UK Stairlifts

What types of stairlift are available today?

There are many benefits with today’s stairlifts. People with mobility problems won’t need to move house to a bungalow or have their home adapted at great expense and meaning that they can no longer go upstairs. They can stay in their own homes, where neighbours and amenities are familiar to them. Thanks to stairlifts, many gain a new lease on life and find new independence.

There are several types of stairlift available in today’s market. The different sorts can be a little confusing, so here’s a quick guide to the main types of stairlift your money can buy today. However, the type you or your relative ends up with will largely be determined by the type of staircase you have.

Straight stairlifts

The most popular form of stair lift is the straight stairlift. This will be the stairlift for your relative if their stairs are just a straight run, with no bends, corners or half-landings. Because straight stairlifts are relatively straightforward – installation can be carried out in about an hour in most cases – it tends to be the most cost-effective stairlift on the market. You can have a brand-new straight stairlift installed from just £1,500.

Straight stairlifts attach to the stair treads rather than the wall and all come with some pretty good features. These include battery power with continuous charging. This means that the stairlift will continue to work even in a power cut. With some lifts, mains power is optional.

They will all have a swivel seat, too. With this feature, the seat rotates 90 degrees at the top and bottom of the stairs, locking into place to make getting on and off the stair lift perfectly safe. There’s an adjustable seat height, safety sensors that stop the stairlift if it encounters an obstruction and a hinged rail that keeps the doorways clear.

Curved stairlifts

If your relative’s stairs have bends, turns or half-landings, a curved stairlift might be the only option. Curved stairlifts tend to be much more expensive than straight stairlifts as they must be custom-made for the user’s staircase. This is also a good reason to be absolutely sure they want a stairlift – it’s not possible for the manufacturer to take back a curved stair lift as it will be unlikely to fit anyone else’s staircase.

All of this, of course, puts the price up quite a bit. As a guide price, you can expect to pay at least £4,000 for a new curved stairlift. If that’s a little too steep (no pun intended), a reconditioned curved stair lift might cost you around £3,500.

Depending on how much your relative’s mobility is impaired, another option is to fit two straight stair lifts and include a bridging platform, for a ‘mid-flight transfer’. This does mean paying for two stairlifts and opens up the possibility of having to pay two lots of maintenance.

Platinum stairlifts

If your relative needs a curved stairlift, there are specialist manufacturers dedicated to designing only curved lifts. One such manufacturer is Platinum. Platinum focuses purely on the curved-stairlift market. The company has also established a reputation for supplying quality reconditioned stairlifts through its New-to-You range. The manufacturer also claims that its Platinum Curve stairlift offers the market’s smoothest ride.

The Yorkshire company’s Approved Used range has more than 8,000 satisfied customers and offers high-quality reconditioned stairlifts at a good price. Platinum states that all the refurbishment on its curved stairlifts is carried out to the highest possible standard and that all its stairlifts are overhauled and fully tested by its dedicated team. Platinum believes that reconditioning stairlifts helps the environment, too.

But are reconditioned curved stairlifts perfectly safe? Well, yes – provided the stairlift is manufactured and installed by stairlift specialists and the rail is professionally designed for your relative’s staircase. In every case, though, the manufacturer or retailer will design a new custom rail for your relative’s staircase, as it’s only the stair-lift chairs that are refurbished. Make sure that all reconditioned chair lifts conform to British Standards.

So, what about other types of stair-lift? The ‘perch’-type lift is usually installed where the user has trouble bending at the knees or where the width of the staircase is restricted. It’s just like a normal stairlift except that the seat is higher and is more of a cushioned ledge than a chair. The user rests against this seat, bending lightly at the knees. Perch stairlifts tend to come with a safety arm for confidence and security, special harnesses for extra safety, large footrest plates and an adjustable seating position.

Outdoor stairlifts

The other principal type of stairlift is the outdoor variant. The outdoor stair lift comes with many of the features of its indoor cousins and with several special features, too. It’s typically used in gardens, where users have to navigate tricky stone or concrete steps.

Because it’s outdoors, this type of stairlift must be able to resist the elements. This means that all its metal parts are typically made from aluminium. Alternatively, they will be treated with special oil or zinc-plated before being powder-coated. The plastic components will be resistant to heat and UV rays, so that the colour won’t fade or be damaged by ambient heat.

Outdoor stairlifts are perfect for garden steps, patios and decks or garage and basement steps. Outdoor stair lifts are useful in beachfront locations, too, as they are impervious to salt air. They usually also come with protective covers that keep off leaves and snow.

Features of most outdoor stairlifts include maintenance-free DC power, a simple-to-use paddle control and a smooth start/stop action. There’s a lockable isolation switch, a swivel seat for safety and a fold-up seat and footrest. Just like indoors stairlifts, they come with safety cut-out sensors and whisper-quiet operation.

We hope you’ve found this brief guide to the types of stairlift available on the UK market helpful. If you want impartial advice on any type of stairlift, an independent retailer such as UK Stairlifts will be glad to help.

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