Estimate on extending the front porch?

Not that we have any money to do this, but forgetting money for the moment and talking about what would get me out of the house more, one thing that would help tremendously would be extending the front porch, maybe another 8 or 10 feet forward. Also raising it a couple of inches. This would allow me to get through my front door on my wheelchair without the need of a small ramp I have now.

Coming in with the ramp I need to get some speed on the chair... but the problem is I have less than 1 inch of clearance when I come in the door so I have to be damn near perfect every time or else I'll get hurt, possibly seriously. I'm also on a ramp that is only a couple inches wider on each side than my chair. It's dangerous. Frankly it restricts me warning to go in and out.

If I could easily get through the door without risk of injury I would surely spend more time outside- and therefore more time in my wheelchair.

I have not a clue what a project like this might cost. Anyone want to throw out any educated guesses?

This is a view from the front (before the wheelchair ramp.)

How high is the step from the porch to the door? If it's high enough, maybe a deck could be built over what's already there.

That seems like a United Way "Day of Caring" project. Homeowner buys materials and companies volunteer labor.

For some reason I think you are going to get boned on the permit fees.

why not build a deck with an "elevator" winch powered lift on it..

buy new house in the south with a nice porch

Justin said:

buy new house in the south with a nice porch

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with a sliding door leading to it.

kthrash said:

why not build a deck with an "elevator" winch powered lift on it..

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F that... just something mechanical to break. A ramp for the most part doesn't break.

frank_c said:

How high is the step from the porch to the door? If it's high enough, maybe a deck could be built over what's already there.

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4 or 5 inches. Could probably throw 2x4's down or something but I was thinking it would be concrete.

3325

Install a dumb waiter.

Jays89YJ said:

Install a transporter.

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Fixed

Give Hubjeep a call, I'm sure he has nothing else to do and would get right on it.

I know it's not what you want, but can you extend the front porch and move the ramp to the side of the porch? How much room is between you and the neighbor?

Would you try to incorporate a way to eliminate your metal ramps?

And I second maybe trying to find some organization that donates time/labor to projects like this. There's got to be something out there.

You could do it out of wood for a couple thousand dollars.

BirdOPrey5 said:

4 or 5 inches. Could probably throw 2x4's down or something but I was thinking it would be concrete.

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serfur1 said:

You could do it out of wood for a couple thousand dollars.

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That's what I'm thinking, bigger wood deck over what's there.

The step down from the door to my stoop is about the same height, been thinking of putting a bigger deck over the existing cinderblock and concrete. Wouldn't be a big step down any more. 2x6 joist lagged to the house and posts set in concrete for the rest.

Seriously, that would be an ideal project for a service organization, school group, etc. A good PR move for the volunteer labor, or experience for a vocational class. We'll get a list of projects for that UW project day and they usually all say homeowner has the materials, we donate time and bring our own tools.

This is NYC. Joe couldn't allow Hub to do it, much less a service organization because "it takes jobs away from union workers". As a result, the localized cost would be about $35k, done cheaply with wood, plywood, and linoleum.

Joe, visit Homewyse.com and perform the estimate for your area. That's a decent site.

I just built a flat 16x17 wood deck to connect to an above ground pool (45" off of the ground) with stairs and handrails and skirt all around for a lady for $4400. The material was $1950.

gcb said:

I know it's not what you want, but can you extend the front porch and move the ramp to the side of the porch? How much room is between you and the neighbor?

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abqtj said:

Would you try to incorporate a way to eliminate your metal ramps?

And I second maybe trying to find some organization that donates time/labor to projects like this. There's got to be something out there.

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The ramp is already on the property border, it can't be moved over any, in fact it really can't be moved at all. It takes the longest path around and every inch is needed to keep the slope practical.

Not looking to get rid of the ramp.

I would have serious concerns over making it out of wood , between my and my power chair it's almost 700 lbs in any given small area.