I think it is a great idea as long as it is part of the design of the home an does not look like an afterthought.

Don't do a ramp that's not ADA compliant please, at least rise-wise. That means no more than a 1 in 12 rise. So if it's 3 feet of rise from driveway to doorstep, you'll need a 36 foot long ramp plus landings as you can only rise 30" at a run. Looks closer to 4 feet to me, so with the required landings, you could be looking at close to 60 feet of ramp.

Your first picture is much too steep and a dangerous mess; the second looks just a tad steep to me.

Everyone can use a ramp. Not everyone can use stairs. Regarding resale, as long as it looks nice, it will be a plus. And Joseph is right: ADA compliance is a must.

@JuneKnow our basement is a daylight basement, she has her own entrance and a full house setup, no need to go upstairs for anything.

@Joseph Corlett we still have some fill in to be done. It would be about 3 feet of elevation. It would definitely be designed to have an ADA appropriate slope. Can you explain more about the 30" rise to a run? I was hoping we could build this close to the house, with similar placement of a walkway and the landing be the front porch.

Please put some kind of railing on that ramp, and think about how slippery the surface you choose may be in wet weather. Things learned by dealing with family and friends with limited mobility. Nice you are thinking about it, as well as setting up a safe living situation for your grandmother.

That's pretty high, looks like after the top slab is done it will be over a 30" high porch, so guardrails galore plus handrails on the ramps. I would imagine living there she would not be using the front door very often if ever. If you have the room and the elevation change is not as high inside the garage, or to a back door of the garage, maybe a ramp would be better there.

Since this is a new build you can design the main floor and porch at a lower beginning height. That's the true answer to your dilemma.

40-50 feet to the front door from the driveway sounds a little forbidding to me..?...in bad weather won’t everyone find that inconvenient?...what about parties with many guests ..on Christmas...for instance?...maybe there are circumstances that alleviate these challenges?...as to granny i would be looking for interior stairs for her convenient access...all the proposals here would be more deterrent than convenient ?

What a bout the little chairs that attach to the wall on the stairs that can provide a ride up and down the steps ..in a warm safe convenient indoor setting

"But you can NOT do a straight run. That’s a safety hazard. It has to be broken up in sections, with intermediary 60” square turning platforms."

You can do a straight run, you just have to have a flat landing area every 30'. See 4.8.2 please.

You are getting a lot of truthful but hard to hear comments here about how complicated this is. Of course, your grandmother, and you, will want her to be able to join your family sometimes. It will bring you all joy. I think btydrvn is on point about exploring other ways for her to access the main house. If she can handle a few stairs, maybe that’s possible. How about through your garage? Do you have space to accommodate a couple of short but deep steps? I’m assuming you would always be present to help when she’s joining you?

For a long time, with cane or Walker, my parents found shallow steps well-spaced to be easier than a ramp. A ramp can be hard work for its entire run. When they used a wheelchair, we were glad they had designed a ramp into the exterior of the house. It wasn't the front walk, it came off the back raised patio and wrapped around the house. There was no step from the sliding door to the patio.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. We are still looking over the options, while a lot of the suggestions may be better they just aren't doable for our location. Our lowest point of access (besides her basement level) is our front door. I had suggested a stairlft and she just will not hear of it because she had a friend that parished from an accident on one and our 2200 sq ft main level did not provide room for an elevator. I really like the designs JuneKnow provided for the front ramp. I still have a little time to make my mind up. Thanks again and feel free to continue adding thoughts and ideas.

ADA does not apply to private residences; it's intended for buildings open to the public where someone in a wheelchair can use it without assistance.

I have a removable aluminum ramp with railings hidden by landscaping that is 21 ft long rising 3 ft. (1 : 7) from my driveway to the side of my front portico. It works fine for someone assisting a manual wheelchair or for unassisted motorized wheelchairs.

An ADA complaint ramp would have been 15 ft longer. None of the above example photos shows an ADA compliant ramp.

A local building with an ADA ramp.

You can just see the top of the handrail at my house.

Of course ADA doesn't apply to private residences with the possible exception of shared entryways to condos, however, that doesn't mean it isn't good building practice. It is.

Are there professionals in your area that can help with options on this topic specifically. Whose jobs it is to make homes more accessible.

@res2architect, that's very interesting. I think many of us (especially non-Americans like me) use ADA to mean "use best practices for accessibility". You're right that the solution should fit the need. If the resident does not need to negotiate the ramp by themselves, it makes sense to just implement the best solution that will fit the situation.

There's still something I'm missing . . .

It's stated as a "basement," no reference to a basement-level driveway or "walk-out" grading. Only stated as "daylight" which means a half-exposed wall of windows, and with a separate exterior entrance which means "walk-up" to grade. So at some point your grandmother has to go down stairs to get into her basement apartment. Why isn't that a concern? Isn't there also a stairway inside the house that leads to the basement? Why would she have to navigate outside up stairs, then walk at grade around to the front door, to then navigate only a ramp there?

Probably need to address grandma in the basement first.

For those wondering, the basement level has a covered carport with separate entrance, living area, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a utility room. She technically has no need to come to the main level but I do not want to leave her out. We have to have a sidewalk anyways on the main level. The total length of out home is 100 ft, so yes the front door is a bit of a walk from the driveway. She has a golf cart that she will utilize to come from the basement to the front of the house. We are in a rural area, so no professionals with this specialty.

Brandie May - If that really neat outdoor elevator will not do, why not go ahead and plan for your grandmother to drive her golf cart up into your driveway and/or your garage. Didn't you say, on the other thread, that there are two steps from the garage breezeway into the home? You can order something like THIS to get her over those steps. We utilized one when our daughter dislocated her hip. It's very light weight and could be easily moved out of the way when not in use. ;)

@Joseph Corlett, LLC,

You pointed folks to commercial code requirements. What governs the construction of a ramp for residential purposes is the local residential building code. Most residential codes are based on the International Residential Code (IRC.) The 2018 IRC section R311.8 gives the requirements for ramps.

To further clarify the ramp requirements for this situation:

The 1990 ADA is a federal civil rights law regulating access to all buildings open to the general public,

Access to private single family homes is regulated by state and local building codes the most common of which is the IRC that allows a ramp serving an egress door to have a slope of 1:12 and all other ramps to have a slope of 1:8.

There is an exception where 1:12 is "technically infeasible" because of "site constraints" for a ramp to slope 1:8.

The minimum ramp width is 36" and landings are required at the top and bottom, anywhere doors swing over a ramp and where ramps change directions. The minimum landing width perpendicular to the ramp slope is 36".

A 34" to 38" high handrail is required at not less than one side if the slope is steeper than 1:12.

Before you build a ramp talk to the local building department.

Thanks, RES2, for the clarification. There is plenty of misinformation passed around on houzz.com ADA requirements are among them.

"There is plenty of misinformation passed around on houzz.com ADA requirements are among them."

Charles:

Here is my first post on this thread:

"Don't do a ramp that's not ADA compliant please, at least rise-wise. That means no more than a 1 in 12 rise. So if it's 3 feet of rise from driveway to doorstep, you'll need a 36 foot long ramp plus landings as you can only rise 30" at a run. Looks closer to 4 feet to me, so with the required landings, you could be looking at close to 60 feet of ramp.

Your first picture is much too steep and a dangerous mess; the second looks just a tad steep to me."

My second post was a clarification for JuneKnow.

My third post was to agree with RES2 that the ADA is not required in most residential situations.

No where on this thread have I said that ADA standards are required for single family residences. Not a single place. I have not engaged in any "misinformation".

I stand by my position that ADA standards are good residential building practice. If you can make an argument that I'm wrong, please do so, however, you may not imply I've said things I have not.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC,

You pointed folks to something other than the applicable code for residential construction. Further you insisted that a straight run requires a landing every 30 ft. That's not required by the IRC even for a ramp serving an egress door.

The reason there are commercial codes and residential codes is that the occupancy and use of those structures is sufficiently different to warrant different requirements. I don't concur that ADA is a "best practice" for residential construction. Indeed imposing ADA requirements on residential construction would cause residential structures and the associated construction costs to be larger than they should be. For example, consider the need to install an ADA-compliant elevator in a home. Big elevator, big price tag--both larger than necessary in a residential application.

There are a lot of bogus interpretations of the ADA requirements online like the one posted earlier.

The ADA limit on a ramp length between landings is established by limiting the rise of the ramp per run to 30 inches. Rather than the 6 to 8 ft length in the posted diagram the rule effectively limits a 1:12 ramp length between landings to 30 ft and a 1:16 ramp length to 40 ft.

The ADA is a minimum standard for public buildings but if you are going to use it as a reference you should read the actual law and guard against being distracted from meeting the applicable state and local building codes.

Will any “outdoor” transport work in the winter?...i still think an indoor access will work best...for ..you ...as well as your grandmother...some of the possibilities sound more like a deterrent...than a convenience...i would even consider a different layout that would allow her to live separately but on the main level...such inconvenient access even sounds dangerous in an emergency

Charles:

Again, you don't get to put words into my mouth. Not once did I insist that the ADA be "imposed" on residential construction. I said that the ADA's standards for rise are good ones. They are.

In new construction, the comprehensiveness of the final design should be paramount balanced against cost effectiveness and local code requirements. Should the ramp be designed and built like the first picture to save money even if inspection approves it? Of course not. Should a home have an unnecessarily expensive elevator? No again.

You have made no arguments that the ADA's standards for rise are bad or inappropriate. At least you didn't bring up your usual irrelevant point that I'm in the sink replacement business. I'm sure that's coming.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC

I didn't put any words in your mouth. I stated that you had pointed folks (specifically, you provided a link) to a source that was not the residential building code. That's a statement of fact which you can verify by revisiting your earlier comment.

What governs construction of ramps in residential construction is the applicable residential code. If the 2018 IRC or equivalent is in use, it's in section R311.8

Unfortunately, a professional suggesting ADA as a design guideline for residential construction adds to the confusion which many houzzers have regarding the ADA. It simply doesn't apply to residential construction. If you'd like to promote use of ADA for residential construction, please at least qualify your comment.

Charles, please tell us why a 1 in 12 rise is a poor choice for a residential ramp. Thanks.

Anyone designing a ramp for a residential application will be well served to consult the pertinent requirements specified in the residential building code--against which the construction will be inspected. While there may be some overlap with other codes, there is more flexibility in the IRC than ADA regulations which apply to public buildings.

Could it be a serpentine run going back and forth through the steps? We are moving to a bungalow and the front entry is still not done- there is a rise of about three feet from the garage area.