Ramps

Suppose we want to build with the house of several levels, such that the uppermost level can sit on top of the lowest level.

That suggests that the upper level floor must be 3m higher than the lower level floor, and that if we want to use ramps that are internationally acceptable then at a minimum we will need to rise 3m at a 1:12 slope, in sections that are not more than 9m long without a break, totalling 36m.

Suppose we try to break more often and that a break is 1.5m long and that we have one every 4.5m. So, the effective ramp length is 6x(36/4.5) ie 48m.

If the ramp is 1.5m wide, then we have 72sqm of space allocated to ramps.

Increasing the slope to 1:9 but keeping the same break structure reduces the space to 6x(27/4.5) or 36m linear, 54sqm.

Suppose we want to rise 4m at 1:10, that needs 40m of ramp. If the maximum length is 5m then we need 8 ramps of 5m length, each rising 0.5m.

It seems unlikely that we can build circulation space for less than €500/sqm - so the ramps cost at least €36k. Some of the space we might have used for circulation space anyway - but probably not much.

The implication would appear to be that a lift is a better bet, or possibly two inclined platform lifts that can run up a half-flight of stairs.