If you’re ready to get a stairlift fitted, your first port of call is to give us a call. You can reach us on 0800 046 3438. We will ask you a few questions related to your stairs and determine a few options for you according to your needs. Our staff are trained to help you find the perfect stairlift to suit your needs.
Our staff earn a flat salary, they don’t earn commission, so nobody is going to try and make a commission from your stairlift. We want what’s best for you. Whether that’s a new or a reconditioned stairlift will depend on your particular situation.
Get A Stairlift Fitted – Initial Phone Call
The process for getting your stairlift starts with an initial phone call (call 0800 046 3438). The initial phone call will be taken by our professional office team. We will take all your details and schedule a telephone call from Scott, our head engineer.
By answering a few questions Scott will, (in most cases) be able to give you a guaranteed price over the phone. For more complicated installations a site visit may we required. This will be arranged with Scott over the phone.
Call Out/Assessment
At your convenience, an engineer will call. They will assess the staircase and run through all options to work out the best stairlift for your needs. They will discuss any issues, or anything that could be affected by the installation.
No work will be undertaken until every aspect of the installation has been discussed and approved by you.
This can usually be done over the phone, although sometimes a visit will be arranged and a quote produced after this.
Installation Day
Our engineers will arrive and remove any furniture or fittings such as banisters that need to be removed before installation.
- The lift will be installed, thoroughly tested and demonstrated. The engineer will not leave until you are happy.
- The average installation times vary. On average, a straight stairlift takes 2 hours and a curved stairlift around 3-4.
- The engineers will clean up the lift and installation site and dispose of any rubbish or packaging.
- We do offer a “which trusted traders” dispute resolution service for peace of mind.
- We do aim for this never to be used and so far have not had any complaints that we haven’t been able to resolve quickly and leaving the customer happy.
Rail Fitting – What’s Involved?
To fit a stairlift initially requires the laying down of the stairlift rail. Before this can happen, everything needs to be cleared from the path of the stairlift, such as any handles or rails which might obscure the path of the stairlift. The rail is fitted to the staircase, not the wall. Often, people think the wall will be affected by the rail but this isn’t true. The weight of the stairlift is always taken by the staircase, not the wall.
The rail is attached to the staircase with screws. But don’t worry, they don’t affect the carpet because they are very thin. You would hardly notice any holes if the stairlift was removed at some point in the future. It would only leave marks of indentations where the “feet” of the rail were bearing weight.
Bannister Rail Removal
The most common obstacle to the fitting of a stairlift is the bannister rail. In most cases this will need to be removed in order for the stairlift to operate and move freely up and down the stairs.
This can leave a mark where the screws go into the wall but is easily remedied with some filler. We do not offer the touch up/decorating work or any plastering. But in most cases this is just some filler and paint.
Electrical
Once the rail has been installed the electrical points need to be connected and the chair itself needs to be installed on the rail. Modern stairlifts use batteries and not direct mains power. This means they can run in a power cut, and you won’t be stranded on the stairs! However, they are connected to the mains in order for them to “trickle” charge when at rest.
If you’re concerned about the resting point of your stairlift, chat to our team. We can arrange for a stairlift which rests on the rail, out of the way of doorways and corridors. Modern stairlifts are very space saving and can fold up to be very unobtrusive.
Calibration & Testing
Once the rail, electrics, and stairlift have all been fitted, it’s time for a test. The stairlift is also calibrated to your staircase, according to the make and model you choose. Certain stairlifts will be calibrated to turn around the corners if you have them on your staircase. Here’s a Thyssen Flow 2 stairlift being calibrated to slow down and turn through a 90 degree angle on the staircase.
Summary
Here at UK Stairlifts, we aim for the getting a stairlift fitted with the least fuss possible. From the initial phone call to the installation day, we think the process of getting your stairlift fitted should be stress free and easy! We will always listen to our customers and our follow up service is second to none. If there’s any issues, we’ll be out to sort it out, although we hope that your stairlift will be problem free for years to come.
We offer a 2 year guarantee on all our reconditioned stairlifts and they are some of our most popular models.
Have a look at this short video which shows the installation process of one of our stairlifts – the Thyssen Flow 2 stairlift.