Stair lift/awkward landing-advice plse. :0)

never_enough

Elderly relative is heading towards the need of a stairlift. Have done some research on it but we're still not sure if it's possible & I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments. Her house has a staircase that goes up from the corner of the dining room so is solid wall up one side. At the top there is 1970's type 'ranch fencing' railings on both sides. Obviously we can replace that with wall to take the weight of the machine + her, but the track would need to go around the corner (& then run parallel to the upward bit) to take the seat to a safe place to get on & off. This would then be in the way of a doorway on either side. I know if we got people around to quote for it they would be able to explain all the details, but we'd prefer to be there too. We're 5 hours away so it's not easy to arrange.
Does anybody have any info/advice about these things?
Thanks

Nobleck

I was working around a disabled customers a few months ago and he had a lift installed that went up from his living room , directly to his bedroom.
It was very unobtrusive, maybe this could be an alternative idea for your relative, maybe it would also be possible to recieve a grant to help fund the installation.

wolfehouse

if you still have time you could go through social services- ask for a needs assessment and bring up the desire for stairlift then.

this is because they will then be responsible for regular servicing and saftey matters after one is installed. although a maintainance fee is sometimes payable it should be relatively small.

only trouble is waiting times can be extremely long (2 years+) in some councils.

moonrakerz

never_enough wrote: »

At the top there is 1970's type 'ranch fencing' railings on both sides. Obviously we can replace that with wall to take the weight of the machine + her,

Firstly, the weight of the chair and the passenger is not on the wall. The track the lift runs on sits on the stairs.
Secondly I would suggest from the complexity of your arrangement that you need to get someone in to look at it.
Get a number of companies in and ask for quotes - BUT- be warned, they can be like double glazing salesmen, lots of "offers" that are closing that day !
DON'T sign anything then !!! Prices will vary enormously.

never_enough

wolfehouse wrote: »

if you still have time you could go through social services- ask for a needs assessment and bring up the desire for stairlift then.

this is because they will then be responsible for regular servicing and saftey matters after one is installed. although a maintainance fee is sometimes payable it should be relatively small.

only trouble is waiting times can be extremely long (2 years+) in some councils.

I'm not sure that they would get any financial help as they have a good pension. TBH we havn't really looked into the financial side of things yet, it's been hard enough to get her to agree to having one put in. Didn't want the cost to put them off, so we've kind of glossed over that for now.

craigfer

You could try posting the question on www.stairlift-forum.co.uk

mobilityman_2

I run a respectable and professional stairlift company we supply mainly to local authorities etc, as Moonrakerz pointed out stairlifts nowadays are free standing i.e. supporting down through the treads, therefore there is no requirement for a wall to support the unit. the problem at the top sounds easy to solve by the addition of a swivel seat, this means the rail stops at the top step then the seat is swivelled round so the user can dismount safely onto the landing. if you require any further information please give me a shout, i'm happy to help.