Should you get a stairlift or a home lift?

A seated stairlift can solve the climb while keeping the existing route between floors. The important test is whether the person can sit, remain supported and transfer at both ends with the assistance available. A trial of the relevant seat and controls can reveal difficulties that a floor plan cannot.

Rail layout determines where that transfer happens. Stannah describes straight rails cut to the flight and curved rails made for the staircase; its fitting guidance fixes the rail to the treads. Those details concern Stannah’s systems, but they illustrate why a bend, doorway or small landing needs more than a measurement of stair width.

Check how the rest of the household passes the chair in use and when parked. A rail ending beside a doorway may need a different parking or folding arrangement. The stairlift buying guide and straight-versus-curved rail comparison develop those choices.

A home lift becomes useful when a person needs a continuous journey in their wheelchair or a carer needs to travel alongside. The requirement is more than a large-looking cabin. Check the clear doorway, usable floor space, load and the approach to the door at each floor.

Aritco’s largest HomeLift Access size takes a wheelchair with an attendant. That is one maker’s biggest model, so check any quoted lift against the actual wheelchair, the carer and the way in at each floor.

The building then has to accommodate that route. A lift location can take useful space from several rooms, and openings or supports may need structural work. Read the home lift guide and wheelchair-accessible home lift planning article before settling on an advertised minimum footprint.

If a suitable bedroom and bathroom can be reached on the ground floor, adapting them may remove the immediate need to travel upstairs. That can mean a ground-floor bathroom renovation as well as moving a bedroom. Discuss privacy, bathing, doorways, carer access and the person’s preferences. Moving a bed alone does not make an accessible daily routine.

Temporary needs deserve their own comparison. If a rented or reconditioned stairlift is available, include fitting, removal, servicing and the appropriate approvals in its total, as the stairlift rent-or-buy comparison sets out. Price the cost and disruption of adapting rooms too; neither route is automatically the cheaper one.

A good decision leaves essential rooms usable while work is underway and during equipment downtime. If neither lifting option fits safely, reassess the room arrangement and care needs with the appropriate professionals. Budget pressure does not make an unsafe transfer or obstructed stair acceptable.

First, can the person transfer onto a stairlift seat and off again safely at both landings? If that is uncertain, resolve it before ordering. If they must stay in the wheelchair, look at a home lift big enough for the chair. Where a home lift won’t fit, a wheelchair platform that runs along the stairs may, if the staircase is wide enough. Savaria’s Delta inclined platform lift carries a wheelchair user over a single straight flight and folds up when it isn’t in use. The stairlift versus wheelchair platform lift comparison covers that choice.

Second, can the house accommodate the complete route? Compare the stairlift’s occupied and parked positions with the home lift’s openings, landings and approach space. Third, what does each viable option cost to install and keep in service? Request the whole scope after suitability is established.

One last check applies whichever you choose, because a stairlift has BCA rules to meet as well as a home lift. BCA regulates stairlifts and vertical platform lifts as fixed installations. A narrow exemption requires all three conditions together: one residential unit, vertical travel below 1,000 mm and maximum downward force below 150 N. A normal full-flight stairlift does not meet that exemption, so confirm the applicable installation approvals and a valid Permit to Operate before anyone uses it.