Curved Stair Lift Or Straight Stair Lift: Which Is Better For Which Type Of Home Design And Structure?

Article by Brinkmann Hamer

There are many people who find it uncomfortable to climb stairs. In fact, most people in apartment buildings will not mind taking an elevator if they have to climb just two flights of stairs. The lure of an elevator is comfortable enough that we cancel our plans to climb some stairs.

While elevators are now considered a norm given their presence in almost every building, stair lifts are still a rather unknown phenomenon. What actually are these stair lifts? As the name suggests, stair lifts are used to lift a person through a flight of stairs. Unlike elevators, that are used for multi-story ascend, stair lifts are limited in their approach.

Primarily, they are meant for the disabled persons who are unable to climb stairs. A stair lift is essentially a mechanical set of rails and ascending/descending device that helps a person to climb the stairs (mostly on a wheel chair).

This means that a stair lift can be installed in a typical double storey home or even on the ground floor if the house has multi-level rooms and lounges. A person with walking difficulty cannot climb even a few steps in extreme conditions and needs stair lift assistance. You will have to install a mini stair lift for them in that case.

There are two basic types of stair lifts. One comes with the standard style and is known as the straight stair lift. Other one is used in curved staircases and thus it is called curved stair lift. The types of staircases, of course play the crucial role in determining the installation of a straight or curved stair lift. However, there are some instances where the overall structure of the house and design can alter the decisions and change your perceptions about these stair lifts.

A simple home structure does not allow for a curved stair lift. In most cases, these homes have straight staircases or a two-level staircase. That type of staircase is divided into two levels with flight of steps on each end of the middle platform.

This middle platform is provided to give some rest to the people ascending these steps. Stair lift can be installed on this type of staircase with relative ease. One just has to fix the lift along with the handrails and attach its hooks at the sides of the steps. Once installed, the lift can be used to transport old or disabled person up and down the stairs.

In many homes, people have paid great attention to details. They have gone for curved staircases instead of the straight ones. These curved staircases cannot help the installation of a straight stair lift. You will have to install a curved stair lift on these staircases. There are many variations in curved stair lifts and they look more stylish as compared to the straight stair lifts.