deck-ramp to ground connection

[MarkAndDebbie]

Today I put a little deck (~2.5' off the gound) outside my practice shed. Tomorrow I am going to put a ramp up to it (think - pushing mowers up ramp into shed). I am stuggling with the best way to end the ramp at the bottom (ground end).

At first I was going to just cut my stringers perpendicular with the ground (this angle was more difficult to measure than I thought - the land slopes away from the deck in the same direction as the ramp). I was going to put some gravel -> sand -> patio pavers -> stringers. I didn't want the patio pavers dead level because I wanted water to drain away (having to replace the stringers seemed bad. They are ACQ - but not ground contact rated.

I am also considering those deck blocks at the bottom and then fill in the missing triangle with something to ease the drop (maybe 10").

Ideas? How is it normally done?

[glenn-k]

Here I put a rock at the end - but a brick or something would work -- just to keep it off the ground o or maybe both ending on a horizontal one with gravel underneath for drainage,

[peg_688]

Ideas? How is it normally done?

What I do in situation like this is put a PT 2x12 on the ground , grade  out the ground then add some pea stone , makes a nice landing bed pea stone that is.

 So back to the 2x12 , in this photo you can see the 2x12 ,


 


yes this is a stair BUT you can do a similar thing  , use either 4x4 or 4x6 stringers  spaced 24" OC , cutting that grade slope is trickey but do-able. dry  run each one "sneaking" up on the cut , meaning cut it what you know is long and tweak that cut till you get a nicely planeing in stringer, start with the longest one and work to short incase you cut one to short you can use it for the next sized one and also a pattern for the one you just cut to short, just add the amount you came up short.  Once everythings cut flip the whole workers over pivoting them on the long points , roll your 2x12 "base" over onto those ends and screw thru the cut ends into the 2x12, find a friend and tip the whole works back over , hang the stringers back into brackets or a ledger you already have in place that they rested on as you did your fit cutting, I sort of fer got that earlier

 This way all the stringers are tied to one PT piece that provides a wide continous base , they are  less likely to settle wierdly like if each stringer is on it's own base.  So even IF it settles it settles as a unit. You can aways prop it up and add more stone underneath IF it settles due to weight of the machine or wet nasty ground that just goes to crap on ya.

Once it rolled over you can also add some screws going back downward as well. And maybe bore a 7/16" hole and drive a 1/2" rebar pin down thur the base as well.

  I'd use PT 2x6's for the ramp leaving a 1/4">  3/8"  ish gap  , you have to guess some what on how wide based on how wet your 2x6's are . Maybe as much as 1/2" > 5/8"    if the stock is very dry , I like a wider gap for this type situation so rocks , grass clipping etc fall thru more readily from the tractor going in and out.  


Hope that made sense.

G/L PEG

[peg_688]

BTW I did a ramp like I described for this shed , and it was longer on one side than the other MTL what your discribing, no photos of the ramp itself , at the time who'd a thunk some one would want to see it

 

The ground is falling away from left to right as it goes away from the shed door.  

[MarkAndDebbie]

Thanks for the tutorial PEG.