The wheelchair ramp project has taken on a life of its own.

The initial ramp was fairly simple and straightforward, a straight shot down along the south side of the house, running from the top of the front deck stairs to the grass right beside the concrete sidewalk.  It works great, but it covers the outside access to the basement (no big deal), and there’s about a two-inch drop onto the yard (very big deal).  Plus, the yard itself is really bumpy, slanted the wrong way (I felt like I was going to topple over), and just plain painful.  Ditto for the old, cracked and heaved concrete.  So BJ has spent the last several days extending it around the front of the house.

That’s led to a few interesting revelations.

For example, did you know that plywood is now sold in really weird sizes?  The deck is 19/32″ thick.  Whatever happened to the half-inch or three-quarter dimensions?  Why not just add a 32nd of an inch and make it an even 5/8?

What’s more, the drill died.  So we had to buy a new one to finish driving those screws into the decking.

I have a feeling this ramp is going to be a permanent addition.  It’s actually really pretty cool.  The dogs love it; Heidi has a hard time with the stairs anyway, and everybody else can see what they’re barking at better.  And once I’m out of the chair, maybe I’ll get a couple of slot cars, and BJ and I can race them!