Wheelchair Accessible Construction

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Wheelchair Accessible Construction

Manual Wheelchairs And Construction: Simple Accessibility Tips

If you are active in construction these days, you know about the necessity of wheelchair accessible construction. Many people are disabled, and they deserve to have full access to any building without trouble. Although it's easy to agree with this, it can be somewhat more difficult to actually make buildings accessible. It is, however, definitely worth the effort.

Why should you bother with accessibility? From a business perspective, better accessibility means more people can get to your location, and you will likely make more money. A much more convincing argument, however, is that it is just a good thing to do. You don't want to put yourself in the position of having to exclude a group of people just based on their disability. That is both unadvisable and potentially a source of lawsuits.

When researching wheelchairs, you will find that there are two kinds of wheelchairs: manual wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs. With manual wheelchairs, the user propels the wheelchair himself or herself. The electric variety, however, is motorized and easier to use. Luckily, adjustments to accessibility are beneficial to users of both kinds.

The simplest way to improve accessibility to your building is to install wheelchair ramps. Needless to say, it is virtually impossible to get a wheelchair up stairs. This seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how many busy buildings don't have any wheelchair ramps whatsoever. Don't be one of them. Put in a few ramps. These should be near stairs and any other elevated areas that a wheelchair would not be able to reach.

Ramps, however, are not the only way to make a building accessible. There are many improvement ideas that are generally classified under the term "easy access." These include wide doorways to allow both electric and manual wheelchairs to pass easily, larger elevators to accommodate wheelchair users, and floors without cumbersome carpeting that can slow a wheelchair down.

For more information on how to make your business more accessible, contact your state or provincial government for their guidelines. They should be able to let you know what options are available to you as well as provide advise and specifications for installing accessibility features.

All of these may seem like a lot of work, but if you start considering accessibility from the beginning of your construction work, it will be much simpler than going back at the end and making the adjustments after everything is set. It may cost slightly more and take more time, but clients who use electric and manual wheelchairs will thank you.