How to Cut the Angle on the Support Board for a Shed Ramp

Connect a ramp to a shed entry with a ledger board with two or more angled supports from the shed floor to the ground. Cut a 2-by-4-inch board the width of the door opening with a circular saw. Fasten that ledger with 3-inch galvanized deck screws driven with a screw gun into the shed floor frame. Use a level to set it level with the floor, but below it enough to allow for flooring, such as 3/4-inch plywood.

Lay a piece of plywood or wide board vertically against the side of the ledger board, extending out to the ground, with the top level with the shed floor. Use a long straight edge to draw a line from the shed floor to the bottom edge of that board on the ground. Put the pivot point of a speed square at the bottom of that board and move the square until you find the angle of that line on a table on the square. Mark that angle with a pencil at the end of the support board using the square.

Use a 2-by-4 to figure the top ramp angle a different way. Lay the board with one end on the floor frame and the other on the ground at a comfortable slope. Mark the bottom of the board where it meets the floor and use a speed square to draw that angle across the board. Cut one board as a test and if it fits properly cut other supports to match.

Use at least two supports, one on each side of the ramp, one or more in between for wider ramps. Nail a 2-by-4 horizontally across the angle cuts. Use that board to secure the ramp to the ledger board, with 3-inch galvanized screws. Fasten the ramp frame to the ledger before installing decking on the ramp.