Chair Lifts for Stairs: Questions to Ask

If you are looking at chair lifts for stairs, there are several questions you need to ask both yourself and manufacturers to make sure you get the right chair lift for your home stairway.

First, you need to consider the installations costs of different chair lifts for stairs model. Often these costs and actually exceed the cost of the chair lift itself, so you need to make sure the price you are being quoted gives you this estimate as well. If you have a curved staircase, this is especially important, since it will cost quite a bit more to install a stair chair on a spiral staircase versus a straight one.

Second, you need to ask yourself what kind of power supply you need. If you live in an area where there are frequent power outages, having some kind of backup power supply is crucial if you or your loved on might be stranded in a power blackout.

Third, you will need to decide what kind of drive mechanism you want in your stair lift. Pinion drives and cable drives are the most popular types available, but there are others to choose from and you should make sure that which ever drive you select can be repaired easily and, ideally, inexpensively.

Fourth, you should think about what chair lifts for stairs features you want: do you want a chair that pivots? How big should the stair chair be? Do you even want a chair lift at all, or would a wheel chair lift or other handicap stair lift device? By asking yourself hard questions about what kind of chair lift is best for you or a family member, you will end up saving yourself considerable expense and frustration.

For some excellent suggestions about chair lift models and a useful video of a chair lift in action, visit the Chair Lifts for Stairs Squidoo page for more information.