What is a Stairlift?

A stairlift, which is also known as a stair lift, chair lift, or chairlift, in its most basic form is just a chair attached to and sitting on top of a small platform with a mechanism that can move up and down a set of rails or a track mounted in a staircase. There will be typically be onboard controls that allow the passenger to control the lift’s movements.

A stairlift’s main purpose is to return mobility to people who have lost it, particularly the elderly and the disabled.

Stannah stairlifts are much more refined and have many more safety features and options than the basic chair on rails that were just described: Stannah has expanded on that basic design and has a refined solution for virtually any situation and environment that might require a stairlift. The main considerations for the type of installation to choose are environment, space, configuration of the staircase and, of course, price.

Read on to find out more about Stannah stairlifts for staircases that are narrow or wide, curved or straight stairs, inside the home or outside.

In addition, if your staircases are very narrow, Stannah has the perfect option for you: the Sadler. It requires much less space than other stairlifts, allowing it to work in almost all scenarios. Unlike all the other stairlifts, the Sadler has a mostly standing position that pulls your knees away from the opposite wall, allowing it to be as narrow as is possible. Its perched seat takes most of the weight off your knees while riding on the stairlift, thus it is quite comfortable to use.

Stairlifts for Curved Stairs

Stairlifts for curved stairs are a bit more complicated than stairlifts for straight staircases. However we can usually install any model of stairlift that will work on straight stairs on curved stairs also. Stannah uses well-engineered slim-line rails for installation on curved staircases.

A problem you may encounter with curved staircases is a constraint of space at the places where the staircases curve. To achieve maximum clearance Stannah use very slim rails that hug close to the wall.

In the rare scenario where the stairs are just too narrow for any of the other lifts to work, the Stannah Sadler usually works very well as mentioned earlier.

Common Features and Operation

Except for the Sadler, all the Stannah stairlifts offer a full-seated position. Once seated, simple onboard controls mounted on either the left or right armrest, according to your preference, start and stop the lift smoothly. There are manual chair pivots handles available on the stairlifts to turn the seat to make it easier for you to get on and get off at the top and bottom of the stairs, with a powered seat pivot available as an option. All the lifts have a footrest and arm rests. Wall mounted call stations are also standard. Riding and controlling a Stannah stairlift is really that simple. There is not much you need to learn to be able to use a Stannah lift.

Common safety features include power switches to immobilize lift. Some have locking switches. And all Stannah stairlifts are battery powered that are continuously kept charged and will continue to work when there is a blackout.

The stairlifts also have seat sensors to ensure they will not move until you are securely seated, except, of course, for the Sadler because you never fully sit on it. All the stairlifts also include edge sensors that will halt the lift if it contacts anything along the way, and they all include a safety harness or seat belt for greater peace of mind as you travel up and down the stairs.

Contact us today to find out more about the quality stairlifts we offer, and we will help you to find the perfect stairlift that you need.