We often come across the problem of a radiator at the bottom of the stairs, or even the top, when installing a stairlift. This isn’t necessarily a problem, depending on the width of the staircase. In some cases, the radiator will need to be removed. But often, we can fit a stairlift and keep the radiator in place.
Here’s an example of a stairlift installation where the radiator had to be removed. This one actually caused a small set back. We had to ask the customer to remove the radiator and return to complete the installation. If you look closely at the picture below, you’ll see the foot plate actually is too wide for the newel post at the bottom of the stairs. By removing the radiator, we created space for the rail to move back enough to create the needed space.
Stairlift Installation With Radiator At The Top
We often choose the Flow X for difficult and tight installations. See our post for stairlifts for narrow stairs. In the below example, we installed a Flow X on a very narrow and awkward setup where the radiator was at the top of the staircase. As you can see, the radiator remained in place for this installation. Of course this was a very slim radiator too, and we used a very slim stairlift.
Some radiators are much larger though, and can cause more of a problem. Some radiators are even housed in wooden boxes, creating more of an obstruction. In the video below you can see one of our engineers move a stairlift rail inwards to create more space, despite radiator being a minor obstruction.
Stairlift Installation With Other Obstructions
Other obstructions to stairlift installations include things such as electricity boxes (fuse boxes), cubby holes, doorways, corridors and cupboards. Here’s a stairlift with a moving rail where a doorway at the base of the stairs could have otherwise been a problem.
Moving parts on a stairlift can cause more potential problems however, so we like the Flow X stairlift and Flow 2a which have a clever minimalist rail. Here’s a picture of a Flow stairlift. It cleverly avoids a potential problem at the base of the stairs with a doorway. This is known as the “drop nose” rail. The stairlift is parked on the rail and called from a remote control.
Need A Stairlift?
We specialise in installing stairlifts in awkward and tricky places. So if you have a tricky staircase, and even if you’ve been turned down for an installation, let us know. We may be able to help!
Give us a call on 0800 046 3438, or visit our contact page.
You can also visit our YouTube channel and peruse some of our installations.