Need a Lift!

When we built our home nearly 4 years ago, we had this ramp built to allow us to get Annie in the house.  But as she's continuing to grow, this ramp quickly became very difficult to get Annie up and down.  She weighs 50 lbs and her chair weighs about 85 lbs and this ramp is at a 12 degree angle--ADA compliance requires ramps to be less than 3 degrees.  We decided it was time for a lift!

BEFORE

 We are very blessed to live in a state that helps contribute to home modifications for children with disabilities.  It was a long process--about 4 months--but having this new lift in our garage has been, and will be, a tremendous blessing!  I used to have to wear sneakers on Sundays to prevent me from slipping as I got Annie up and down the ramp, then I'd change shoes in the car before heading to church.  Not anymore!  Hopefully this lift will also eliminate the strain on my knees I've been having lately.

AFTER

Although we had assistance with the lift and getting it installed, we were required to do all our own modifications of the decking to prepare it for a lift.  We had to have all our modifications made BEFORE we could get quotes on the lift, so we had to live temporarily with the ramp jutting straight out into the garage.  Here are pictures of the whole process and the work we did.

First we needed to remove the existing ramp, but we had to do it carefully so that we could re-attach it to use for a month or so before the lift would be installed.

After removing all the bolts securing it to the wall, we had to figure out how to pull apart TONS of nails in lots of metal brackets which secured the ramp to the decking.  The only way we could figure it out was to use our two car jacks to raise up the ramp and pull against the nails.

IT WORKED!!  Then we wedged a piece of wood between the ramp and decking where we loosened the nails at the bottom, so when we lowered the ramp, the nails at the top were loosened too.

Justin used a crowbar to then get the nails out and the brackets loosened even more.

Unfortunately, the crowbar slipped and hit Justin in the head.  It was just a small cut and didn't require any stitches, but Molly was extremely panicked by the large amounts of blood.  We're grateful the injury wasn't any worse!

We finally got the ramp off!!

In order for us to still access this side of the garage when cars are parked in the garage, we needed to extend the decking so we can build a new staircase next to the lift.  So we got that extension framed out and bolted to the house.

And completed it with the top.

Then we re-attached the ramp onto the new decking.  This ramp is only temporary while we have workers out to give us bids on the lift installation.  Suppliers claimed they wouldn't give us bids until the decking work was completed.  So we lived with the ramp like this for about a month while we worked to get bids.

Lexie and Molly were very helpful while Justin and I spent so much time working in the garage.  They created a water stand for us and made sure to keep our water cups full!

The final wood work was completed by the supplier.  They had to build rails on the decking in order for it to pass inspection and also insert the wood panel on the lift end for safety when using the lift.

Then the lift was installed!!!  But leaving it like this made it so we couldn't access our freezers or that side of the garage with cars parked inside, so we immediately began work to build a new staircase.

First we removed the ramp--it was much easier this time.

Then we started building the stairs and removing the big rails that the supplier built.

Justin working on the stairs and Jodi working on the railing.

All done!  Our finished staircase and new lift!

 

The gate at the top.

For safety, when the gate is open, it blocks off the new staircase so Annie can't accidentally get a wheel over the edge of the stairs.  The gate can only be opened when the lift is raised, and the lift won't operate if the gate is open.

 

All finished!  What a HUGE blessing!