A Wheelchair Accessible Vegetable Garden

Posted By Gary Renick on July 11, 2009


In these hard economic times everyone is trying to think of ways to save money. One of the ways we can save money is to grow some of our own food. The home vegetable garden is not new, in fact it was very popular in World War II. In those days they were called victory gardens, a term that has become popular again today. When we think of a home garden we usually think of a patch of ground, that is turned over, enriched with compost, and fertilized, where we plant our seeds. This is still true, accept when we think of a wheelchair accessible garden.

 

A wheelchair accessible garden is going to take a little more preparation than the conventional garden. The conventional garden can be anywhere from a 10 ft. x 10 ft. plot to hundreds of square feet. It just depends on how much you want to grow. An accessible garden can be just as large, but it needs to broken down into 3 foot square raised plots. They could just as well be 3 ft. diameter circular raised plots. The plots are raised to allow them to be tended from a seated position. Being raised also makes it easy for anyone who has difficulty bending or stooping to tend to the garden. The small plot size also makes it convenient for separating crops into individual plots.

 

You can raise the beds anywhere from 18 inches to table top height. There are several different methods that can be used to raise your beds. You can construct platforms, for the beds to sit upon, using lumber, cement blocks, or even metal saw horses purchased from your local hardware store. The method I prefer to use, and the one I used in my own yard, is stackable retaining wall blocks. They just stack together without cement and lock together one to the other very securely. They are durable and long lasting. They are also visually pleasing to look at. Once the beds are created you simply fill them with bagged soil or your own compost. Then you can plant your seed or transplants and tend as usual.

 

This method can be adapted to all of the landscaping around a residence. The final requirement for accessibility is creating hard paths to and within the garden. This can be as simple as compressed sand and pea gravel or as elaborate as a brick or a concrete paver. Whatever method you choose the end result will be the same, an accessible garden that everyone can enjoy.

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A Door Is A Door Or Is It

Posted By Gary Renick on May 9, 2009


Most people do not pay much attention to the doors they pass through. They go through so many everyday. Big doors, small doors, it really does not matter much to them. A door is a door, unless it has to be accessible. To the disabled a door is not a door, it must be accessible for them to use it.

 

When you look at a door from a wheelchair, you have to pay attention to every door that you come. Not all doors are equal to that person. If it is to narrow they cannot pass. If it has a high threshold they cannot pass. If it has a door knob their hands cannot grasp they cannot pass. If it is to hard to open they cannot pass. If it opens the wrong way or there is not enough space for it to open they cannot pass.

 

So what does make a door accessible? First it must be 36 inches wide or more. It should have a lever type door knob, for individuals with limited use of their hands. They only need to hook their hand around the lever, push down, and pull to open the door. It should take eight pounds or less force to open the door. The threshold should be flat or what is known as a zero height threshold. And the door should have an automatic closure device. To simplify even further an automatic opening mechanism could be installed on the door. The access buttons for such a device need to be at the proper height for a wheelchair user to easily operate them.

 

When speaking of an accessible door, it does not apply only to entry doors. Any door that allows access to a space must meet the minimum requirements of an accessible door. Even an opening, without a door, must be 36 inches or more wide. Therefore in order for a dwelling or building to be accessible all doors must at least be 36 inches wide or more, have lever type door knob, and take eight pounds or less force to open.

 

I invite you ton try this little experiment the next time you are out. Look at every door a bit more carefully as you pass through it. Ask yourself, is this door accessible? The disabled do it everyday. The results will surprise you

 

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I Was Hit By The Flu

Posted By Gary Renick on May 9, 2009


Sorry for my absence from the blogosphere for the last week, but the flu got me. I have tried to write this last week a little. I did get one post done which I will post right after this. I hope that all of you are okay and not experiencing the flu. But if you are I hope that you feel better soon. God Bless you all.

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Building a Wooden Wheelchair Ramp The Things You Need to Know

Posted By Gary Renick on April 30, 2009


 

As any good Webmaster will do, I am constantly checking and analyzing my site to find ways to improve it. One of the statistics that is gathered are  keyword search phrases. I have recently notice a great deal of interest in information on building wooden wheelchair ramps. While I recently wrote an article entitled “Ramp Building 101” that covered the building of concrete ramps here at my own residence. So I thought I would cover building a wooden wheelchair ramp.  I have in the past built several wooden ramps.

 

Wooden ramps come in a wide range of sizes and materials. So we will cover the general rules you must follow in order to build a sturdy and most importantly safe wooden wheelchair ramp. I say most of all safe because I have seen and even used some wooden ramps that to my mind were more dangerous than not having a ramp. There are several steps you must take in order to build a safe and sturdy wooden ramp.

 

First of all ask yourself do I really want to build a wooden ramp here or would it be better to use concrete here. Or maybe even some other material such as steel or wrought iron. In general if you are building a structure that could be considered temporary, such as for a modular home in a modular home park, then by all means use wood. It is lighter and if built properly can be moved with the modular home. An older home that is above grade with a crawl space or basement is another good candidate for a wooden ramp. However if you need to just get past a raised threshold on a home with slab construction then concrete is less expensive and much safer than building a wooden ramp. So always ask yourself first is a wooden ramp my best choice for this project.

 

Next we need to examine our site and decide what we are going to do before we begin. We must have a plan. The most common situations where you would use a wooden ramp involve trying to overcome a set of stair or maybe even more than one. You have to keep in mind the formula for determining the grade or angle of your ramp which is 1:12 or for every 1” of rise you need 12” of run or length. Also that every 30” of rise requires a landing at least 60” long. As you can see a 36” rise  would require a ramp that is 46 feet long if it went in a straight line. Rarely would we have that much room to build a ramp. So a series of shorter ramps are usually built in a switchback style with a 5′ x 6′ landing at the end of each run. So as you can see it will always pay to have a plan before you start.

 

Okay we’ve looked at whether or not we need a wooden ramp or not. And we have our plan all laid out as to how we are going to build it. Now we must consider what we are going make our ramp out of. Now I know you’re saying “Wait a minute I thought we were building a wood ramp” Yes we are, but you can’t just use any old wood. We want pressure treated outdoor lumber. We will need 6”x6” post and  2” x 4”s and outdoor grade plywood for the roadway or 1” x 4”s. We will need stainless steel or galvanized carriage bolts and screws. I do not advise using nails to construct a wheelchair ramp. A  wheelchair  ramp is used too much and there is more stress than simple nailed construction can take. You will also need round footing forms and post brackets.

 

The tools you will need are very basic. Since you would normally build a wheelchair ramp on site you will not be using any shop tools. You will need a hand saw or circular saw. A drill with a 1/2” bit to drill holes for the carriage bolts. A ratchet  to tighten the nuts. A tape measure ,a carpenters square, level, and cordless drill driver are other tools you will need. You will also need a post hole digger and a shovel for the footing work.

 

You begin your construction with the foundation. They say everything you do must have a good foundation. Whether you are starting new business or building a house you must start with a good foundation. Any structure is only as good as it’s foundation. So we take special care with the footings  of our wheelchair ramp. They should  be place every six feet forming a 6′ x 4′ rectangle with a post bracket embedded in the top.

 

As we can see building a wooden wheelchair ramp is not a simple undertaking. It is however within the skill level of the average do-it-yourself builder. And while I wrote an article covering the building of a concrete ramp it was a rather simple threshold ramp you would encounter in typical slab construction home. I would not however recommend a concrete ramp project of the scale I have just described for the do-it-yourself builder unless you have prior experience with concrete projects of this scale.

 

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What is an Accessible Apartment and What It Is Not

Posted By Gary Renick on April 29, 2009


For most of my early adult life I lived in apartments. Every one of these apartments claimed to be handicap accessible. They all proudly displayed the wheelchair symbol on their ads and signs. However when asked what made the apartment accessible the answer was pretty much the same. They would tell you it was near a handicap parking space and ramp or they would provide a handicap or reserve space in front of any ground floor unit and even provide a ramp. Except for two apartments I lived in that was all the accessible features you had. An since there are no standards that have to be met that was all the apartment owner had to provide and they really did not have to provide that. As far as I know there are no codes that an apartment complex must follow in order to display the handicap symbol in the ads or signs. Now it needs to be understood that you are allowed to modify an apartment so that it is accessible. But it is at your own expense and you must return the apartment to its original condition when you move out. Also apartment complexes built using government funds must provide as many ground floor accessible units as they have handicap parking spaces. However this not strictly enforced.

 

Now that we have talked about what an accessible apartment is and is not, let’s talk about what it should be. First barrier free access should be provided from where ever the handicap parking space is to the accessible unit. It is just as easy to make all approaches to all apartments barrier free. Accessible units should have zero thresholds and either automatic door openers or self closing entry doors. They would have an open floor plan. All entrances to rooms would be 3′-0” wide. The kitchen would also accessible with lower counters and knee space at the sink and cook top. There would tile or hardwood on the floors, not carpet. And of course the bathroom would have grab bars, a accessible shower or tub, the right height toilet, turnaround space, and knee space under the sink.

 

Now you might be asking yourself why these conditions don’t exist for the most part I really don’t know for sure, but I have been told by complex owners that it would be expensive to convert existing units to meet this requirement and also these units could only be rentable to the handicapped and if there were no handicapped to rent the units they would just sit empty. While I understand the first argument I cannot condone it as a good reason not to provide the units. As for the second excuse I feel if these units were provided there would be more than enough disabled individuals to keep them occupied. President Obama wants to provide communities that will allow the disabled to be mainstreamed into society rather than separated from it. I think if we are going to help the President accomplish this goal we can no longer suffer in silence. We must speak out now.

 

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My passion and my mission is to help the disabled of the world remove the barriers that keep them from the freedom of mobility that they are entitled to.


About the author

Gary Renick

55 year old retired engineer. Born in Biloxi MS. Currently live in The Woodlands, Texas with my wife Kim and my two kids Madison and Eli
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