Handrails for Wheelchair Ramps: Reasons to Choose Aluminum

If you need to make your home or commercial building more accessible for wheelchair users, installing a wheelchair ramp is a simple and economical solution. However, to make your wheelchair ramp useable by people with varying levels of disability, it must also be fitted with sturdy handrails.

Wheelchair ramp handrails provide convenient handholds and also prevent wheelchair users from falling off the edges of the ramp. If you install a wheelchair ramp outside a commercial building, installing suitable handrails may also be a legal requirement, and improper handrails can leave your business open to lawsuits and other enforcement actions.

Why Choose Aluminum Handrails For Your Wheelchair Ramp?
If you need railings for a new wheelchair ramp, aluminum ramp railings are an excellent choice. The unique properties of aluminum give aluminum wheelchair ramp handrails numerous advantages over steel, plastic, or timber handrails. Here are just some of the benefits of choosing aluminum handrails for wheelchair ramps.

Exceptional Durability
Most wheelchair ramps are located in outdoor locations that receive little or no shelter from the elements. Wheelchair ramp handrails can also be badly damaged by collisions with heavy, motorized wheelchairs. Any wheelchair ramp handrail must therefore be tough and durable, and aluminum handrails are more than up to the task.

Unlike steel and wrought iron railings, aluminum handrails are almost completely immune to rust and corrosion. They do not require anti-rust surface coatings, such as paints or galvanized coatings. Instead, aluminum creates a surface layer of aluminum oxide when it comes into contact with air, which serves as an effective, natural anti-rust coating.

Aluminum is also highly resistant to physical impacts and will shrug off most collisions without any serious damage. If your aluminum handrails do suffer damage, they can be repaired relatively quickly and cheaply by an aluminum welding and weld repair service.

This combination of physical toughness and rust resistance makes aluminum handrails ideal for both outdoor and indoor wheelchair ramps. As long as your handrails are fabricated by a trustworthy metal fabrication service, you can expect them to last for years with very little maintenance required.

Easy ADA Compliance
The Americans With Disabilities Act places strict regulations on how wheelchair ramp railings should be designed and installed. To comply with these regulations, your handrails must provide a smooth, uninterrupted gripping surface, and must also run continuously for the entire length of the ramp. The full text of the regulations is available here.

Following these regulations is vital if your ramp services a commercial building, and choosing aluminum handrails makes it easy to comply with these regulations.

Because aluminum can be welded, it is much easier to create a smooth, continuous gripping surface with aluminum than it is with plastic or wooden handrails. Aluminum also has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, so aluminum handrails will require less obstructive structural support columns than rails made from weaker materials.

Choosing aluminum is also the best option for long-term ADA compliance. After extended use, the gripping surfaces of timber and plastic railings can become rough and splintered, making them unsafe to use. Steel railings can fall victim to rust, leading to similar problems. By contrast, the gripping surfaces of aluminum handrails will remain smooth and safe indefinitely.

Attractive Looks
A steel or concrete wheelchair ramp may look a little utilitarian by itself, so adding some attractive handrails can also reduce the negative visual impact of your ramp. Aluminum handrails can be a classy and sophisticated addition to any wheelchair ramp, especially if you choose a custom design created by an aluminum fabrication service.

Chromed or brushed aluminum railings blend in nicely with the minimalist architecture of many modern commercial buildings. If you want your ramp railings to be more vibrant, they can be painted or powder coated in a wide variety of vivid and long-lasting colors - ideal for wheelchair ramps outside schools. Even uncoated aluminum railings can be surprisingly attractive.

Contact the aluminum welding and fabrication experts at Sam's Welding Inc. if you have more questions about aluminum handrails.