In this post we look at a clever way to lower to cost of a stairlift. But before we do so it’s important to explain that this solution isn’t suitable for every staircase. Safety must always come first when it comes to stairlifts, as well as reliability.
In this installation we installed a box on the top corner of the staircase. This allows the use of a straight stairlift on a curved staircase. Since straight stairlifts are usually much cheaper than their curved counterparts, this move can shave thousands off the cost of a stairlift.
You might also be interested in our post 8 ways to save money on a stairlift.
How To Lower The Cost Of A Stairlift
In this installation we effectively lowered the cost for the customer in two ways. Firstly we used a straight stairlift on a curved staircase. Secondly we provided a reconditioned stairlift – one of our specialities.
Our reconditioned stairlifts come with a 2 year warranty and are professionally refurbished to a very high standard. We choose only the best makes and models for this process, so you can be assured of a top quality stairlift.
In the picture below you can see how the staircase layout allows the box adaptation to get around the need for a curved stairlift. Curved stairlifts are considerably more expensive due to the customisation required for the rail manufacture.
Straight stairlifts, on the other hand, can be used “off-the-shelf” and therefore are much cheaper. Our reconditioned curved stairlifts start at £3,000 and our reconditioned straights at £1,250. So you can see straight away there is a considerable savings to be made simply by choosing a straight stairlift.
But this of course will often depend on your stairs. We certainly wouldn’t recommend this option if your safety was compromised. In the image below you can see the box we have added from another angle.
Lowering The Cost Of A Stairlift – Straight Stairlift On A Curved Staircase
The box is added to the top corner step to bridge between the stairs and the landing. This allows the stairlift user to simply step off onto the landing area. A staircase like this (pictured below) is perfect for this particular adaptation. It has only a single step facing off from the main staircase.
We have done a similar adaptation for a staircase with a slightly different setup which you can see below. We covered this setup in our case study – straight stairlift on curved stairs.
However, this is a less ideal staircase for this adaptation than the previous one because the user has to tackle the top two remaining steps.
So the viability of this would depend on the condition of the user. Safety should always come first and we don’t recommend this measure if safety is compromised. It is always better to plan ahead and get the correct stairlift for your stairs, should the user’s condition further deteriorate.
Is Your Curved Staircase Suitable For A Straight Stairlift?
Of course this adaptation is only suitable for a very specific staircase and not everyone can benefit from this strategy. We definitely wouldn’t recommend this if your safety on the stairs was compromised. The most suitable staircase is one which has a single off-facing step which can be bridged with the box at the top of the first flight of stairs.
There are other ways of saving on a stairlift through, such as by purchasing one of our reconditioned stairlifts. Reconditioned stairlifts are considerably cheaper than brand new ones. Our reconditioned stairlifts carry a 2 year warranty which covers you for break-downs, call-outs, parts and labour.
See also our post on 8 ways to save on a stairlift for more on this topic.
Summary
This staircase was also very narrow and we used a reconditioned Stannah 600 stairlift which are very good when it comes to narrow stairs. See also our page on stairlifts for narrow/awkward stairs.
The top box allowed us to safely place a straight stairlift on stairs which would otherwise require a curved stairlift. This is sometimes a great option if you’re on a budget and so long as your safety isn’t compromised, it can save you quite a bit on the cost of a stairlift.
Here’s the video we created for this installation.