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Ice Melt for Painted Wooden Wheelchair Ramp

DonStephan | Posted in General Discussion on December 14, 2010 08:54am

Friends would like to keep in place their wheelchair ramp during the winter, but forecasted freezing rain/snow would render unusable.  The ramp is (porch) painted MDO ply over treated wood frame, with adhesive backed grip strips, resting on mortared brick walk and steps.  Sand will provide good traction over the ice, but scratch/gouge the paint, as would rock salt.  Don’t know what effect calcium chloride and such would have on the wood.  Feedback greatly appreciated.

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Replies

  1. User avater
    xxPaulCPxx | Dec 14, 2010 12:42pm | #1

    What about steel mesh with teeth, over a rubber pad?

    1. semar | Dec 14, 2010 05:59pm | #2

      ramp traction

      same thought,  diamond grid mesh

      If this looks too harsh, when weather allows repaint the surface and mix ground walnut shells into the paint.

  2. DanH | Dec 14, 2010 07:53pm | #3

    Fertilizer generally makes a halfway decent ice melt, and it's at least easy (perhaps too easy) on the grass/plants.  And a number of other ice melt chemicals are available.  You can find some that come in rounded, fairly soft pellets, so the tendency to scratch would be minimal.

    (Frankly I think worrying about scratching it is silly -- just resign yourself to repainting it in the spring if need be.)

  3. DanH | Dec 14, 2010 09:04pm | #4

    A trick I've used before on icy pavement is to cover it with clear plastic on a sunny day.  This traps a significant amount of heat and can melt the ice even when air temps are only in the teens.

  4. User avater
    BossHog | Dec 14, 2010 09:09pm | #5

    Could ya put small strips of wood every foot or so? 

    Make them about 12" wide. That way they'd catch the feet of the person pushing, but not interfere with the wheels on the wheelchair.

    1. DanH | Dec 14, 2010 09:26pm | #6

      And they'd make shoveling the snow that much more fun.

  5. clarew | Mar 03, 2011 07:30pm | #7

    We have a similar problem and found a great solution at Petsmart. They sell Simple Solution Ice Melting Pellets that is safe for painted surfaces. We have used it for the past 4 winters without repainting. The porch steps are only now showing signs of needing attention but we would have expected that after 4 years anyway. The product is pricey but a little goes a long way and it works great. We use cheaper stuff for the sidewalk and use the pellets exclusively on the porch. It's kept our handicapped daughter safe and been easy on the wood. I hope this helps. 

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