How to Build a Ramp for a Deck

Make your deck more accessible by installing a ramp or flat stairs. Here's how to do it.

Updated on January 4, 2023

Total Time: 12 hours
Skill Level: Intermediate

An access ramp could be viewed either as an angled deck or flat stairs, and it shares construction techniques with both. Place the ramp for the most convenient and unrestricted access to the deck.

Keep the maximum pitch (the number of feet the ramp rises for every foot of horizontal run) to 1 in 12, and if possible, build it 42 or 48 inches wide. (The minimum width is 36 inches.) Have the building inspector review your deck ramp plans before starting construction on the project.

Construct a single-tiered ramp—one whose entire rise is on a single stringer. Or, to build longer ramps, set posts on footings at equal intervals along both sides of the run. Mark the angle of descent on the posts, and cut and install stringers with angled ends. Install handrails on ramps and landings.

Expect to spend 10 to 12 hours building a 10- to 12-foot deck ramp. You'll need to remove sod and install landscape fabric and gravel before you begin. Learn how to build a ramp for a deck with our step-by-step instructions, below.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

Measuring tape
Speed square
Hammer
Carpenter's level
Small sledgehammer
Circular saw
Jigsaw
Cordless drill
Trowels
Concrete tools

Materials

Lumber
Fasteners
Concrete
Framing hardware

Instructions

Better Homes and Gardens

Lay Out Landing Pad

Measure the rise of the ramp and adjust the run to comply with pitch requirements. Drive stakes at the location of the landing pad. Lay out the landing pad with a sheet of plywood or batterboards. Remove the sod; excavate, form, and pour the landing pad.

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Better Homes and Gardens

Position Stringers

Spread landscape fabric and gravel on the site, then lay out the stringers. Mark the angle of descent on the bottom of the stringer and a 3/4x4-inch notch at the bottom end. This notch will fit over a cleat fastened to the landing pad. Cut one stringer and use it as a template for the others.
Better Homes and Gardens

Cut Wood

Cut a pressure-treated 1x6 to the outside width of the ramp. Then set your circular saw to cut a 5-degree bevel on one edge of the 1x6. Next, reset the saw to 0 degrees (or 90 degrees) and cut an 11/2-inch strip from the bottom of the 1x6.
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Square Assembly

When the concrete is cured, mark the stringer positions on the joists and fasten the stringers to the joist. Drill 3/8-inch holes in the cleat at the locations for threaded studs and slide the cleat under the stringers. Square the whole assembly to the deck and drill locator holes into the pad with a masonry bit. Remove the cleat, drill holes for the studs, epoxy them in place, and reinstall the cleat with nuts and washers.
Better Homes and Gardens

Screw on Beveled Strip

Predrill and screw the beveled strip to the ends of the stringer (wide face to the stringers).
Better Homes and Gardens

Cut Deck to Length

Cut the decking to length allowing a 1-inch overhang, and attach it to the stringers. Space the boards with a spacing jig.
Better Homes and Gardens

Ease the Transition

To ease the transition between the pad and the ramp, brush a latex bonding agent on the existing concrete and trowel on a 6- to 8-inch-wide transition strip at the bottom edge of the decking. Tack scrap from the stringers to the outside edges of the ramp to form the concrete. Force the concrete under the first decking board and trowel the concrete at the same angle as the scrap forms.

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