@BurrMan
> I wanted to try to give some inspiration. What kind of flooring? If you could start to consider something like Bamboo, you could attempt a design that leaves the entrance area of the floor with a variable support. Without an initial entrance support, the overhang floor slating would be flexible enough to ramp the 90 mm.... You could then have either a manual shoring truss, or even create something that is variable with a lever, for when you have guests that need to step there..... <
Strangely enough i did look into bamboo flooring. I decided against it as i don't have experience with working with it and i personally struggle with composites and laminates. Composites tend to hollow and are therefore weakened s soon as they are cut or drilled through and i have seen plenty of decks where the subframe was poorly designed resulting in the composite decking boards collapsing under a relatively light load. Laminates are far better, especially if you have a relatively consistent weather system. I am in the midlands of the UK and our weather tends to be extremes of wet and cold with long hot spells and somewhat storm force winds, so again where the laminates are cut, you can't guarantee there are no pores or gaps in the sandwich layers and the ends where they have been cut to size tend to de-laminate over time where moisture has gained entrance.
Love the idea of having a lift type system and would certainly have considered it for larger raise. And the idea of a weight based ramp is good too. My wife's weight is not the issue, her spasticity burns calories like you would never know, my weight on the other hand is more drastic - lol
@Eric> Hi Martin ..
A ramp by all means ... even a fairly steep ramp for a short distance will be a lot easier over time than a step you have to wrestle with.
Looks good, by the way. <
Agreed - A little ramping force would make the tilting of the chair a lot easier on my elbows and would reduce metal fatigue on the handle mounts which again because of my weight is an issue. I hate wobbly wheelchairs and the aluminium one i invested in has only been used a few times (well under 50 trips) and the handles are already loose and wobbly and tightening them up don't really help for any length of time. Poor design from the manufacturers and poor choice by me, but for no it suffices and enables us to use normal transportation rather than ambulances, which is what we have to use with her super chair that works on the tilt in space principles and is a far more sturdy construction and is actually heavier than my wife!
@BlindFoldJump> This is so exciting, Im glad I found this thread!
Wish you all the best on your project <
I am a garden designer by trade so this is my bread and butter job, or at least was. It's staggering that in all the years of garden design i have done, I have never had to design a garden space for a severely disabled person so this side of the design work has been a massive learning curve for me. Regulations on ramps and what are acceptable slope ratios, materials and their finishes, rough, smooth, hardness, softness etc etc. Every part has to be thought out and it massively slows things down. This is where MoI comes into its own though. Its speedy interface and workflow makes concept drawings a lot more easy than other CAD software i have, and the fast 3D viewport is an invaluable asset when visualising things. Even if models become heavy you can adjust the meshing angle and get the speed back.
My wife's prognosis is not good, 93% of all survivors of her type of acquired brain injury do not survive more than five years, in two days time it will be her 4th year of survival and it fills me with fear, but if she doesn't make it to the magic 6th year then at least i will be able to design garden spaces for residential care or private homes that are occupied by disabled persons. MoI again has made this a possibility for my future and it will most definitely remain in my software tool-bag even if i don't return to being garden designer.
Thanks for your wishes, and I wish you all the best too
Martin Spencer-Ford
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