A Detailed Guide for First-time Stairlift Buyers

Considering buying your first stairlift and don’t know much about them? Then you might want to understand a ‘Staircase 101’, here a few tips to help you.

Considering buying your first stairlift and don’t know much about them? Then you might want to take a quick course in ‘Staircase 101’. It’s really not that tough, with only a few basic principles and concepts to grasp, so sit back students and let’s get started! Our beginner’s course has five easy parts: 

Part One: What’s the job of a stairlift? Essentially, the job of a stairlift is to eliminate the need to climb up and down stairs on foot (or on hands and knees!). There are many reasons why a person might find it tough to use the stairs in their home, from illness to accident to simply growing older. Whatever the reason, a stairlift takes away the struggle and lets you ride smoothly between the levels in your home at the touch of a button. 

Part Two: Different types of Stairlift. There are three main types of stairlift – Straight, Curved, and Outdoor. A straight stairlift is a simplest and cheapest type, needing only a standard straight rail to be cut to length. It is for straight stairs, with no bends or turns. A curved stairlift is for stairs which have bends, twist or turns. It needs a one-off curved rail to be designed and built, so the cost goes up. Outdoor stairlifts are fully weatherproofed versions of their indoor cousins, designed to be installed on outdoor steps or inclines. 

Part Three: How do stairlifts work? They have two main elements – the carriage and the rail. The rail is fixed to the stairs and the carriage moves up and down the rail carrying the passenger. Most stairlifts use a ‘rack and pinion’ system in which a toothed gear wheel (the pinion) is driven by an electric motor to move along a similarly toothed rail (the rack). The pinion is part of the carriage assembly and the rack is located in the stairlift rail. When the pinion is driven in one direction, the carriage moves up the stairs, and turning it in the other direction takes it down again. In modern stairlifts, a battery pack located in the carriage provides the power to drive the motor. The battery pack is recharged when the carriage is ‘docked’ at the top or bottom of the stairs. The stairlift rail is plugged into a nearby power outlet to feed the recharging points. Battery power means the stairlift will work even in a power outage. Once installed, the stairlift needs routine maintenance such as an annual service by a stairlift engineer. 

Part Four: Stairlift benefits. A home stairlift delivers a range of benefits, by far the biggest being that it keeps you safe on the stairs, where a trip or fall could have serious consequences. A stairlift empowers you to remain living independently in your own home for longer, with access to all of your home, not just one level. Remote controls mean you can use the stairlift to move other items up and down the stairs, such as laundry or holiday bags. Removing the struggle of stairs means you’ll have the energy for more enjoyable stuff. Loved ones who worry for your safety on the stairs will also enjoy the peace of mind a stairlift brings. 

Part Five: The best way to purchase a stairlift. The best advice is to buy direct from the stairlift manufacturer (1st party), so its expert engineers can install your stairlift and maintain it going forward. Only buy after having a home survey to appraise your stairs and assess your needs. It means you’ll get the right stairlift for you and your home. The survey also lets the supplier quote an accurate and fair all-inclusive price. As the survey and quote should be free, you can get more than one from competing suppliers. Don’t be pressured into buying – a reputable supplier will give you time to decide.