Installing a lift for a home remains a great way to make it accessible for the elderly, the sick, and the specially-abled members. Mobile impairments cause extreme exertion. Moreover, extreme locomotor disabilities can make it completely impossible to walk up and down the stairs.
Therefore, such people are mostly left dependent on others. However, home lifts restore their independence to a great extent.
That said, choosing the ideal type of lift for home remains a tricky job. Nonetheless, we have tried to help you with the best types of home lifts for your project.
A stair lift remains the most common type of lift for home. You can fit a stair lift onto the already existing staircase. Therefore, this retrofit option doesn’t need any structural changes in the house.
A stair lift comprises a seat and a rail. The rail remains fitted along the edge of the staircase and the seat moves up and down the rail.
The installation remains simple and relatively affordable. Moreover, you can remove it conveniently if not longer required.
However, a person with complete immobility might not be able to make full use of the stair lift for home as the seat remains attached to the rail so one needs to get off the seat and sit on the wheelchair for further movement.
A platform lift offers movement between two floors by lowering and raising the platform. As a lift for home, you can use both enclosed and unenclosed platforms. Although an unenclosed platform lift remains a cheaper option, it cannot travel higher than 3 meters. Therefore, if you need a home lift for a height of more than 3 meters, consider an enclosed platform lift.
The construction and installation of platform lifts need time and is more expensive than stair lights. However, the passenger can travel with their wheelchair. Hence, a person with total locomotor disability can use it as well. Moreover, it doesn’t obstruct the stairway movement.
On the hindsight, the platform lift can cover only short distances and the bulky platform consumes a lot of floor space and gives an industrial look to the house.
A through-floor lift uses a cabin or lift car with proper walls and ceiling. Imagine a passenger lift you see in a hotel! A through-floor lift looks and works just like that but in smaller lift dimensions for better home use.
This lift for home remains comfortable and safe. It needs minimal layout designing in the initial construction stage. However, it can be fitted in your existing space too.
Speaking about lifts, these vertical movement devices make the buildings extremely efficient and feasible.
However, installing lifts in buildings is not a simple task. It needs a lot of early-stage planning. Also, the construction industry still has some ambiguity when it comes to deciding the responsibility of installation of lift in buildings. Some believe that it is the architect who remains responsible but others claim that the responsibility lies on the consultants and lift manufacturers.
