The famous stairlift, some say the stairlift originated from the time of Henry the VIII – who knows for sure! The reality is now, what stairlift should you choose? There are a number of stairlift types on the market, let’s take a deeper look at some of the stairlift options avaliable.
Straight-rail Stairlifts
One of the most popular types on the stairlift and the most likely reason for the high level of demand is due to the short installation lead time and the rail is cut to specification from a stock part. The Straight-rail stairlift obviously suits a certain type of house, usually a traditional ‘straight’ stair.
Curved-rail Stairlifts
As the title suggested, the curved-rail stairlift is designed to cater for the demand of curved stairs and are specifically customized to every individual stair. Effectively a curved stairlift removes the need for two straight stairlifts, so the stairlift is one continuous ride to the top of the stair. A curved-rail changes direction and moves in a curved motion along the route of the stair, ergo the engineering complexities are somewhat more detailed and must factor a number of issues such as balance, measurement, design and ultimately customised manufacturing.
To this effect, curved-rail stairlifts certainly has benefits which in most cases are required. However, they come at a higher cost due to the higher level of custimization and also includes a longer installation time.
Pre-owned Stairlifts
There is a supply of second hand stairlifts on the market, primarily due to their simplicity. The rails can be cut and reduced if required and also ‘joining kits’ can be purchased to make the rail longer is required.
There are obvious concerns with a pre-owned stairlift, you could run into serious installation problems and also the safety concerns with stairs and stairlifts should not be treated lightly. Our advice is to ask the experts at ‘BM Stairlifts’ – one should stick to their area of knowledge!