Domestic Lift or Stairlift

[Ferdinand]

We have been planning for a few years for my parent to move downstairs, but it appears that the huge bedroom, rooflights, view etc are still attractive.

 

So now we are talking about lifts and stairlifts (which the Yanks call, delightfully, "Chairlifts", as if you reach 89 then go skiing down your stairs.)

 

I have been suggesting planning for these for some time, and now I find I may need one myself.

In addition to stairlifts we are considering platform lifts (ie on a deck with half height or full height surround) and cabinet lifts (cabinet like a telephone box).

 

Does anyone have any real world experience with these?

 

The issues seem to be:

 

1 - That it meets the need, safely and practically without ever leaving the user stranded.

2 - How far the spec goes - eg lift large enough to carry wheelchairs or not.

3 - What happens after the need is ended (eg impact on sale of house) vs minimal value if it is sold.

4 - Then more minor questons such as whether a walk-thru or drive-thru (2 door) lift is a more useable option, or eg a smaller lift and 2 wheelchairs for upstairs and downstairs, and if it looks like a hospital-import. We are nowhere near the wheelchair stage yet, but it needs to be considered.

 

As far as I can see the realistic options and costs are:

 

1 - Stairlift, which is removed when the need is no longer there. Cost new say 2k -> 5k.

2 - Minimal lift, which is clearly a temporary add on. May be essentially self-supporting. Remove when need no longer there. Costs say £10k+ for the lift plus install.

3 - Lift integrated into house design/structure, with the extra aim of enhancing the house. Costs say 25k+ including the lift as may require structural work.

4 - Something refurbished by the manufacture. I can imagine these being 30-50% of the new price, which - if it is a piece of kit costing thousands *may* be worth a look subject especially to safety / reliability / guarantees.

 

Any comments one any of this would be welcome, as there are a lot of angles to tease out.

 

The hsoue here is a converted bungalow with angled roofs all over the place upstairs, and a lot of walls not quite aligning with downstairs, so we will just invite some reps and give them the run of it and ask for options in the first instance.

 

Ferdinand

 

[Guest Alphonsox]

We planned the new build layout assuming we would need a self supporting lift at some point in the future. The general idea is that we can cut a suitable "hole" between the downstairs dinning area and the guest bedroom upstairs. To enable this we ensured the floor joists could be modified, we have a separate power supply spur in place.

[le-cerveau]

Without seeing plans it is very hard to comment.  When I re-designed our house, bungalow to 2-storey, I deliberately included a proper lift with stairs going round it, but my mum is in a wheelchair so was the only option.  (se the plans on my blog)

I suspect you don't have that option without destroying the layout of the current house.

[Alexphd1]

Cant help you with the decision side but there is a few used chairlifts on ebay. such as http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stairlift-/122724588370?hash=item1c92f49b52:g:WWAAAOSwGh5ZyT3f

[Gone West]

£25k for an integrated lift might be a bit high. Stiltz quote around £14k which includes all standard site preparation work and all standard installation costs. Don't know exactly what that means though.

[Ferdinand]

On 30/09/2017 at 04:50, le-cerveau said:

Without seeing plans it is very hard to comment.  When I re-designed our house, bungalow to 2-storey, I deliberately included a proper lift with stairs going round it, but my mum is in a wheelchair so was the only option.  (se the plans on my blog)

I suspect you don't have that option without destroying the layout of the current house.

 

Thanks for that.

 

I am gradually coming to terms with how excellently and intricately our previous owner layed out the upstairs in a hipped/gabled roof to optimise the layout. There is hardly an upstairs wall or door in line with the downstairs version and the place is full of doglegs in walls to give greater space or perceived space to rooms both sides sorted for where you need thec xtra perceived space depending on where you circulate, pause avdoors etc. It must add 10-15% to the perceived space if you add up the size and seeming size of each room.

 

I have been unimpressed at the edges for the last couple of years because of slightly cut workmanship corners but the space usage planning here is verging on brilliant.

 

We do have a few options but it is going to take overlaying both sets of plans and some careful tracing of overs, unders and visual use of spaces to avoid compromising existing good things. I also have a strong personal view that disabled adaptation should be such that future owners will not take it out as clunky or compromising of utility (often the first thing they do), and that it should be integrated equally into the general usage of the house and not be tucked out on a limb somewhere like an add-on kludge or a mad aunt in the attic from Jane Austen.

 

I will try to post the plans, but my particular project is on a slowish burn of a couple of months thinking time.

 

Thanks for the reference and your detailed account.

 

F

 

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

Update:

 

We had a visit from the commercial-company-working-with-Age-UK.

 

Helpful, but their stairlifts start at a little under £2000 and go to £2800 installed.

 

Refurbished ones are available - which are newish reused ones which have been supplied under Council schemes, but only save about 10% on the new price.

 

They also supply showers (not material different from the fixed screen large footprint type most of us like, but they will be at least £3k.

 

Investigations cotinue.

Ferdinand

 

[vivienz]

I'm watching this topic with interest, Ferdinand, as my father in law has largely lost his mobility in the last year and now relies on a wheelchair and negotiates stairs with difficulty.

 

Thanks for the updates.

[mikalscad]

i'm a master builder but because of physical preoblems
can no,longer build,so i know all to well
what kind of problems disabilies are 
i had a couple of people come round to my house
talking about lifts when i pointed. out to them
this would make my house structurally unsafe
theynhad no idea of hat to do  eing a
builder i called on  people i,worked with to get my ground
floor garage converted to a bedroom an wetroom
if you give some dimensions and breif perhaps i can look at it

[Onoff]

You can get some real steals on Gumtree on these stair lifts. Let's face it a lot of people have them put in and "don't need them for long" Many relatives just want rid. Or the new house comes with one they don't won't. When my brother was in plaster for 12 weeks recently I looked at it but he didn't want to go that route. 

 

Just an example, even one on there for £50:

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/mobility-disability-medical/stairlift-by-meditex/1274413784

 

An old work colleague now services them so I can ask him ref makes etc.

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by Onoff

[Jeremy Harris]

I fitted structural supports in the wall, behind the plasterboard, adjacent to our stairs, and made sure there was plenty of space at the base of the stairs for the chair to be parked, out of the way, when I designed our house, specifically because I could see a time when one or other of us might need a stairlift.  I also fitted very wide doors and flush door thresholds everywhere, to make wheel chair access easier, with clear areas around doors to allow a wheelchair user room to turn and line up with the doors more easily.

 

This was based on all the hassle we had when I was growing up, with a father that had MS.  Our 1930's built house was damned awkward for anyone with a disability and ended up having to be very extensively modified so my father could continue to live in it.  We had to build a large extension, with a downstairs bedroom, wheelchair friendly toilet and bathroom and widen most of the doorways downstairs - not easy, as the lintels had to come out to allow wider doors to be fitted.  My memories of doing that, plus things like spending a summer holiday building brick walls for raised rose beds, and a wheelchair path alongside it, so he could carry on growing roses, had a fairly big influence on the design of our house and garden.

[HerbJ]

Hi

I have some friends who have rented a stairlift, to overcome what is hopefully a short term problem.  The  system rented does not attach to the wall, rather it is installed  by short legs onto  the stairs.

 

I don't know the details but I can find out if it is of interest?

[Ferdinand]

@HerbJ @JSHarris @Onoff @vivienz @mikalscad

 

The ones we have talked to all attach to the stairs, too.

 

So thanks for all the comments - if mum needs one it will be a stairlift for simplicity. We would have one high enough up the range to not look institutional and have extra convenience as needed. We would consider a leased stairlift.

 

However, the Doctor has now advised her not to have one, as it risks increasing deterioration as going up the stairs is good for you while you can.

 

So all the useful thoughts have been read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested for the future. Thanks all.

 

The stairs are now slightly easier since the cat has just popped his clogs (aged 18 and 3/4), so the anti-cat-upstairs stair gate has been removed. 

 

Cheers

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Ferdinand

[vivienz]

Impressive that a cat of that age could still get up the stairs, Ferdinand!

 

Considering a stair lift or improving access for limited mobility is still worth considering, I think.  Hubby smashed his heel to pieces a couple of years back and then I broke my leg 6 weeks ago and whilst we have either mended or are on the mend, it does focus the mind on how well one would cope in later years when limited by frailty or poor recovery from injury.

[jack]

59 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

However, the Doctor has now advised her not to have one, as it risks increasing deterioration as going up the stairs is good for you while you can.

 

+ several million for this. The less you move the faster you deteriorate when you get older.

 

I've been doing a lot of reading about exercise and older people (partly for my parents in law, partly because I'm no longer that young myself). I found this to be an excellent book, but the short version is that it's never too late to start exercising. Most importantly, as you get older, you should focus on activities that build muscle (ie, strength training) rather than doing cardio. 

[Ferdinand]

I suppose the cat was a living demonstration of the principle of staying active.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Ferdinand