Disabled Stairlifts
For disabled people, having a stairlift installed is a fantastic opportunity to allow them to access their homes, different floors and gardens. Furthermore, many public buildings also use disabled stairlifts, allowing those of reduced mobility or full disability to access the buildings. This is particularly relevant in older buildings, which are often not fitted with wheelchair ramps or elevators.
Seating arrangements don’t influence the price of disabled stairflifts greatly, with the exception of wheelchair stairlifts, as these are much larger and have to made out of heavy duty materials to ensure they are able to carry the weight of a wheelchair and its user. Many people who are looking into wheelchair stairlifts prefer purchasing a second hand one. It is wise in this case, to look at second hand wheelchair stairlifts that have been owned by public buildings previously, as this will mean that they are not very old yet and that, although used regularly, they will have been maintained to high standards.
So, if you are looking at disabled stairlifts, there are quite a few decisions to make, depending on your staircase, your budget and the way you would prefer to travel up and down the stairs.
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Types of Disabled Stairlifts
There are two main types of disabled stairlifts available on the market, which are:- Straight stairlifts, which travel along a straight rail and are unable to go around corners or bends
- Curved stairlifts, which do travel along bends or corners and can even be fitted on spiral staircases
Seating Arrangements on Disabled Stairlifts
When you are looking at purchasing disabled stairlifts, you should also think of what seating arrangement is most appropriate for your mobility needs. There are four main types of seating arrangements available on disabled stairlifts, which are:- Seated stairlifts - the user sits on a chair that faces away from the wall to travel up and down the rail
- Standing stairlifts - the user faces the wall whilst holding on to a safety railing. These are particularly relevant for those people that do have a good sense of balance, but are unable to bend their knees or joints for example
- Perched stairlifts – these enable those who are not comfortable with balance to be in a position between sitting and standing, by perching on a platform facing away from the wall
- Wheelchair stairlifts - these are fitted with a large, heavy duty platform that allows a wheelchair to fit onto it
Prices of Disabled Stairlifts
The prices of disabled stairlifts will vary mainly depending on the type of stairlift you require, with straight stairlifts costing only around a third of the price of curved stairlifts. It is possible to keep these costs even lower by opting to purchase a second hand straight stairlift and installing it yourself. In fact, the price difference is so vast that it may be worth considering installing several straight stairlifts with transfer platforms in any corners or bends on the staircase, rather than purchasing a curved stairlift all together.Seating arrangements don’t influence the price of disabled stairflifts greatly, with the exception of wheelchair stairlifts, as these are much larger and have to made out of heavy duty materials to ensure they are able to carry the weight of a wheelchair and its user. Many people who are looking into wheelchair stairlifts prefer purchasing a second hand one. It is wise in this case, to look at second hand wheelchair stairlifts that have been owned by public buildings previously, as this will mean that they are not very old yet and that, although used regularly, they will have been maintained to high standards.
So, if you are looking at disabled stairlifts, there are quite a few decisions to make, depending on your staircase, your budget and the way you would prefer to travel up and down the stairs.
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