Wheelchair Ramps · Service

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

A poured ramp asks nothing of you afterwards, will outlast every other option, and is the only one where a mistake is genuinely hard to undo. Removing it later means a machine, a skip and a bill. That is not a reason to avoid it; it is a reason to be certain about the entrance, the geometry and the drainage before anyone orders concrete.

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In short

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.

Triggers

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

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The job

How concrete ramp construction actually works

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 for: A 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.
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 for: Digging with no locate having been called. It is a legal requirement in most places and the consequence of skipping it can be catastrophic.
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 for: A 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.
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 for: Reinforcing 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.
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 for: A 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.
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 for: A slick trowelled finish because it photographs better. This cannot be fixed afterwards without grinding or an applied coating, and both are compromises.
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 for: A 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.
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 for: Reaching 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.

Money

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 →

Straight answer

When concrete ramp construction is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

You may move, or the need may end. Concrete has no resale value and no removal path that is not demolition. If there is meaningful uncertainty about either the house or the length of the need, a removable system keeps that option open.
The rise is high enough to need a long switchback. A large poured structure with turns and landings is a substantial hardscape project that can swallow a garden permanently. Price a modular or timber run alongside it before you commit.
The ground is unstable, filled or poorly drained. Deep fill, expansive clay or a wet corner will move, and a rigid slab that moves cracks and forms a step at the joint. On difficult ground, a structure on piers may be the more sensible engineering.
Access for equipment is genuinely poor. If a truck cannot get near and the concrete has to be barrowed a long way through a narrow side passage, the labour cost can overtake a manufactured system that two people carry in.
Someone needs the ramp this week. Excavation, base, forming, pour and cure is not a fast sequence, and it is weather-dependent at both ends. Hospital discharges do not wait for concrete to cure.
It is going in over something you will need to reach. Septic lids, cleanouts, shutoffs, meters and crawl-space hatches all have to be identified first. Burying one under a permanent slab is an expensive kind of permanent.

Your options

Types of concrete ramp construction

Wooden ramp construction

The site-built timber alternative

Multi-landing ramp systems

When the run needs turns

Compare ramp materials

Permanent against removable

Permits and approvals

What a poured structure may require

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Before you sign

What to check when hiring for concrete ramp construction

How are you preparing and compacting the subgrade, and how deep is the base?

This is where concrete jobs are won or lost, it is invisible when finished, and it is the first thing a cheap bid removes.
What reinforcement are you using and how will it be held up in the slab?

Mesh lying on the ground does nothing. Asking how it is supported tells you immediately whether they intend to do it properly.
Where are the control joints going?

Concrete will crack somewhere. A contractor who has planned where has thought about the job; one who has not will find out with you.
What surface finish are you using, and which way will the broom run?

Grip is decided in the last twenty minutes of the pour and cannot be sensibly changed afterwards. Say the word "broom" out loud before that day.
Where will water go once this is poured?

The ramp lands against the house at its highest point. Getting drainage wrong here creates a foundation problem, permanently.
Have you called for utility locates, and have we identified the septic and the shutoffs?

Everything you bury under this slab stays buried. Walk the site together and mark it before anyone digs.
When can it be used, and what should we use on it in winter?

Early use and the wrong de-icer are the two ways to damage the surface of a new ramp in its first year.

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Local pros

Concrete Ramp Construction near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Wooden Ramp Construction

Site-built, lower upfront cost

Multi-Landing Ramp Systems

Switchbacks on a tight lot

Commercial Ramp Installation

Permitted, inspected work

Ramp Repair

Settlement, spalling and lips

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FAQ

Concrete Ramp Construction — questions people ask

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Is a concrete ramp slippery?

It depends almost entirely on the finish, and the finish is chosen in the last few minutes of the pour. A steel-trowelled smooth surface looks excellent and is a poor outdoor ramp. A broom finish, drawn across the direction of travel, leaves a fine texture that gives grip in the rain and is what you should specify. Ice is a different matter — no finish makes concrete safe under ice, so clearing and the choice of de-icer matter as much as the finish does.

Will a concrete ramp crack?

Almost certainly, somewhere — concrete shrinks as it cures and moves with temperature, and the craft is controlling where that shows rather than preventing it. Control joints cut or tooled into the slab give the cracking a planned line to follow. What you want to avoid is not hairline cracking at a joint but structural cracking with a height difference across it, because a lip on a ramp is a hazard. That kind of cracking almost always traces back to a poorly prepared or badly compacted base.

How do freeze-thaw and de-icing salts affect a concrete ramp?

Water that gets into the surface and freezes expands, and repeated cycles can flake or pit the top layer, which is called scaling. De-icing chemicals accelerate the process by driving more freeze-thaw cycles, and some are harder on concrete than others. New concrete is most vulnerable in its first winter. Ask your contractor what they recommend for clearing your ramp and whether a sealer is appropriate in your climate — it is a question with a genuinely local answer.

Can a concrete ramp be removed later?

Yes, but not in the way the other materials can. Removal means breaking it up — typically a machine, a jackhammer, hauling the debris away and then repairing the ground beneath. It costs real money and it makes a mess of the garden. That is the honest trade for a structure that will outlast everything else on the property and never ask for maintenance. If there is a realistic chance the ramp will be unwanted within a few years, choose something that unbolts.

How long before we can use a new concrete ramp?

Longer than most people expect, and the contractor should give you the number rather than a website. Concrete gains strength over days rather than hours, and how it is cured has a lasting effect on how well the surface holds up in later winters. Weather changes the answer significantly in both directions — very hot and very cold conditions both complicate curing. Plan the whole project around this, because it is the one part of the schedule that cannot be compressed by paying more.

Does a concrete ramp need a permit?

That depends on your jurisdiction and on how the structure is classified, and it is worth a phone call to your building department rather than an assumption. A poured ramp is substantial construction that changes drainage and often attaches at the building, which is exactly the kind of work permitting exists for. A permitted, inspected structure is also easier to explain to a buyer, an insurer or a future inspector — and unlike a bolt-together system, this one cannot be quietly taken away if it turns out to be a problem.