When choosing an aquatic access product, it is important to make a balanced choice based on the needs of the patrons at the facility. The riser height, the distance between steps, plays a vital role in how our AquaTrek Ladders and Steps are custom built for a facility. Although an organization or facility can save money by choosing a unit with a greater riser height, this option might not be the most therapeutic for the patrons who use the pool. We always suggest that the customer choose the product that provides the lowest riser height. Anywhere from 5 ½" to 8½" is what would be considered the best , most comfortable riser height range for someone with a disability to use a product. A visual reference, a typical soda pop can is five inches tall.
The pricing of the AquaTrek Ladders and Steps is based on the material used and therefore influenced by the number of steps required. It is the depth of the pool at each facility, however, that determines how many steps will be needed on an access product. When provided with measurement information for a facility, we can suggest the riser heights that each AquaTrek Ladder or Step product would have in a pool.
The tallest we've built is approximate to 9½" and there are cases of someone saying that they wanted the taller riser height because they used the unit itself for physical therapy.
Anyone can use the AquaTrek Ladder, Step or Ramp for their aquatic access. The AquaTrek product line is designed as a practical solution for people of all ages and abilities to access the pool with both ease and dignity. This includes people from all ranges of life, from physical therapy patients to those with arthritis, paralysis or those living with disabilities.
Pools that only have a lift as a form of assisted access can be troubled by two unfortunate circumstances. The first is that clients can only be assisted into the pool one at a time, which means that the first one in a group of five can become a "popsicle" by the time the last one gets into the pool. The other situation to consider is that of dignity. How many people can really say that they are comfortable being swung and slung into a pool? Comments received in the past are indicative of this. A customer once stated to Perry Sawrey, Managing Director, they were not a cow and they felt that they were not to be slung "into the water and then drug out like a tow truck pulling out some car that has crashed into the lake."
The platform of the AquaTrek Ladders, Steps and Ramps serves as a pivotal position in the AquaTrek pool access products. This piece transitions from the approach ramp that is mounted on the deck surface into the unit itself. Due to the nature of this component, we at Rehab Systems, LLC decided to redesign the platform to enhance its quality and its function. This redesign was accomplished in November 2001. The singular, injection-molded piece that was the platform was discontinued in favor of a framework of furniture grade UV stabilized PVC similar to the siderails. This new framework platform contains a metal skeleton and solid PVC to enhance its strength and durability.
Our Fabrication and Management staff take great strides in product development and evolution. The integral siderails are an example of the evolution in the product. Wheels for mobility were added to the siderails in recent years. There has also been an increase in the amount of metal in the skeleton of the unit, which provides even greater strength and durability for the commercial environment. We also now utilize specially fabricated solid PVC at the locations where the treads connect with the siderails.
Our products bolt to the deck but retain portability! There is only one element of the AquaTrek Ladders, Steps or Ramps that can be considered permanent. That one fixture is the pair of bronze deck anchors that are flush mounted into the deck. Flush mounting means that you use a one inch mason drill bit and drill two holes two and a half inches deep and, using hydraulic cement, cement the bronze anchors into those holes leaving nothing to stick up above the deck surface.