Stairway Chair Lift - Get the Facts

A stairway chair lift is very useful for those who are limited in moving about because of age, arthritis, gout, and other physically-disabling conditions. The lift allows a person independence, freedom and mobility allows a person who struggles with stairs to traverse the distance in a safe and comfortable manner. There are two types of stair lifts we will focus on here and they are:

1. The straight chair lift - The straight stair chair lift is more flexible and as the name implies is for a straight line of steps. Most likely there will be one that is applicable for your stairway already made to the correct measurements but you might still have to have some customization performed.

2. The curved stairway lift - The curved stairway lift is most useful in a situation with a staircase that has turns or curves in it.. This type of lift will have to be basically custom tailored to the needs of the house it is going to be installed in.

Your stairway chair lift manufacturer or company can help you with determining the right style for your needs. Here are some things you would want to consider

* Swivel seats
* Push buttons to operate
* Joystick type control
* Moveable armrests

These are just some of the basic options you can choose from in selecting the best stair chair lift for your needs. Now for a closer look at the straight and the curved lift types.

You can choose between using two straight chair lifts or go for the curved stairway lift if your stairs have more than one landing running in straight lines. The price of a straight lift is usually less expensive and can often be installed faster than a curved lift. There is a good point to installing a straight lift versus a curved and that is there is not much variation in straight lifts other than the track length.

The benefit of using the curved chair lift is that there is no need to move the person from one stair lift onto another as the steps turn. A straight stair chair lift, on the other hand, would require the person to get onto the next lift. The drawback of a curved chair lift is the maintenance required. It is a more sophisticated setup and more stress is put on the rails just like there would be on a train track in the curves.

Other considerations would include flat landings and any overhangs on steps so when you find the company you want to work with you should to purchase your stairway chair lift make sure you follow the advice as you work your needs into your budget.