Stair lifts for narrow stairs are a speciality of UKstairlifts.com. Before we discovered stair lifts for narrow stairs, we were turning away installations because the standard stair lift simply wouldn’t fit some staircases. In this case study we were literally handed the job by a provider who had the same problem.
In the UK in particular, there’s an array of narrow, difficult stairs to tackle. That makes this particular stairlift fitting one of the most interesting! So here’s our latest case study of a stairlift fitting. As you will see, this staircase presented a particular problem, which needed a particular solution.
Stair Lifts For Narrow Stairs – A Case Study
A quick glance at the staircase configuration shows how awkward this particular set is! As you can see, the lower stairs aren’t uniform which presents it’s own challenges. The lower 4 steps configure the corner and the angles of these steps makes it difficult for a standard fitting.
To add to the difficulty, the corridor has doors on both sides, leaving little room for parking a stairlift without blocking the corridor.
Here’s the top of the staircase which has a 180 degree bend to contend with also – turning round on to the landing. Again, it’s a tight corner at the top and many stairlifts simply can’t cope with such difficult turns. If a stairlift has an outward facing chair, it will struggle to turn the corner without the knees making contact with the wall.
Stair Lifts For Narrow Stairs – Measurements
Taking correct measurement is pretty vital in this scenario. A few centimetres out and the whole rail system can be useless! So we set to work making sure this was even a possible fit, before committing to the installation. Once the measurements are taken, a detailed drawing is done so that when parts are ordered they are an exact fit. As the saying goes, “measure twice, cut once”!
Stair Lifts For Narrow Stairs – The Flow 2 A Stairlift From Access BDD (Formerly Thyssen)
Step on board the Flow 2 stairlift from Access BDD (formerly Thyssen). This stairlift is the “go-to” stairlift for awkward and difficult staircases. The more recent model too, the Flow X stairlift is the best there is at tackling awkward and difficult staircase designs which offer little room for manoeuvre. We have even fitted a Flow stairlift to a spiral staircase – checkout the post on the spiral stairlift fitting here.
In this scenario we were able to fit a reconditioned stairlift to reduce the cost. Checkout our page on reconditioned stairlifts here.
Stair Lifts For Narrow Stairs – Installation Day
On installation day the first thing to be fitted is the rail. Rail fitting is done in stages. Luckily we had good weather on the day! Here you can see Scott unpacking the rail outside the house.
The rail needs to be assembled correctly to align properly with the dimensions of the staircase. A small misalignment can mean the stairlift clashes with the staircase, or the rail. Or the user’s legs get caught on the opposite wall.
Before the rail can be fully assembled, a piece is attached to the top of the staircase in order to build it. The rest of the rail is then attached and slowly screwed into the staircase a piece at a time. Each piece needs to be correctly measured so it’s the right distance from the edge. In this scenario, it was more important than many fittings, which might have more leeway than this one.
Rail Installed
Here you see the rail installed. The single rail makes the Flow stairlift quite versatile in situations like this one. The “drop nose” configuration means the rail doesn’t block the doorway or corridor at the base of the staircase. This might bring up the question of stairlift parking position! With such doorway and corridor at the base of the stairs (and on on the other side too), where will the stairlift be able to be parked when not in use?
With the Flow 2 stairlift you can place it on the rail and “call” it with a remote control which is placed at the top and bottom of the staircase.
This is standard on a variety of stairlifts and it gives you much more choice in a tight staircase setup such as this one. Parking points are set up on the rail where the stairlift can “park”. These are also charge points, so the chair can receive power to top up the battery while resting.
Folding Chair
The folding mechanism of the Flow 2 Stairlift also means it can fold up when not in use. This is another great feature which makes these stairlifts perfect for such a narrow staircase. Here you can see the stairlift in the folded position at the bottom of the staircase. There’s still room to get past if you want to climb the stairs by foot!
Programming The Chair
The next phase of the installation is the programming of the lift itself. With a Flow 2 or Flow X stairlift, there’s a patented technology which allows the stairlift to tilt and pivot simultaneously while climbing the staircase. This is the ASL technology (advanced swivel and levelling) and is unique to the Flow stairlifts.
The chair can also face down stairs which makes it more suitable to a staircase of this type. Most stairlifts will face outwards, or, only pivot at the top and bottom of the stairs for ease of entry and exit. This stairlift will pivot, tilt and climb/descend all at once! This makes it often the only choice for a staircase which is so narrow as this one is.
Programming of the stairlift involves telling it how much to pivot/tilt on each curve, dip and incline of the rail to allow maximum movement and leg room. Once programmed, the stairlift will know what to do on each stage of the rail.
The Final Product
This was a great example of what can be done and a reminder that most staircases have a stairlift solution if one is required. We were glad to be able to help out on this one it made such a difference!
Checkout this short time lapse video we created for this installation:
Need a stairlift fitting on a narrow or awkward staircase? Give us a call! You can visit our contact page here too, or call us on 0800 046 3438.
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