Building a DIY Wheelchair Access Ramp at the Front Entrance

I built a ramp at our front entrance so a wheelchair can be rolled in and out for someone with limited mobility.
A few notes up front:

・This ramp isn’t designed for self-propelled use (it assumes a caregiver is pushing).
・It doesn’t comply with Japan’s Accessibility (Barrier-Free) Act.

Preparing the Lumber

For the deck (top) of the ramp I used cafe-ita planks — thick Japanese cedar boards sold for DIY furniture in home improvement stores.
I cut them to a width of 80 cm (about 31″).

For the support posts I picked up some cedar square stock at the home improvement store.

For the joists that hold the deck up, I rip-cut some 2×6 SPF lumber lengthwise.

Cut with a circular saw.

Staining

For indoor woodworking I usually go in this order:
assemble → finish
That way I can skip painting the parts that won’t be visible (lazy, but efficient).
For something used outdoors like this, though, I want every surface — including hidden ones — protected. So this time I went:
finish → assemble.

I used a water-based exterior wood stain. (The color at this stage is “Teak”, but I ended up repainting later — more on that below.)

Brushed it on.

And let it dry.

Assembly

I’ll start with the sloped section first.

Building the slope

I clamped the joists to the post and adjusted the angle.

With everything still clamped, I drilled a pilot hole with a cordless drill/driver,

then drove screws to lock it in place.
The screws are stainless-steel coarse-thread deck screws — the same kind commonly used for outdoor wood decks.
Stainless is essential here for outdoor corrosion resistance.

Here’s how the angle looks against the wall side.

I built up the opposite side the same way.
I used a spirit level on the boards as I went to make sure the deck stayed level side-to-side.

The deck surface is coming out flat across.

Laying out the deck planks.
I left about a 5 mm gap between each plank.

Then I screwed the deck planks down.
I used dedicated wood deck screws for this part.

I drove the screws home with an impact driver.

The top section is done for now.

Reinforcing the underside:
I sandwiched each post between joists for extra stiffness.

The bottom of the ramp has to meet the ground smoothly, so I cut the lower end at an angle, like this:

Like so — sitting cleanly on the ground.

Then I screwed down the deck planks the same way as before.

And the slope section is done.

Building the flat landing

At this stage there’s still no flat platform connecting the slope to the front door, so that’s what I built next.

The basic approach is the same as the slope.
First, cut the lumber to size and stain it.

Build the base frame like this:

Test-fitting the deck planks on top of the assembled base frame.

Looks good (still loose at this point — not screwed down yet).
I’ll lock it in.

Driving the deck screws with the impact driver.

One end ended up with a small gap, so I needed to fill it.

Cut a board with the circular saw,

and stained it.

Then screwed it onto the end. Done.

Reinforcing the underside.

I added joists to sandwich the legs from the inside as well.

Set it in place — done!

…or so I thought. The color came out a bit too bright for the surroundings, and it kind of stood out in a not-great way.

Re-staining and Adding the Step

Since this is right at the front door, I see it every day, and the color was bothering me.
So I decided to re-stain over the top, this time using a “Walnut” tone.

Top coat applied.
You can still see hints of the lighter undercoat in spots, but I’m calling it good enough.

For the small step in front of the ramp, I cheated and bought a ready-made one.

Setting it in place at the front of the ramp.
I’d like to DIY a proper step at some point in the future.

Finished

Done!

The slope is honestly pretty steep, and pushing a wheelchair up and down takes some effort. Ideally a longer ramp with a gentler grade would be better.
In our case the available space was limited, so this is what we ended up with.

I realize a wheelchair-access DIY ramp probably isn’t on most readers’ to-build lists…

…but the construction approach is very similar to building a wood deck.
I have an older article on building a 2×4 wood deck — if you’re new to deck building, that one pairs well with this:

→ DIY Wood Deck Built with 2×4 Lumber — Step-by-Step Guide