A Look at Stair Lifts and Residential Elevators
Growing numbers of active adults are choosing to upgrade their homes to include universal design features. If you want to continue to live independently in your own home (a.k.a. aging in place), even if you develop health or mobility features, a sound remodeling job is probably in your future, and stairs lifts or residential elevators are something to consider when dealing with multiple stories.
People living in split-level, colonial, raised-ranch, or other multilevel houses may find it difficult to navigate the stairs to the bedroom suites on the upper levels. Flights of stairs that you could climb without difficulty when you were younger often become too painful to deal with. In the past, your options were limited to remodeling so that you could live on the ground floor, moving in with family members, or moving into an assisted living facility. Today, options such as stair lifts and home elevators give you another option.
Getting to a top floor can be as easy as pushing a button if you install a lift or elevator. Let's take a look at what each is and has to offer.
Stair Lifts
A stair lift is a seat that rides along a rail on one wall of a flight of stairs, which allows the rider to go up or down in a seated position. The chair folds up when not in use and the staircase can be used normally.
Most chair lifts run on direct current from rechargeable batteries in the lift itself (and will run even during a power outage). Batteries need to be replaced every 12-18 months and it is a complicated enough job that professional help may be required.
Many designs are available but more complex control circuits are needed if the stair is curved.
All stair lifts have sensors that will stop the lift if the sensor is triggered, so that if your foot slips or a child gets in the way, an injury would be averted.
The standard lift is 17 inches wide and can carry up to 300 pounds (although heavier duty models are available). A well maintained stair lift could provide 20 years of service.
The average cost, including installation, will run $3 or $4 thousand dollars.
As for cons, or disadvantages of stair lifts, remember that it is difficult to transfer from a wheelchair to a lift, get the wheel chair up or down stairs and transfer off again. It is also difficult to carry things like groceries or packages up the stairs with you.
Residential Elevators
Another alternative is a residential elevator. Elevators aren’t just for the very old or the very rich anymore. Newer, smaller models are available that are geared specifically for normal residential homes. A home elevator might be the answer as baby boomers plan for the rest of their lives.
Houses can be retrofitted with an elevator by knocking out a stack of closets. The elevator will look like a closet door with call buttons.
The main consideration is the traffic pattern on each floor as you need to configure allowing space for getting into the elevator with a walker or wheelchair. Elevator cabs measuring three feet by four feet should be big enough to accommodate a wheelchair. A small elevator is a versatile addition to the home.
Unlike with stair lifts, laundry, packages, and other bulky items can be taken up or down stairs easily.
Of course, you'll pay more for an elevator too. The cost of a residential elevator could run anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000 dollars for the machinery alone. Expensive, yes, but with the prices of new homes today, the cost of an elevator is not going to change the cost of your mortgage all that much.
As you can see, there are pros and cons of both stair lifts and elevators. Consider carefully which is best for you. You will probably want to have a contractor come out to your home to help you decide which is the most viable based on your floor plan and living style.
Sources:
“Elevators are the Next Step Up: Conversions Gain in Popularity for Aging or Infirmed Homeowners”. Elizabeth Festa. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. June 25, 2005
“Letting a Stair Lift Do the climbing”. Jay Romano. New York Times, August 5, 2007
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