Ramp Removal

A friend of my mother had a "Katrina Cottage" in Pass Christian, MS. It was eventually returned, but they left behind a long wooden ramp. Mom's friend said we could have the wood if we took the ramp apart. Since it was treated wood and barely a year old, we figured we'd use it for some future project.

Originally, Mom & Dad tried to take it apart by themselves. They used Dad's cordless screwdriver and spent two or three hours removing two sheets of plywood and a dozen handrails. The problem was that the screws were counter-sunk into the wood, difficult to find, and even more difficult to remove. So they called me to do the heavy lifting.

I fired up the fubar and went to work.

I'd clobber the wood. Dad would pile it by the truck.Kicked down the 4 x 4 posts. Disconnected the ramp (in 10' sections). Flipped over the large pieces. Smashed off the side pieces. Whacked the slats free. And slowly but surely deconstructed the whole thing.

When everything was disassembled, we canter-levered the long pieces over the tailgate, stacked the 4 x 4 posts and slats on top, then topped it off with the plywood. Tied it down with some rope. And hung a white shirt off the back, as a warning for any cars that happened to get behind us.

Dad didn't think it would all fit. But where there is a will there is a way.

And we did it all in an hour.