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Curved Stair Lifts
from:A stair lift is a piece of home medical equipment that is used
to carry people up and down the stairs. They are often called
stair chairs because they frequently use a chair that is
attached to a set of rails in order to transport a seated
individual across the distance of the stairs. They do however
make some models that utilize a small platform instead of a
chair. The units themselves typically attach to the steps, and
are found in several different shapes and sizes. For people with
straight staircases, the installation is fairly straight forward
and simple. Curved stair cases prevent a much more complicated
installation and are much more expensive.
When you purchase a stair lift for a straight stair case, the
rail system is cut to fit your specific stair case length. As
long as you do not have abnormally narrow stairs, this is really
the only custom part of your stair lift. When dealing with
curved stairs, however, the whole track must be custom built to
fit your specific stair case. Since there is no standard when it
comes to curved stair cases, you will have to have a
professional installer come and measure your stairs. The turn
around time to build the custom track is usually anywhere from 1
½ months to 3 months.
The fact that your track must be custom built translates into
much higher costs for the consumer. A curved stair lift can
easily cost in excess of $15,000. In addition they have little
or no resale value. This is because every stair case is a little
different; it is incredibly unlikely that you will be able to
use it on any stair case with the exception of the one it was
built for. This means that if you decide to move, in addition to
not being able to sell it, you will not be able to put it in
your new home.
In some instances it is actually possible to install 2 straight
stair lifts in the place of 1 curved stair lift. This will save
the consumer tremendous amounts of money, but is only possible
on some types of stair cases. If your stair case features a
landing halfway down, and if the stair case is 'L' shaped then
it may be possible to use two stair lifts. If the curved stair
case can be divided into 2 straight staircases, then it is
possible to get away from the large costs associated with a
curved stair lift.
If you have no other recourse than to get a curved stair lift,
you will want to do a good deal of research before you commit to
a specific model. Since you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks
from the time you order it to the time they finish building it,
you should resist the urge to purchase one just to get the ball
rolling. Instead it is better to take your time and carefully
find a company that has good reviews, both in the quality of
their product, but also their responsiveness to customer needs.
Curved stair lifts have notoriously been prone to mechanical
problems, so ensure that you have found a dealer that provides a
very good warranty as well.
About the author: Brad Brubaker
For more information on stair lifts, wheelchair lifts, lift chairs, and other types of home medical equipment visit http://www.usmedicalsupplies.com
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