Hi Tom
My name is Steven and I am from Ireland. I’m a metal fabricator, not qualified though, but I have worked for 3 years with steel. The first place I worked was with a company making helicopter simulators for 2 years. The second job I had was making different things but I never made a handrail for a wheelchair ramp.
I just wanted to get your advice on a hand rail for a ramp. I wanted to know how I should measure the angle of the slope for the ramp? And also would I need to cut the posts each the same length that go inside of the handle part and the lower rail that will be above the ramp itself? How would I measure the length of the square tube at the angle for the post because each end cut will be cut at an angle so it can be welded to the upright posts at the start of the ramp and at the top if the ramp. I’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind Regards
Steven

Steve from Ireland sent the above email full of questions concerning building a handicap ramp. I posted a short video of Tom giving a few tips on how to build a metal handrail for a sloped sidewalk or ramp. One thing to keep in mind is to contact a local building official to investigate any building codes that are required in your area. Another key is to make sure you start with a well poured ramp. Sometimes you have to deal with an existing concrete ramp, but if you are starting from ground zero, make sure the ramp is smooth and even to begin with. A good ramp will allow you to compute your metal handrail by rise and run method. You can actually take the measurement, duplicate the angle and draw out the handrail on your shop floor. If the ramp has a dip or two in it, use a strait two by four or a piece of square tube, lay it on the ramp, put an angle finder on it and find the exact angle. This gives you the angle of all the posts. All vertical metal posts should be level, or plumb. The top handrail can be made out of one piece of metal tube. The bottom bumper rails can be cut out to fit between the individual vertical metal posts. Additional guardrail should be added if local code dictates.

Thanks for the question Steve and best of luck with your project!

It is that time of year again when our attention turns to the outdoors and the curb appeal of our homes. One easy way to give your front porch a quick face lift is to add or replace an outdoor stair rail.
A few things to keep in mind, along with design, have to do with observing city and county codes.
Residential properties generally have to have at least one handrail along a flight of stairs. The height of the handrail should be mounted somewhere between 34″ and 38″ above all of the stair nosing.
The grip-able area of the handrail should measure between 1 1/4″ and 2 1/4″.
If the handrail is to be hung along an existing wall, like the example in the photos, a 1 1/2″ clearance between any projection in the wall and the handrail should be observed. Sometimes this gets a bit tricky if the wall has an uneven surface like stone.

Tom built this handrail to fit a new home. The handrail needed to bolt to a stone faced wall at the top and also bolt to a stone faced concrete planter at the bottom of the stairs. Tom used a lag screw that fit into the metal railing bracket and sunk it through the stone and wall behind. The bottom bracket was fastened using a concrete anchor through the stone into the concrete planter underneath. Tom used 1 1/2″ .109 wall E.W. round tubing bent using a Shop Outfitters Universal Fabricator.

Tom ordered floor anchor pots from Auto Body Tool Mart. Normally, an anchor pot is installed into an existing concrete floor. If that is the case, the concrete needs to be core drilled before installing the floor anchor pot. This article will describe how Tom poured floor anchor pots into the concrete slab he formed for his new building addition.
Tom began by welding rebar onto the anchor pot. Tom then placed the anchor pots so they were flush with the finished grade of the concrete floor. Wet concrete was poured around the anchor pots to secure them into the floor. Blue tape was used to cover the anchor pot. The tape served to protect the anchor pot as well as aid in finding the pots after the concrete floor was dry.
Anchor pots are used regularly for chaining cars to the floor to help do body work. They can also be used to help straighten axles.

One great way to save money and boost the look of your home in any kind of economy is to replace carpet yourself. Tom usually replaces living room carpet about every 3-5 years. The living room is heavy used in the Gabriel household and it is directly adjacent to Tom’s busy shop area. It is an agreement that Tom keeps with his wife (me) faithfully. We thought we’d show everyone how easy and inexpensive it really is to give any room a fresh new look.
Home improvement stores, like Home Depot or Lowes, carry large rolls of various types of flooring. The first step in selecting a new carpet is to find one with the style and feel you like. It is important to take note of the weight of carpet on the small tags that label each roll, the higher the weight, the better. It is also a good idea to visit the store before a trip to actually purchase the carpet and pick up small samples to bring home and place in the area you are re-carpeting to see if it matches existing trim, paint, furniture, etc. Measure out the entire area to establish square footage needed. Most carpet rolls come in either twelve foot or fourteen foot lengths.
We selected a thirty-five weight carpet from Home Depot call “Sand Dollar”. It has a light base with various shades of brown speckled through out. It came on a twelve foot roll.
The first step in replacing carpet is to remove the existing carpet. If the carpet pad underneath is still good, you can simply vacuum the pad using the one of the higher setting on your vacuum cleaner. You can also take the hose attachment and clean around existing baseboard and tile. There should already be tack strip placed around the perimeter of your carpeted area. If not, tack strip can be picked up from Home Depot as well. The only other tools you may need are a chisel shaped tool used to tuck in the carpet edges, a carpet knife which looks like a box cutter but has a blade on each side, and a carpet knee kicker.
After cleaning off your area and gathering the needed tools, you can roll out the entire roll making sure to match up at least one corner and along one wall. Use the chisel tool to tuck the new carpet by wedging it under the baseboard and tile or other bordering flooring. Make sure to stretch out the carpet as you go using a carpet knee kicker. Carefully use a carpet blade knife to trim any carpet that does not fit the area. If your area is wider than the roll you purchased, then seaming your carpet will be necessary. Seaming carpet will be covered in another article.
Once again, purchasing and laying carpet yourself is a great way to save money and can be done in relatively little time.