Wheelchair ramp to my Ottawa front door: what price range is normal?

Published guides from 2025 and 2026 put a short modular ramp at roughly $2,000 to $4,000 installed; longer or custom-built ramps cost more. Several things in your specific job show up in the price.

What shows up in the price for a front-door ramp

The rise from grade to your threshold sets the length. The Ontario Building Code allows a slope no steeper than 1 in 10 for an exterior ramp serving a house, so a 450 mm rise needs at least 4.5 metres of ramp run. A landing is required at the top and at the bottom, and where the door swings toward the ramp it must swing fully over that landing. If the drop beside the ramp or landing is more than 600 mm, a guard is required. Handrails are not required where the ramp rises 400 mm or less; ask the contractor what the handrail rules are for your specific rise and configuration. All of those elements, landings, guards, handrails, add to the price. Patching and finishing around the threshold and any permit fees also appear in a complete quote.

On permits, a ramp is not on the City of Ottawa's published list of projects that do or do not need a permit. The City's page on decks says a deck at the main entrance requires a permit, so ask Building Code Services how a ramp and landing at your front door will be treated before work starts. The permit fee for alterations is $12.75 per $1,000 of construction value, with a minimum of $117, based on the City's January 1, 2026 fee schedule.

A fair written quote for a front-door ramp should spell out the ramp length and rise, the number and size of landings, whether handrails or guards are included, the surface finish, and whether the permit application is included in the price or billed separately.

Ask each contractor to break out materials and labour separately, confirm whether the quote covers permit fees, and state what patching or finishing at the threshold is included.