How to get into the house without a step
Every trip in or out of the house goes through the same door, so whatever that door asks of you, it asks every day. A step at the front door is a step with groceries, a step in the rain, a step at night, a step with one hand holding a key and the other holding a bag.
Here's what a step-free entry involves, why the numbers make it a bigger decision than it looks, and what to do when the front door can't be the answer.
The numbers that decide it
Two published figures do most of the work here.
The threshold at the door, the little sill you step over, can be no more than half an inch high for a wheelchair or a walker to cross it (STD). Most exterior doors come with a threshold taller than that. The fix is a low-profile threshold, ordered with the door, or a short ramp over the existing one.
A ramp can rise no more than one inch for every twelve inches of length (STD). That's the number that surprises people. A single step, about seven inches, needs seven feet of ramp. Three steps, about 21 inches, needs 21 feet, plus a flat landing at the top at least five feet square so you can open the door without rolling backward (STD). The ramp for a typical porch is longer than the porch.
Why it's cheaper on a drawing
If you're building, or rebuilding the entry, the cheapest step-free entry is the one where there's no step to remove: the ground outside is brought up to the floor inside, or the door is placed where the ground is already close. That's a grading decision and a door position, made on the plan. It costs nothing extra to draw and it looks like a house, not a ramp.
Once the entry is built with a step, the choice is between a ramp, which needs the run above and a rail on each side, and regrading, which means moving earth and sometimes the walk and the drainage. Both are real jobs. Both are far more than the line on the drawing would have been.
When the front door can't be the answer
Most older houses have the front door up a flight. Mine does. A step-free front entry would mean a ramp longer than the lot is wide, so the front stays as it is and the question moves.
Look at every door. The back door, the side door, the door from the garage. One of them is usually closer to the ground than the front. The door you use every day doesn't have to be the one facing the street. If the kitchen door is two steps up and the front is six, the kitchen door is the entry.
Look at what's between the car and that door. A step-free door at the end of a gravel path with a gate latch isn't step-free. Firm surface, wide enough for two people side by side, no lip at the edge, a light that comes on by itself.
Then fix the front for everyone else. A rail on both sides of the front steps, at a height your hand lands on. Light at the top and bottom. Steps you can see the edge of. Nobody needs to know the back door is the real one.
The rest of the entry
Getting through the door is one thing. The door itself asks for a few more:
A lever handle, not a knob. Works with a full hand, an elbow, or a wrist.
Somewhere to put the bag down while you find the key. A shelf, a bench, a wide sill. This is the most overlooked object in the whole house.
Cover over the door. Rain on a step, or on a ramp, is the worst version of both. A roof over the landing is a drawing decision.
A door you can open with one hand and hold open with your body. Wide enough for a walker, which means 36 inches, ordered with the door.
The lock at a height you can reach seated, and, if you want it, one you can open without a key.
What to say
To the architect, on a new entry:
"I want at least one entry with no step and a threshold under half an inch, with a covered landing at least five feet square, a 36-inch door, and a shelf or bench beside it."
To the contractor, on an existing house:
"Which door is closest to grade, and what would it take to make it step-free: threshold, path, light and a rail? Give me that number separately from the front steps."
If the answer involves a ramp, ask for the length and the landing before anything else, because those two decide whether it fits.
The list this belongs to
The entry is one of the decisions that belongs to the drawing stage of the free guide, The Decisions Your Renovation Makes Without You, along with door widths and which floor the bedroom is on. Short, large print. Sign up and the download is yours.
