NDIS Access Ramp and Level Threshold for a Belmont Home
This project in Belmont gave an NDIS participant safe, step-free access into their own home from the backyard. The rear entry was the main door used day to day, but a set of concrete steps and an internal step at the back door made the journey unsafe and increasingly hard to manage.
The work was scoped by the participant’s occupational therapist after a long approval process. By the time we started, getting in and out of the house had become one of the harder parts of the day, so the build was planned to cause as little disruption as possible.
The Brief
The OT’s scope covered two connected problems. The first was the internal step between the hallway, the laundry and the rear external door. The second was the set of concrete steps outside that door, which the participant could no longer use safely.
The family had also considered a front ramp, but understood the NDIS would fund one access point. The rear was the better choice. It connected to the main living areas, the laundry and the backyard, and it sat off a quieter side of the property.
The scope of works
Inside the home, the floor between the hallway, the laundry and the rear external door was raised to remove the internal step. The new floor was finished in timber-look flooring that continues through the hallway and laundry, so the transition from the bedrooms through to the back door is now one continuous level surface.
Outside, the existing rear steps were removed. In their place, the team built a timber ramp running along the rear of the house from the back door down to a new concrete landing pad at ground level. The ramp has stainless steel handrails on both sides and timber balustrade infill below the rail.
The landing pad ties into the existing concrete and paving in the backyard, so once the participant is off the ramp they have a flat, hard surface to move across to the rest of the yard.
Design and material choices
Inside the home, the floor between the hallway, the laundry and the rear external door was raised to remove the internal step. The new floor was finished in timber-look flooring that continues through the hallway and laundry, so the transition from the bedrooms through to the back door is now one continuous level surface.
Outside, the existing rear steps were removed. In their place, the team built a timber ramp running along the rear of the house from the back door down to a new concrete landing pad at ground level. The ramp has stainless steel handrails on both sides and timber balustrade infill below the rail.
The landing pad ties into the existing concrete and paving in the backyard, so once the participant is off the ramp they have a flat, hard surface to move across to the rest of the yard.
Challenges and How We Solved Them
The biggest challenge was the change in level. The rear door sat well above the external ground, and the internal hallway sat above the laundry. To make the whole journey step-free, the build had to solve both at once.
Inside, the floor was packed up to match the height of the external door threshold, and the new flooring was laid across the whole zone so there was no edge to catch. The laundry stayed fully functional through the work.
Outside, the ramp was set out to meet the required gradient over the available run along the side of the house. The handrails were positioned so the participant has continuous support from the back door all the way down to the landing pad, with no break in grip part-way through.
Working on a weatherboard home in Belmont also meant detailing the connection between the ramp and the house carefully so water runs away from the building and the cladding stays protected.
The Result
The participant can now leave the house, cross the deck, walk or roll down the ramp and step onto the concrete pad without negotiating a single step. The internal threshold is gone. The rear door opens onto a flat deck, the deck flows onto the ramp, and the ramp flows onto the yard.
The finished build sits naturally against the back of the home. From the yard it reads as a deck and ramp, not a clinical fit-out. From inside, the house simply feels easier to live in.
A note for other Belmont households
If you live in Belmont, Marshall, Whittington or East Geelong and you are looking at access modifications, the path of travel matters as much as the ramp itself. The best access ramp is the one that connects the door someone actually uses to the part of the yard they actually need to reach, with the right gradient and handrail support the whole way.
An OT will scope the access need. A builder experienced in NDIS work will plan the route, the levels and the connection points so the finished build is safe, durable and worth the wait.
Planning a Home Modification in Belmont or Victoria?
If you are planning an NDIS access ramp or step-free entry in Belmont or the surrounding Geelong suburbs, get in touch with the PB Builds team to arrange a site visit with your OT or support coordinator.
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