Consistently, the stairs are one of the most dangerous places in the home. This is true of all people, but seniors are most at risk for a serious accident. This is one of the reasons that falls on the stairs are such a serious concern for seniors. Even small falls can easily cause injury, so protecting against them is paramount. One way that falls can be prevented is by using a stair lift.
Stair lifts are used to move a person safely between floors. Usually, the user will sit in a chair, which is then moved up or down the staircase. The stair lift is electrically powered and typically, the chair will move along a metal track that is attached to the staircase. Some use rechargeable batteries, which allow the lift to be used even if the power goes out.
Aside from making the stairs safer, a stair lift also is usually very cost effective. It costs a small portion of what an elevator would cost or moving to a new home. The price varies by model and features, but a typical stair lift will usually cost around $1500 and $2500. Battery powered stair lifts end to cost a little bit more, but still fall into this price range.
This cost usually doesn’t include installation, but there are many stair lifts that are designed for self installation. These do it yourself stair lift kits can often be installed in only a few hours and don’t require any special tools. If you don’t feel comfortable installing the stair lift and can’t find anyone to do it, the professional installation service is usually not too expensive. One advantage of going with the professional installation is that the installers will also be able to show you how the lift works and answer any questions you might have, which can sometimes be easier than only reading the manual.
Those who have curved staircases will likely not have such an easy time though. The stair lift must be custom fit to the curved staircase, because there is no uniform building standard. As a result, the stair lift is much more expensive and because it is custom made, it will only work with an identical staircase. Typically, a curved stair lift will cost over $10,000 and many cost much more than this.
You must also be extra careful about dishonest distributors when you buy a curved stair lift. This is because some buy used stair lifts and when they sell it, will re-bend the track to fit the new staircase. This greatly reduces the strength of the track and increases the risk of the track breaking. One indication that the company might be doing this is a much lower cost then other curved stair lift retailers. They also offer a much shorter warranty, because the track is very likely to break after it has been used for awhile.
While you must be very careful about buying a used curved stair lift, this is not typically true of buying a used straight stair lift. Resellers of used straight stair lifts don’t have to bend the track, so it is safe to buy one of these lifts. You will save a little bit of money this way, but you don’t get as extensive of a warranty and you don’t get as big of a selection.
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