My storage shed is similarly raised because that area floods in the spring. I hinged a ramp to the door sill which folds upwards against the sliding doors and locks to both of them with a chain. A 2x4 below the door supports the ramp's framework when it's down. I installed the ramp first, then jacked the 2x4 up under it to take the weight off the hinges and lagged it in place.
When I want the shed closed but quick to open I latch the chain with a snap link instead of the padlock. jsw
That hinged ramp is an idea I had not thought of. I have a small trailer with a big generator I park behind where the ramp would lay, so I need to get the ramp out of the way any time I might need the generator. If I build it removable, then I just have one more item that I need to find a place to store it. Mikek
When I was building theatre scenery I learned a lot of good uses for hinges. We knocked out the pins and replaced them with undersized nails or L-shaped wire to hold large assemblies together on stage, then quickly strike them for transport. Casters were mounted on strips that hinged to the bottom of heavy pieces so we could flip the caster plate under them with a toe to move or out to sit solidly. I put a set like that on my table saw. It works well for items like the saw that you can lift to flip the plate. Things we couldn't tilt or lift had wider plates that could be pushed down on the unhinged edge to force the casters down and raise the load.
I hinged the stairs to my deck, with a support under the hinges like the ramp, and raise it to clean out the leaves. The 4' roof extension that overhangs the deck is hinged to the house and drops vertical when I need to work on it, becoming a simple stepladder job. The posts supporting its outer edge are hinged to the deck railing and the roof beam. To lower the roof I pull the pins from the top hinges, brace up the roof slightly and fold the posts down out of the way, then let the roof swing down. jsw
I made a 6' ramp 1' wide off my back deck so my arthritic dog would not hav e to climb up and down the 3 stairs, which were giving him trouble. It is a simple ladder-frame covered in deck boards and with trim boards that stic k up slightly at the sides to keep feet from sliding off. It rests on the ground at one end, and on the next-to-top stair on the other, at a right an gle to the stairs. There is a simple chunk of 2x4 cleat nailed to the stai r which the frame of the ramp sits over. If I need access to something, su ch as the septic, I just pick up and move the ramp.
When the dog passed and I was about to put the ramp away, my wife said "don 't move that." We find ourselves still using it more than the stairs. I e ven use it to bring in firewood with the wheelbarrow in the winter (though the sharp turn at the top is a little tricky).
--Glenn Lyford
I made a 6' ramp 1' wide off my back deck so my arthritic dog would not have to climb up and down the 3 stairs, which were giving him trouble. It is a simple ladder-frame covered in deck boards and with trim boards that stick up slightly at the sides to keep feet from sliding off. It rests on the ground at one end, and on the next-to-top stair on the other, at a right angle to the stairs. There is a simple chunk of 2x4 cleat nailed to the stair which the frame of the ramp sits over. If I need access to something, such as the septic, I just pick up and move the ramp.
When the dog passed and I was about to put the ramp away, my wife said "don't move that." We find ourselves still using it more than the stairs. I even use it to bring in firewood with the wheelbarrow in the winter (though the sharp turn at the top is a little tricky).
--Glenn Lyford
A couple of outdoor hinge uses I didn't mention have stainless steel leaves joined by pins made from stainless TIG rod. The stationary ones have L-shaped pins, the mobile hinges on the tailgate of my trailer have pins bent around and latched like blanket pins so they won't vibrate loose. Before bending the wire I point it in the lathe to make alignment easier. jsw
Similar problem here, but it's about 4 feet of stairs.
I think making a ramp is the only solution. A MIG welder (in my case) and cylinder are to heavy to pull up concrete stairs even with gliders on a cart, plus the balance would be wonky no matter how it's arranged. All the storebought carts and ones people make at home look great, if you're on a flat floor, and not going up and down and across busted up concrete slabs.
I've been eying the narrow solid wheels that Magliner uses on their hand trucks. A set of them costs more than an entire HF welder cart, but what's the fun of just buying one?
What's a good way to construct a ramp so it doesn't slip off the top stair when you push the load onto it to go down again? The typical dock plate or truck ramp construction doesn't work for stairs unless you can somehow bend the plate or can cut it up and weld it back at an angle and then support it from the top.
On mine, I have a cleat on the top surface of the stair that the structure of the ramp surrounds, so the weight of the ramp is sitting on the stair, b ut the two long stringers trap either end of the cleat, with about a 1/4" s lack, and two of the crossbars trap it the other way.
I can understand not wanting to deliberately put in trip hazards, so anothe r way assuming the ramp is to be parallel to the stairs might be to bolt a piece of flat bar on the riser face, with spacers to leave maybe 1/2" slack . Then on the bottom of the ramp, bolt on a couple of chunks of angle that would drop into that gap, short enough to fit between your fasteners. Up to you whether you want to have that support the top of the ramp, or have t he weight rest on the stair above or below and this setup just used to keep it from sliding around (probably the better option).
There are likely a whole slew of similar schemes, from holes in the stair t read that a long bolt end (or lag with the head cut off) could drop into, e tc. etc. Even eye bolts into some part of the stair structure and the ramp pulled toward each other with ratchet straps.
--Glenn Lyford
I'm going to use the wheels from a high-wheel lawn mower when I get a roundtuit and build mine . Free from a friend that scrapped the rest of the mower .
A friend of mine has a basement shop, he installed a short I beam over the stairs and also built a platform to sit over the top of the stairs. This lets him move a heavy item through the garage onto the platform at the top of the stairs, lift it with a chain hoist, roll it to the other end and lower it onto the basement floor, then flip the platform out of the way and go down the stairs to unhook the load.
However you do it, you need a solid connection to that top stair such as a couple bolts or pins through it.
Maybe screw fold-down D rings to the stringers, concealed behind flaps in the carpet runner? If the steps are open and uncarpeted you could put the rings under the treads.
The tiedown D rings in the back of my car are hidden behind slits in the edges of the carpeting. jsw
Just recently I saw someone suggesting hinges with a removable pin. Just pull the pin and the hinges comes apart. Mikek
If making a ramp over existing stairs, make the locking fixture for the ramp on the last step before the top landing. That way you won't have a trip hazard.
Steve
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