Sometimes the whole problem is one door sill
A raised door sill, a sliding-door track or a single low step can stop a wheelchair as effectively as a flight of stairs - and a threshold ramp solves it for a tiny fraction of what a built ramp costs. Before anyone quotes you for a run of ramp, measure the actual obstacle. It is very often smaller than the conversation around it.
What is threshold ramp installation?
A threshold ramp is a short wedge that bridges a small rise - a raised door sill, a sliding-door track, a single low step at a garage or patio door. It sits on the floor or the ground rather than being built, and it is the correct answer far more often than the ramp industry lets on. If the obstacle at your door is a couple of inches rather than a couple of feet, this is the whole project, and it costs a small fraction of a constructed ramp.
Signs you need threshold ramp installation
- A wheelchair, rollator or scooter catches on the sill every single time it goes through the door
- The patio or sliding door has a raised track that stops the front casters dead
- There is exactly one low step between the garage floor and the house
- Interior doorways between rooms have small level changes that catch small front wheels
- A carer has to tip the chair back at every doorway, which is jarring for the person in it
- A shower or wet room has a small kerb the chair cannot cross
- The main entrance is already level and only the back or garage door is holding the household up
Seeing something not on this list? Browse wheelchair ramps problems by symptom →
How threshold ramp installation actually works
Measure the rise at the sill, precisely
Measure from the floor or the ground up to the highest point of the sill or track, and measure at both ends of the doorway - sills are often not level. Note whether the floor levels either side are the same too.
Watch forMeasuring at the middle only. A sill that is a quarter of an inch higher at one end will rock a rigid ramp and produce a lip on one side.
Measure the clear width, and where the door actually swings
The usable width when the door is fully open matters more than the frame size, and a threshold ramp must not stop the door closing. For an inward-opening door the ramp usually goes on the outside; for outward-opening, the reverse - and sliding doors are easier because nothing sweeps.
Watch forA ramp that fouls the door leaf or the weatherstrip. It gets discovered the first time somebody tries to lock up for the night.
Choose interior or exterior - they are genuinely different products
Interior ramps are usually solid rubber or aluminium, sit on a hard floor, and matter mostly for grip and staying put. Exterior ramps live in rain, snow and UV, need drainage and a slip-resistant surface, and must not trap water against the door.
Watch forAn interior rubber wedge used outdoors. It holds water underneath, freezes, and slides - which is exactly the failure you cannot afford at a doorway.
Keep the weather seal doing its job
The sill and its weatherstrip exist to keep water and draughts out. A well-chosen threshold ramp bridges the sill without pinning down the seal, without holding water against the door bottom, and without blocking any drainage channel in the track.
Watch forA ramp bedded in sealant across the drainage slots of a sliding-door track. Water then has nowhere to go except into the floor structure.
Fix it so it cannot move - or confirm it does not need fixing
Heavier rubber ramps often stay put by weight and friction. Lighter aluminium ones usually need fixing down. Either way, push it hard with a foot and with the chair before you accept it: a threshold ramp that shifts under load is worse than the sill it replaced.
Watch forA ramp that creeps a few millimetres each time it is used. Over a week it opens a gap at the sill and becomes a trip hazard for everyone else in the house.
Test it in both directions with the real equipment
Go in and out in the actual chair, and push it with a walker or a rollator too if that is how it will be used. Coming down over a sill is where a small wedge with too abrupt a lip makes itself known.
Watch forA ramp that works going in and jolts coming out. The two directions are not the same, particularly for a person self-propelling.
What does threshold ramp installation cost?
Threshold ramps are the cheapest thing in this whole category by a wide margin - a small stock item rather than a construction project, and often the entire solution where the obstacle is a sill or a single low step. Size, material and whether the sill needs a custom fit set the range. The Cost Guide has current figures.
See the full threshold ramp installation cost guide - by material, size and region →
If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →
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When threshold ramp installation is the wrong call
When saying yes is the wrong move:
- The rise is more than a small step. A wedge steep enough to bridge a big height change is a wedge nobody can control on the way down. Past a low step this becomes a run of ramp, not a threshold product.
- The doorway itself is too narrow. A threshold ramp solves the height and does nothing about width. If the chair will not pass through the opening, the money belongs at the door - offset hinges, a wider leaf, or a reframed opening.
- The floor beyond is not level either. Where there are two or three small changes in quick succession, individual wedges create a series of jolts. Relevelling the floor or the walkway is the better job.
- It would block the only exit route in a fire. Anything at a doorway that could shift, jam a door or catch a foot in the dark has to be assessed as an escape-route item for everyone in the house, not just the person using the chair.
- The sill is rotten or the door frame is failing. Bridging a decaying sill hides a repair that is only getting worse and more expensive. Fix the door first, then ramp it.
- The door cannot close over it. If the only ramp that fits stops the door latching or defeats the weather seal, this is a door-alteration project. Do not accept a house you cannot lock.
Types of threshold ramp installation
| Option | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Portable ramp setup | For a step rather than a sill |
| Ramp products and systems | What is available off the shelf |
| Universal design approaches | Level entries and threshold-free doors |
Can I do this myself?
Reasonable to DIY
- Measuring the sill height at both ends of the doorway and the clear width with the door fully open
- Choosing and buying an off-the-shelf rubber or aluminium threshold ramp for an interior doorway
- Positioning it, checking the door still closes and latches, and confirming the weather seal is not pinned down
- Fixing a light aluminium wedge down with the manufacturer's recommended fasteners on a solid floor
- Testing it in and out with the actual chair, walker or rollator before accepting it
- Checking every few weeks that it has not crept away from the sill and opened a gap
Call a licensed pro
- Anything where the rise has turned out to be a step or more - that is a built ramp, not a wedge
- Widening the doorway, reframing the opening or changing the door leaf to gain clear width
- Replacing or repairing a rotten sill, a failing threshold or a leaking sliding-door track
- Anything that involves altering the drainage of a sliding-door track or the flashing under a door
- Custom-fitting a ramp to an irregular or out-of-level sill on an exterior door in a wet climate
- Level changes at a fire-escape route, where getting it wrong affects everyone in the household
What to check when hiring for threshold ramp installation
- What is the sill height at both ends of the opening? Sills are frequently not level, and a rigid wedge on an uneven sill rocks. Two measurements, not one.
- Will the door still close, latch and lock over this? It is the failure that gets discovered at bedtime on the first day, and it is entirely avoidable by asking now.
- Is this ramp rated for outdoor use in our climate? Interior rubber wedges used outside hold water, freeze and slide. The product listing rarely makes the distinction clearly.
- Does it block the drainage in the door track? Sliding-door tracks drain deliberately. Sealing over the slots sends water into the floor structure instead of outside.
- How is it held in place, and can I try to shift it with my foot? A wedge that creeps opens a gap at the sill and becomes a trip hazard for the whole household.
- What is the clear width once it is in, and does the chair fit through? Height and width are separate problems. Solving one and assuming the other is the most common misstep at a doorway.
Threshold Ramp Installation near you
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Sources
Sources last checked
- ADA Standards for Accessible DesignU.S. Access Board / ADA.govRetrieved 2026-08-04Federal accessibility design standards referenced for ramps and entries.
- Occupational Employment and Wages — Construction TradesU.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRetrieved 2026-08-04Labor cost context for home-services trades nationally.
Sources for figures and claims on this page.
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