If you are looking for an alternative to stairs to reach another level in your home, you probably think first of an elevator.  There are two other basic devices marketed for home use.  A platform lift and a chair lift are both common solutions to getting up stairs when climbing stairs becomes troublesome or difficult.  Each is useful for different purposes and different users.

Chair lifts

When walking up or down stairs becomes difficult (or even unsafe) a chair lift may be all that is needed to will allow the user to sit and ride up/down a full flight of stairs in safety.  A chair lift is a seat that runs on a track over your existing staircase and is intended for interior applications and retrofit applications in existing homes.  The chair seat should have armrests, seatbelt and a footrest, for a stable ride.  The controls for the mechanism are on the seat arm, allowing the user to control the movement independently.  Chair lift tracks are designed to follow the stair, with most able to curve 180 degrees around switchback stairs or to curve to a bottom or top landing.  The seat and footrest often fold up, allowing more room on the stairway for family members to pass by when the lift is not in action.  Keep in mind that, if the chair lift user also uses a wheelchair or scooter,  that the wheelchair doesn’t ride up with them.  Therefore, a wheelchair is needed for each floor served by the chair lift.

Platform Lift

If a wheelchair or scooter user wants to rise up more than a few steps in their wheelchair and a ramp isn’t practical/feasible, then a platform lift would be a great solution.  This device appears to be a mini elevator that is open to the elements.  It consists of a four-sided box with gates on either end or side, and an interior platform that rises up within this housing to bring the user to the next level.  These are designed for both interior and exterior applications and can rise as far as 72”.  One manufacturer even calls these “Porch lifts” because they are often considered as solutions to get up to elevated porches or into garage entries when the vertical distance is too great for a ramp in that location.  These require house power, have controls both inside and outside of the device so they can be operated independently and have safety mechanisms to prevent lowering the device onto pets or items that may have gotten below.  They also have battery back-ups in case of power failure.   These are appropriate for retrofit installations to existing homes.

Elevator

Adding an elevator to an existing home is the most requested item I am asked about and the most challenging one, too.  An elevator is the most versatile device as an alternative to stairs:  it allows a user to ride in their mobility device if they have one, it is fully enclosed, more than one person can ride in it (depending on size) and it has increased safety and independence controls.  The addition of an elevator to an existing home requires finding a location in the house that allows a large shaft to be constructed that punches through multiple floors and a nearby area to contain the machinery.  Some homes will accommodate a new elevator in an addition, attached to the side of the exterior of the home.  In new or remodeled homes, an elevator is easy to plan for, even for a future installation.  Providing a large closet stacked on each floor can accommodate a future elevator without the headache of carving out space in existing rooms.   Regardless of the final location, residential elevators when fully installed are quite attractive, with doors that appear to be just closet doors and interior cabs finishes that can match your home interiors.  The addition of an elevator increases the usability of your home for you and future owners so can boost the value of your home.

Each of these three devices can increase your independence and safety within your home.   Evaluating your current and future needs and the particular conditions of your home will help you to select the right device for you.

All images from ThyssenKrupp Access at www.tkaccess.com