Ramps built on site,for a real rise.
Constructed ramps for anything past a single step — set out to the gradient the rise demands, with landings, rails, and footings.
Past a step, a rampbecomes a structure.
Up to about 190mm — a threshold, a single step — a ramp is a product. It is made to size, delivered, and laid in place, and our minor ramps page covers the five materials that do that job.
Above that it becomes a building. A 400mm rise at the gentlest gradient needs nearly six metres of run, which almost never fits in a straight line, so it turns — and a turn needs a landing big enough to manoeuvre a chair on. The structure needs footings. Past a metre of rise the National Construction Code requires a balustrade, not just a handrail.
That is why these are designed before they are priced. Where the ramp goes, how it turns, and what it lands on are decided on paper with your occupational therapist, because getting it wrong is not a fitting that can be moved.
Key features of ouraccess ramps.
Built for safe access, long service outdoors, and a genuinely level arrival at the door.
Level entry at the top
The ramp is only as good as where it finishes. A landing wide enough to stand or turn on while opening the door, and a threshold that is level rather than a last lip to climb.
Gradients that meet the standards
Set out to AS 1428.1 where the space allows, and to the National Construction Code as the minimum everywhere. Where an NDIS submission requires it, the drawings state the gradient achieved.
Built for the ground you have
Sloping yards, uneven paving, soft soil, and awkward corners are the normal case rather than the exception. The structure is engineered to the site rather than dropped onto it.
Vital Ease at a glance
- Projects completed
- 300+
Projects completed
- Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- 100+
Agreements with Home Care Package and NDIS providers
- Valued customers
- 200+
Valued customers
Rampgradients.
The gradient is decided by the rise, not by preference. Longer is always safer, and the limit is nearly always how much room there is to run it.
Rise up to 35mm — 1:8
The gradient AS 1428.1 and the National Construction Code allow for the smallest rises, typically an internal doorway or a threshold. This is minor-ramp territory.
Rise 35mm to 190mm — 1:10 where space permits
1:10 to AS 1428.1 is what we build wherever the site allows. 1:8 is the National Construction Code minimum and is the bare standard, used only where the run genuinely cannot be found.
Rise above 190mm — 1:14 where space permits
The gentlest gradient, and the one AS 1428.1 sets for longer ramps. It is what a person self-propelling a wheelchair actually needs. It also means fourteen metres of ramp for every metre of rise, which is why these ramps turn and need landings.
Deckingoptions.
Three surfaces. The choice is mostly a trade between cost, maintenance, and how it looks from the house.
Fibre-reinforced grating
The most cost-effective and the least maintenance of the three. An open fibreglass surface with a gritted non-slip coating that sheds water and holds its grip in wet and frosty conditions. It does not rot, rust, or need recoating, and it is what we recommend where the ramp is in the open weather or in a shaded, damp spot.
Merbau decking
A dense hardwood that looks like part of the house rather than an aid, and the option most people choose when the ramp is in view of the living areas. Sloped sections are finished with a gritted non-slip coating, which needs re-coating over time to keep working. See the note below about acclimatisation.
Engineered decking
The most expensive option and the most consistent in appearance. Where you want a particular product, you choose the supplier and it is carried in the quote as a prime-cost allowance, so the price is transparent.
Parts andoptions.
What goes on the structure besides the deck. Some are standard, some are extras, and knowing which is which before you sign matters.
Galvanised steel banister railing
The standard rail on a ramp built on site. ⚠️ Rails fabricated on site come in a galvanised finish only — they are not powder-coated. Welded joints are primed and cold-galvanised, and those joints stay slightly different in colour until the whole rail weathers and evens out.
Mid railing — optional
A second rail lower down, which stops a wheel or a foot going out under the main rail. We recommend it for anyone in a wheelchair or using a low-profile mobility aid, and it is the option most often regretted when it is left off.
Balustrade — required above 1000mm
Once the ramp structure rises more than a metre, the National Construction Code requires a balustrade rather than a rail. That is not optional and it is priced in. We offer a timber balustrade.
Plinth boards — optional
Boards closing off the gap beneath an elevated ramp. Tidier to look at, and they stop anything getting under there.
Joist protection — optional
A flexible layer over the top of the timber joists to keep moisture off them, which extends the life of the structure outdoors.
Weed matting
Laid beneath ramp sections built over soil or grass to stop vegetation growing up through. Not needed over concrete or paving.
Coloured concrete — optional
For the landing or the approach. Colour varies naturally with materials, weather, and finishing, and that variation is normal rather than a defect.
Before you book,two things to know.
Merbau moves, and it bleeds at first
It needs 30 to 60 days to acclimatise, and during that time it leaches a reddish tannin that stains adjacent concrete and can discolour white edge markings. Over the years it may cup slightly with sun and rain. None of that affects the structure, and all of it is normal for the timber.
Concrete develops hairline cracks
Shrinkage, ground movement, tree roots, and moisture changes all cause fine cracking in concrete landings and paths. It is not a workmanship defect — the VBA Guide to Standards and Tolerances sets out where the line falls, and we would rather you knew before than argued after.
Site-fabricated rails are galvanised only
A rail welded up on site cannot be hot-dip galvanised or powder-coated afterwards. If you want a coloured or stainless rail, it has to be shop-made, which changes how the ramp is designed. Worth raising at the drawings stage rather than at installation.
It starts with drawings
Major ramps are designed and documented before they are priced. That is what a funding body approves, and it is what stops the structure being redesigned with the footings already in.
Brochuresand guides.
The documents an occupational therapist, a plan manager, or a funding body usually asks us for. We are preparing these now — ring or email in the meantime and we will send what you need.
Product brochures
- Major ramps and landingsComing soon
- Fibre-reinforced grating walkwayComing soon
- Banister rails and balustradesComing soon
Specifications
- Ramp gradients and rise tableComing soon
- Typical ramp and landing detailComing soon
Quote request requirements
- Major ramps — what we need to quoteComing soon
How the jobactually runs.
Draftsperson visit and design
Our draftsperson measures the rise, the available run, and the ground, then sets the ramp out on paper — including where it turns and how big the landings need to be. We mark the footprint on site so you can see it before it exists.
Documentation and a fixed price
Drawings and a scope of works set out so a plan manager, case manager, or funding body can approve them without coming back to us. Funding is approved before anything is ordered.
Footings and framing
Footings set, then bearers and joists framed to the designed gradient. This is the stage that decides whether the finished ramp is true.
Decking, rails, and finishing
The deck laid, rails or balustrade fabricated and fixed, nosings and edge markings applied, and weed matting or plinths where they are part of the scope.
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 on site.
All photographs are of our own completed work in Melbourne homes.
Length is what buys a gentle gradient A turn, and a landing big enough to manoeuvre on Rails both sides, and a level arrival at the door Built to the ground it sits on Where the approach is concrete, the ramp can be too Every ramp on this page started with a measure
If the rise is onlya step.
Under about 190mm you almost certainly do not need any of this. A threshold plate or a made-to-size ramp does the job for a fraction of the cost, with nothing built and often nothing fixed.
The ramps hub sets out the five materials and which rise each one suits.
Questions
What people ask aboutwheelchair access ramps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the ramp need to be?
When is a balustrade required instead of a handrail?
Why is the timber staining the concrete?
Can I have a coloured or stainless rail?
Will the NDIS pay for a ramp like this?
Can’t see your question? Call us on +61 3 8658 1358 — we’re happy to talk it through.
More from Vital Ease
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