
Are the ramps slip resistant?
Do rubber ramps need to be fixed down?
Will the NDIS or my Home Care Package pay for a ramp?
Can’t see your question? Call us on +61 3 8658 1358 — we’re happy to talk it through.
More from Vital Ease
The rest of whatwe do.
Let us make your homework for you.
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Ready to make your home safer and more accessible? Our team is here to help from your first consultation through to the final handover. Let’s talk about what’s possible for your home.