Stair lifts

thebullsback

My wife needs a Stair Lift due to worsening condition.
Our stairs are straight and there are fifteen steps .
Rather than just ringing any one of the loads of suppliers out there has anyone any advice to offer beforehand?
Thank you.

tacpot12

You might look at second-hand or reconditioned stairlifts. Stairlifts are relatively simple devices; if installed correctly, only the switches and motors are subjected to significant wear. Most mobility stores will offer reconditioned stairlifts that have had any worn parts replaced. The saving might not be as much as you expect as some of the total cost is labour to install the stairlift.

This link might be useful: https://www.ageukmobility.co.uk/stairlift-advice/used-and-second-hand-stairlifts

WaywardDriver

thebullsback wrote: »

My wife needs a Stair Lift due to worsening condition.
Our stairs are straight and there are fifteen steps .
Rather than just ringing any one of the loads of suppliers out there has anyone any advice to offer beforehand?
Thank you.

Went through this with 90 year old m-i-l. Contacted local suppliers of each of the 2 main makes, Stannah and Acorn (Brooks). Both came promptly and quoted. Then visited showrooms where the salesmen showed great patience before my m-i-l was happy she could manage them. Not much to choose between them so went with Acorn due to price including swivel chair and hinged section at bottom due to doorway. For similar set-up to yours cost was approx. £1,400 including 2 free services.
Although we didn't encounter it, had read reports of undue sales pressure such as one-off discounts or repeated phone-calls, so something to look out for.

Owain_Moneysaver

thebullsback wrote: »

My wife needs a Stair Lift due to worsening condition.
Our stairs are straight and there are fifteen steps .
Rather than just ringing any one of the loads of suppliers out there has anyone any advice to offer beforehand?

Local council Social Work Occupational Therapist should be able to advise and there might be funding available. Councils used to fund loads of stairlifts but with cutbacks ...

cranford

We had a stairlift put in 2 years ago and I found what was then a small local firm. They now have offices in Kent Sussex and Surrey and we have had good service from them and their prices were competitive and they gave non pushing advice.
We needed a curved lift which cost £5000 new but since we were going to have a service plan we went for a recon one at £4000.
This is Stannah which plugs straight into a 13 amp socket.
We also have two remotes which was very useful when both of us needed to use the lift.
I would second getting one with a swivel chair which makes it easy and safe to alight at the top. And once in you probably can't do without the lift so I would get a 24 hr service plan. Also the batteries need to be replaced every few year so my plan includes these.
But for a straight lift the service plan would be about £200 although just a service is about £85. When I was researching the price for a straight was about £1400.

SuzieSue

We used Direct Stairlifts around 6 years ago as they were recommended on here. They were not pushy at all and were very reasonably priced (We paid around £1,500 for a straight stairlift then).

https://www.directstairlifts.co.uk

I think they fit nationwide.

Rosieandjim

Please take advice from an Occupational therapist. If your wife has a deteriorating condition she may not be safe using one in the near future.. If she needs to use a wheel chair a floor through ceiling lift may be better. A thorough assessment should be done first to potentially save you thousands of pounds if you make the wrong choice.