How to Build a Shed Ramp: Rise, Run and Materials

To build a shed ramp you need three numbers: the rise from the ground to the top of the shed floor, the slope you want, and the width of the door. The rise and the slope give you the length, and the length decides how much lumber and room you need. This guide works it out for the shed floors our designer draws, then covers materials, the build, mowers and sloped yards.

Start from the floor you have. Open the shed designer for a skid floor or the deck block floor, read the height, and then follow the steps below. The designer has no ramp option and there is no ramp calculator on this site yet, so the division is written out here for you to do by hand.

Measure the rise

The rise is the vertical distance from the ground where the ramp foot will sit to the top of the shed floor. Everything else follows from it.

The rise of the designer’s floors

On the designer’s skid floor, the top of the subfloor sits 11-3/4 inches above the top of the gravel pad: 5-1/2 inches for the 4x6 skid set on edge, 5-1/2 inches for the 2x6 floor joists and 3/4 inch for the subfloor. On the deck block floor the foundation is 11-1/2 inches tall instead of 5-1/2, which makes the top of the floor 17-3/4 inches above the pad. Our shed on skids guide builds that floor.

Add what the pad adds

Those heights are measured from the top of the pad, not from the natural ground. If the pad stands 3 inches above the soil where the ramp foot lands, the real rise is 3 inches more. Put a straightedge and a level on the ground at the door and measure to the top of the floor, or the top of the door sill if you have built one. Our gravel shed base guide explains how the pad sits.

Do this before you order lumber

Measure twice, and measure again after the floor is built, since a floor a half inch high or low changes the length. Call 811 a few business days before you dig anywhere, for the ramp foot or a support post (Common Ground Alliance, call811.com).

Pick the slope

The slope, also called the pitch or the ratio, is how many units of length you get for each unit of rise. A 1:12 ramp has 12 inches of length for every inch of rise.

The 1:12 benchmark

The ADA Standards for accessible routes set a maximum running slope of 1:12, a maximum rise of 30 inches per run and a minimum clear width of 36 inches between handrails (U.S. Access Board). That is a rule for accessible routes in covered buildings and facilities, and it does not govern a backyard shed ramp. It is a reasonable benchmark for a gentle slope, and the right one if a wheelchair or a walker will use the ramp.

Steeper for wheelbarrows

A wheelbarrow or a hand truck will manage a steeper ramp, and some builders go to 1:8 or 1:6 when there is not room for a long one. We have no source that gives a recommended shed ramp slope, so treat those as common practice and try them with your own load. The steeper the ramp, the harder it is to push up and the easier it is to slip.

A mower has its own limit

A riding mower or a small tractor has a slope limit in its owner’s manual, and a tipping risk that comes with it. Follow the manual and stay well under it.

Length from rise and run

Divide the rise by the slope, or multiply the rise by the ratio: length = rise x 12 for a 1:12 slope, rise x 8 for a 1:8. The result is the horizontal length, the run, and the ramp’s board length is a touch more.

Worked example for a 10x12 skid shed

The rise is 11-3/4 inches. At 1:12 the run is 11.75 x 12 = 141 inches, which is 11 ft 9 in. The sloping stringer is about 141-1/2 inches, and a 12 ft board covers it. At 1:8 the run is 94 inches, 7 ft 10 in.

Run for each slope and floor

This table applies the same division to both floors the designer draws.

The ratios other than 1:12 are arithmetic for comparing, not recommendations. A deck block shed at 1:12 needs almost 18 ft of yard in front of the door, which is why some owners of tall floors build a short deck landing and a ramp beyond it.

Ramp width

Make the ramp at least as wide as the door opening. The designer’s default door is 48 inches wide and it accepts doors from 24 to 96 inches. For a riding mower, measure the wheel track and add margin on each side.

Materials for a shed ramp

A wood ramp is stringers, decking and fasteners, and lumber that touches the ground must be treated for it.

Ground-contact lumber

The wood preservers’ use categories put wood in contact with the ground in UC4A, ground contact, general use (Preserved Wood, AWPA Use Categories). Read the tag on each stringer and buy the ground-contact grade. The designer’s parts list calls its skids and floor joists pressure-treated for ground contact for the same reason.

Stringers and decking

Stringers are the sloped beams under the deck. Common practice is 2x6 stringers 16 inches on center, with 2x6 decking screwed across them, a small gap between boards for drainage. Use exterior screws rather than nails, so the boards stay tight as they flex.

What the joist check says about the span

The designer’s floor joist check is a useful guide. A 2x6 SPF No. 2 joist at 16 inches on center may span 8 ft 7-13/16 inches under 50 psf of live load (the designer’s own floor check). That is a check of an evenly spread load on a level floor. A wheel load lands in one place and a slope adds forces, so it is a guide and not a rating.

What matters is not the length of the ramp but how far the stringer hangs in the air. The deck and the stringer together are about 7 inches deep (1-1/2 inch decking on a 5-1/2 inch 2x6), so the stringer is clear of the ground only where the ramp is more than 7 inches high. Past that point, toward the foot, it meets the bed, and you rip the rest of the stringer so it sits flat on compacted gravel. The clear length is (rise - 7) x the slope ratio, measured from the shed.

On the skid floor the stringer meets the bed within 5 ft of the shed at every slope, well inside the 8 ft 7-13/16 in span, so no mid post is needed: the ledger holds the top and the bed carries the rest. On the deck block floor at 1:12 or 1:10 the clear length passes that span, so add a support near the middle of the clear part, a treated 4x4 post or block on a paver or a concrete footing. At 1:12 that is about 5 ft 4-1/2 in from the shed, where the underside of the stringer is about 5-3/8 inches above the bed. The same rule works for your own floor: measure the rise, subtract 7, multiply by the ratio and compare the result with the span.

What it costs

At one Home Depot store in San Diego County, California (Otay Mesa, ZIP 92154), on September 29, 2026, a pressure-treated 2x6 rated for ground contact cost $18.18 at 12 ft and $12.18 at 8 ft. For the 1:12 example, four 12 ft stringers and 13 boards of 8 ft cut in half for the deck come to $72.72 plus $158.34, which is $231.06 before screws, the gravel bed and tax. That is one store on one day, not a national price. Ask your own yard.

Build the ramp step by step

These steps are general practice. The designer draws no ramp, so the sizes come from the division above and from what you test on site.

Before you cut

1. Set the bed. Choose firm, level ground and lay compacted gravel or pavers under the whole length where the stringers will rest, so the foot cannot sink or rot.
2. Mark the stringer. Draw the slope on a 2x6 with a framing square or a level. Leave room for the 1-1/2 inch decking: the top of the stringer sits that much below the shed floor, so the finished deck meets the floor flush. Where the ramp is less than about 7 inches high, rip the underside level so that part of the stringer sits flat on the bed.
3. Cut the first, then copy it. Cut one stringer, check it against the shed and the ground, and use it as the pattern for the rest.

Assemble it

4. Frame it on the ground. Set the stringers 16 inches apart, tie them with a crosspiece at each end and square the frame by measuring both diagonals.
5. Fasten the deck. Start at the low end, leave a small gap between boards, and drive two screws in each board at every stringer.
6. Add a support only if the span needs it. Work out the clear length from the table above. If it is longer than the 8 ft 7-13/16 in span, as on a deck block floor at 1:12 or 1:10, set a post or block on a footing near the middle of the clear part and fix the stringers to it. On the skid floor the bed does that job, so skip this step.
7. Tie it to the shed. A common way is a treated 2x ledger screwed to the rim joist under the door, with the stringer tops resting on it or hung from it. Fasten the ramp to the floor frame so it cannot walk away when a load hits it.

Test it

Walk it, then roll your heaviest load slowly up and down before you trust it. Feel for movement at the top, at the foot and at the middle.

Ramp for a riding mower or wheelbarrow

The load decides the ramp. A wheelbarrow is light and narrow; a riding mower is heavy, wide and sensitive to slope.

A wheelbarrow or hand truck

A narrow ramp is enough, and 1:8 or gentler is a common range. Add a small edge lip so a wheel cannot roll off.

A riding mower

Use the owner’s manual for the slope limit, add margin to the track width, and go to a ramp as wide as the door. Put a level landing at the door, so you can stop before the threshold. Plan the length for the slope that suits the machine, not the space, and if the yard is too short, add a deck at the door and start the ramp beyond it. The 10x12 gable plan lists the door width and the floor height to start from.

Ready-made ramps

A shed ramp kit or a folding ramp is the other route. Read the load rating and the slope for your rise, and check them against the weight of the machine.

A ramp on a slope

If the yard slopes, measure the rise at the exact spot the ramp foot will land. On ground that rises toward the shed, the rise is smaller and the ramp is shorter. On ground that falls away, the rise is bigger, and you may want a deck at the door and a ramp that runs across the slope.

Where the ramp meets the pad

The ramp foot should not rest on soft ground. Extend the gravel pad or lay pavers where the foot lands and keep the wood off the soil where you can. On a slope, the shed foundation guide covers the floors that suit it, including deck blocks. If you anchor the shed, set the corner anchors before the ramp goes on; the shed anchoring guide shows where the straps go.

Where to go next

The how to build a shed guide covers the floor and the shell that the ramp connects to. We have no source on whether a ramp counts as part of the structure, so ask your building department about it and about setbacks. Read our shed permit basics before you build.