Permanent in both directions - this one does not come back out

What is concrete ramp construction?

A concrete ramp is a slab poured in place on a prepared base, usually with integral kerbs or walls and with handrails set into or bolted onto the finished structure. It is the most durable option available and effectively maintenance-free in normal use. Its distinguishing property, and the one that governs every decision around it, is that it is permanent - undoing it is demolition. Get the entrance, the geometry, the surface finish and the drainage settled before the pour, because afterwards there is no adjusting any of them.

Signs you need concrete ramp construction

• The need is permanent and the household expects to remain in this house indefinitely
• A previous timber ramp has already been replaced once and nobody wants to do it again
• The entrance is a heavily used one - a side-by-side care arrangement, a business, a place of worship
• There is already a concrete stoop, path or driveway that the ramp should tie into as one continuous surface
• Powered chairs and scooters use this route daily, and their weight and turning are punishing timber
• Wind, salt air or termites make timber a poor long-term proposition on this property
• The route also needs to carry a delivery trolley, a stretcher or heavy equipment on a regular basis

Seeing something not on this list? Browse wheelchair ramps problems by symptom →

How concrete ramp construction actually works

1. 1

   Fix the geometry before anything is dug

   Slope, landing sizes, width, kerbs and handrails come from published accessibility standards and your local code, and on a poured structure they are locked in permanently. This is the moment to have the design drawn and checked, not sketched on the back of the quote.

   Watch forA contractor who forms it up by eye. Concrete does not forgive an approximate slope, and a ramp poured a little too steep is a permanent problem.

2. 2

   Locate everything buried before excavation

   Utility locates, plus the things that are not on any map: the septic field and its tank lid, the sprinkler lines, the sump discharge, and where the downspouts currently run to. A ramp poured over a septic access lid is a problem that surfaces at the worst possible time.

   Watch forDigging with no locate having been called. It is a legal requirement in most places and the consequence of skipping it can be catastrophic.

3. 3

   Prepare and compact the subgrade - this is the whole job

   Topsoil and organic material removed, the base built up in compacted layers of the right aggregate, and the depth of the base set for your soil and your frost conditions. Nearly every failed concrete flatwork job is a subgrade job, not a concrete job.

   Watch forA base thrown in and rolled over once with the plate compactor. Poor compaction is invisible for a year and then shows as a crack and a step at exactly the wrong place.

4. 4

   Form, reinforce, and design where it will crack

   Forms set to the design slope, reinforcement placed at the correct height in the slab rather than lying on the subgrade, and control joints planned so that the inevitable shrinkage cracking happens along a line you chose. Concrete cracks; the craft is deciding where.

   Watch forReinforcing mesh left flat on the ground and concrete poured over it. It does nothing there, and it is the most common shortcut in residential flatwork.

5. 5

   Slope the surface so water leaves the house

   The ramp meets the building at the top, which is the last place you want water pooling. The surface needs a fall that carries water away from the foundation, and any cross-fall has to stay gentle enough not to pull a chair sideways.

   Watch forA ramp that drains back toward the siding or into the crawl space vent. You have then built a very durable structure whose main function is to deliver water to your foundation.

6. 6

   Finish for grip, not for looks

   A steel-trowelled smooth finish is a beautiful indoor floor and a hazardous outdoor ramp. A broom finish, drawn across the direction of travel, is the standard grippy finish and is what you should expect. Discuss it before the pour, because it is decided in the twenty minutes the crew is finishing the slab.

   Watch forA slick trowelled finish because it photographs better. This cannot be fixed afterwards without grinding or an applied coating, and both are compromises.

7. 7

   Cure it properly, and stay off it

   Concrete gains strength over time under controlled moisture, and how it is cured has a large effect on how well the surface resists scaling later. Nobody uses the ramp until the contractor says so.

   Watch forA crew who pour on a Friday and tell you it is ready Saturday. Rushing early use, especially in hot or freezing weather, damages the surface permanently.

8. 8

   Agree the winter regime before the first frost

   New concrete is at its most vulnerable to freeze-thaw scaling and to de-icing chemicals in its first season, and some de-icers are hard on concrete at any age. Ask what the contractor recommends for clearing this ramp, and whether the surface should be sealed.

   Watch forReaching for the same de-icer used on the driveway. Surface scaling on a ramp is not just cosmetic - a pitted, spalled surface holds water and ice.

What does concrete ramp construction cost?

Concrete generally sits at the top of the range on day one, because most of the money goes into excavation, base preparation, forming and reinforcement rather than into the concrete itself. It then costs essentially nothing to own. The Cost Guide sets out ranges by material and configuration.

See the full concrete ramp construction cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →