Notes on thresholds, kerbs and the way into a building
Every note on this desk takes one question about getting into a place and answers it: what a 1 in 12 ramp actually measures, why a 15 mm lip stops a wheel, how wide a door has to be, what a Changing Places room gives that a standard accessible toilet does not, and which of these a venue can put right itself. The answer comes first, then the measurements, then the standards and guidance the note read. The desk is written for the people who run the building as much as for the people who use it.
An independent UK reference on step-free access to everyday places: the entrance, the approach, the inside of a building, and the duty that puts access in writing.
DU-002Duty and paperwork
An event listing should name the entrance, the seating and the toilet before anyone travels. Three questions answered with the figures that matter.
IN-002Inside the building
What a community choir should ask before signing for a hired rehearsal room: access, stairs, lifts, acoustics, insurance and the way in on the night.
DU-001Duty and paperwork
A small congregation can measure its own building and publish an access statement before anyone has to ask. The duty under the Equality Act 2010 is
IN-001Inside the building
Space, transfer height and the equipment trolley decide whether a wheelchair user can be treated in the room. Figures from Approved Document M and BS
AP-001Approaches and streets
An imaging appointment starts at the kerb. What a drop-off point needs, how far is too far to push a wheelchair, and what a department should publish.
EN-001Entrances and thresholds
A photograph of a building entrance hides the threshold lip, the landing depth and the door leaf width. These are the three measurements a visitor meets first.
An independent UK reference on step-free access to everyday places: the entrance, the approach, the inside of a building, and the duty that puts access in writing.
EN 1 entry
Steps, level changes, ramps and their gradients, handrails, door widths, thresholds and mats, and what decides whether a person can get in through the front door.
AP 1 entry
Pavements, dropped kerbs, crossings, parking bays, the path to the door, its surface, its slope, its lighting and what winter does to all four.
IN 2 notes
Corridors and turning space, lifts and stairs, seating, toilets including Changing Places, hearing loops, signs and the way a visitor finds the room they came for.
DU 2 notes
The Equality Act 2010 in practice, reasonable adjustments, access statements, access audits, listed buildings and planning, funding, and what to do when nothing changes.
One question, one note, one photograph of the thing in question and a caption that says what it shows. The answer opens the note, the measurements follow, and the sources are named at the end: British Standards, building regulations, government guidance and the published access guidance of the bodies that write it. A note is dated when it is last checked, and it is rewritten when the standard it cites changes.
Desks kept elsewhere that answer a question this one only touches. Each address was opened and read before it was listed here, and each is named for what it holds.
The archived record of dental office design and planning shows how patient flow, sterilization, imaging and reception become a floor plan, and how construction documents, equipment coordination and lease schedules are delivered.
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