Wheelchair Access on Stage

[Ebroach]

We are in the final stages of our new building.
My pastor has me searching online for Wheel chair lifts
to meet code for getting someone in a wheel chair etc
up on stage.

Our Architect specd out a place on the side of the stage.
Its there, designed for one of those vertical lifts.

Can I say EXPENSIVE...

Anybody know where you can purchase used ones.. etc.

Anybody know of any alternative methods of getting on stage.

What has your church done to meet ADA code for stage access.

Stage is 2' high. 3 steps..


Do you have pics.

[bggowing]

Billy,

Wouldn't it be cheaper to build a ramp? A 2 ft. high stage isn't that high and an ADA guideline ramp shouldn't be that big of a deal.

[andrewc2]

What my church did is they put doors that go directly onto the stage from a hallway that wraps around the stage.

[Gene]

I believe the ADA maximum is 1:12, which for a 2-foot stage would be 24 feet long. Any landings have to be 60" long minimum and level, so breaking it into two 12 foot sections would still be 17 feet long (12+5). That may or may not be possible in the layout.

[tedanderson]

Anybody know where you can purchase used ones.. etc.

I wouldn't want you to go with a used wheelchair lift. That's one thing that would be very hard to forgive in the event of a failure.

We have two half-walls that flank the stage. One wraps around the band and the other wraps around a ramp that goes from the floor to the stage level. From the audience, it looks simply like a half-wall but you eventually figure out that it is a ramp when you see someone get shorter and shorter as they walk behind it.

[Richard Tarr]

Check out http://www.wheelchairlift.com/wheelc...t_brochure.htm. They have a portable hydraulic lift with a backup manual pump.

[dovprst]

I use a wheelchair. Most churches that have access to the stage usually have it from a side door which leads to a classroom or a hallway.

I hate lifts, but understand their need, since ramps have to be pretty long. A ramp would need to be anywhere from 16 (powerchairs) to 24 (manual wheelchairs) feet long to comply with the ADA. I'll post a pic of our ramp if I can find it.