[HLS]

I need help . I am going to built a ramp here at our offices soon and I need help because I am not sure yet what to do. I have a few questions and I hope you all can help me with them .

My ramp stone choice so for the wall is Pisa 2 by Unilock . My question about the wall is should it be angled to meet the slope of my ramp ? or could you just step the wall down and pack the ramp 411 crushed gravel and lay the pavers over that ?

Is Pisa 2 really the best choice for doing a ramp ?

If anyone has done a ramp any help you could give me or advice i would really like any help i could get .

-Josh -
HLs

[Pelican]

Most SRW blocks are designed to be installed level for the most strength. I have seen them on occasion follow the slope of the land on slight grades but haven't seen long term results.

I built one handicap ramp using Unilock, I built the wall level and stepped it down as it went. Your slope should be constant so the step down will be constant too and will not be unattractive.

You mention this is for a commercial application, be sure you check building codes regarding the slope; if memory serves me correctly, handicap ramps must have a 1/12 pitch or less. If you exceed this at the very least you'll be exposing yourself to liability concerns.

In my application I used Gardenstone (discontinued) as I was within it's limits. Pisa II will work well if the wall is higher or has a substantial load to it. This job has been in place for nearly 7 years and is still in great shape.

[Stonehenge]

Pelican - nice looking work.

HLS - what is the ramp for? Vehicles/loading? Or ADA?

Either way, putting any kind of slope on the wall would not be my first choice - as you can see from Pelican's work, it can look very nice building the walls by stepping down.

[Pelican]

Thanks Jeff!

I meant to mention in my post that with a sloped wall, your steps would be occurring sub-grade and would make an extremely difficult build.

[jwholden]

Pelican,

Your hardscaping abilitys just went up quite a few notches in my book!

Did you take that picture with a hot air ballon or helicopter?

[Pelican]

LOL

I put a step ladder in the back of my dump truck! It was the only way to get a good overall view of the project. I've taken pictures from the bucket of the skid steer too at full height to get a good shot.

At this job, the client wanted an accessibility ramp but didn't want the typical pressure treated type that screams HANDICAP ACCESS! The house is an old farm house built in the mid 1800s so I used traditional Unilock Holland but mixed in some charcoal to give it a slight rustic look fitting to that period.

[HLS]

Pelican , great work you really help me out by seeing that stepped down wall doesn't look bad like I thought it might .

thanks for your help

[HLS]

Jeff - the ramp is for ADA since our building currently don't have Handicap access .

I am friends with the head of code enforcement in my city so he came out and checked all my numbers already . Thank to everyone for there help .

Currently I am working on a half circle stairs for the front of my companies office and I am now having problems with it . I hope someone can help me out with this , my problem is the first riser is 4 feet out from the door and the second one is 2 feet out . My problem is that i am having problems figuring out the cuts on the second step . I am using Pisa II Tapered units for this . If anyone can help or has a picture or drawing of which stones in the 2nd row to cut and which to leave whole I could so use the help .

Sorry for all the question , these projects our my first few big stone projects .

[Bill Schwab]

HLS:

I would suggest tieing both sides together with geo grid so if any moisture gets trapped, the freeze won't push the sides apart. I would also recomend using a pinned system rather than channeled like Pisa 2 is. Versa lock or Keystone is what I would go with.

What is the radius of the stairs you are building? I had some cut lengths somewhere. Take a piece of 1/2" PVC and use it to make the front of the radius you need. Measure the distance across.

Drive two pieces of #4 rebar in the ground, the same distance across as the radius you measured. Then, take a 90° elbow on each end of the pipe, and slide the pipe over the rebar. Set your Pisa againts the pipe and evenly space the blocks. Mark where you need to cut, slide that block into place. Cut only one side for the entire run on the step. Write your measurements down so the next time you are going to make this type of project, you can put a guy on cutting so when the base guys are ready, all you need do is drop the block and go. You may have a quickie adjustment or two, but, that is what worked best for our crews.

Hope this helps!

Pelican:

That ramp looks great!

[Paul]

On ADA ramps we use Pisa II and install them like a seat wall. We glue each course and use grid behind them. then install the pavers or pour concrete. Running the units straight means reversing each course laid and splitting the backs off. This smooths each course out and you don't have any funny gaps at elevation changes.

[HLS]

Bill :
the radius of the stairs that I am building is 24 inches .

Paul :
Thanks for your help I am glad to hear someone else has used Pisa II on ADA ramps and how they did it .

[diginahole]

I suppose a 24" outside radius could be built with Pisa II but I wouldn't want to do it.

In order to make a 24" radius the back of each unit needs to be less than 4" wide and the fronts remain uncut. That will be the easy part. The fun begins trying to make an attractive coping.

[HLS]

An update on my problem . Thanks to everyones help I made my wall stepped down and i just got my plans for that wall approved by the building dept. today and I also broke ground today .

Thanks everyone for all your help .

-josh