Guide to Stairlifts

Stairlifts are mechanically-driven seats which lift people and people in wheelchairs up and down stairs. A rail is mounted on the tread of the stairs, and a chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. Using the controls, the seat moves up and down the rail, transporting passengers around a building without the need for additional assistance.

Stairlifts can also be known as chairlifts, but they should not be confused with the type of chairlift used by skiers on the slopes.

It was generally thought that stairlifts were invented by C. C. Crispen in the 1920s, a Pennsylvanian entrepreneur who invented mechanical devices to help immobile people travel between floors, but more recently historian David Starkey found evidence suggesting that Henry VIII had a rope-driven contraption in which he was hauled up and down the stairs by servants. It’s thought that the device, described in official records as “a chair…that goeth up and down” was used on a twenty foot staircase in Whitehall Palace. As well as a primitive stairlifts, Henry also had “wheelthrones” to help him move around the palace. During his lifetime, Henry’s waist expanded to an alarming width of fifty-two inches, explaining why he needed such help to move around his palaces.

Today stairlifts aren’t operated by man-power, and come in a range of shapes and sizes, with adjustable seat heights, charging batteries, seatbelts and even folding steps. The main issue when erecting a stairlift is the type of staircase it is to be used on. Straight staircases require straight rails, made from aluminium or steel. Curved staircases require curved rails, with the emphasis being on making the curves have the smallest radius possible, wrapping rightly around posts or corners. These rails need to be tailor-made for a staircase, and surprisingly stairlifts can be fitted to almost any staircase.

The carriage is fitted onto the rails, usually with arm and footrests, and there are different types of seat for different types of people. Passengers with shorter legs can benefit from a lower seat, and users will have varying preferences regarding back rests and the specific dimensions of the seat.

Straight rail stairlifts are certainly the easiest to install, with rails being fixed to the steps of the staircase and minimal customisations needing to be made. Curved rail stairlifts have to be more tailor-made to the specific dimensions of the staircase. This involves careful measurements and manufacturing, and the rail we need to be perfectly formed before it is deployed on the stairs.

Wheelchair lifts, platform lifts or chairlifts are usually a much more significant construction project than installing a stairlift. Usually unsuitable for a modest home, you tend to see platform lifts in public buildings or large offices. Platforms need to be large enough to fit a wheelchair and its user, and most tend to have flaps which fold up for safety reasons. The rails needed to carry a platform lift need to be of particularly heavy construction to ensure they can carry the weight.

Outdoor stairlifts are also available, with similar technology but improved weather proofing. The lifts come with seats, platforms and perches. Reconditioned stairlifts are also being installed in people’s homes, with existing straight rails being shortened or extended to fit the new stairwell. Curved stairlifts are more difficult to install elsewhere, unless the curves match those of the staircase which it was previously installed to. Recently, some curved stairlifts have been designed in a modular way, so that individual components can be removed and replaced. This means efforts to install a reconditioned curved stairlift are now more likely to be successful.