Home Stair Lifts

Increasing the independence of your home for you or your physically challenged loved one can be done easily by adding a stair lift. There are so many models and brands to choose from, choosing the right one for your home can be a daunting task, especially to someone who is unfamiliar with the various technologies associated with a stair lift. It is important to have a basic understand of how a stair lift operates so that you can choose one that best meets your own needs.

All stair lifts will use the same basic operation. There is a seat unit which encloses an electric motor which attaches to a piece of track, which is usually aluminum and secured to the stairs, and travels up and down this track. Stair lifts operate in mainly two different ways today. Rack and pinion and cable driven. Rack and pinion uses a gear that is attached on the underside of the seat unit which travels upon a rack to move. Cable driven stair lifts use a steel cable that wraps around an aluminum drum.

It can sometimes be hard to find a retail store that sells stair lifts but you can find some very quality online stores and save a lot of money by purchasing from them, either by an online form or by telephone. Make sure that the dealer is authorized by the manufacturer to sell you a stair lift. By doing this, it will insure that you are dealing with a factory trained representative and is familiar with the product they are trying to sell you.

Prices for new straight track stair lifts can range from $1800 to $3000. Some stair lift models are sold as packages and the installation is already included in the price. Installation costs of a stair lift will be around $500. However, you can save that amount by installing it yourself. Before you do this though, it is recommended that you request installation instructions or that there are instructions viewable online for that specific model so you can get an idea of what all is involved and whether you believe you can do it or not. If you do make a purchase and do not buy the installation, and later feel you can’t do it yourself, most companies see this as no problem and can add the installation after the initial purchase and send someone out to install it for you.