Stair Lifts Can Increase The Accessibility Of A House
When you or a loved one uses a wheelchair, moving into a house that isn't custom-built for you means that you will need to make some adjustments to make it so that the house is as accessible as possible. You may not have been able to find a house with only one level, which means that you will have interior stairs, which can be very limiting because that can literally keep one or more floors off limits to you or another member of your family. There are ways around that. One is to use a chair lift. There are two basic track designs that you can choose from when it comes to interior chair lifts: straight or curved.
Straight Tracks
A straight track chair lift is designed to work with stairs that go straight up and don't curve. They can work with stairs that have a landing since the track can turn the corners around the landing and then continue to the rest of the stairs. These lifts need to be anchored to a wall because the chair plus the user will be heavy, and only a wall will have enough support to make sure that everything is carried safely. A straight-track chair lift can work with either a sitting lift or a standing lift, but if you want a standing lift, you will have to make sure that there is enough headroom in your staircase to make sure that no one hits their head. These tracks are pretty straightforward and don't need to have much custom work to install them.
Curved Tracks
A curved track lift is designed to work with stairs with some kind of curve to them, like a spiral stairway or one that has an arc to it. These chair lifts tend to be customized because the track has to fit the stairway's arc precisely. That can mean that the tracks have to be shorter, and they may need to be bent on-site when installed. Being bent on-site will mean that the track will have a better chance of fitting the wall's curve and the stairs.
If you have bought a new house that isn't as accessible to you or your loved one who uses a wheelchair, you need to make adjustments to the accessibility. That can include installing a chairlift on the stairs so that all your house levels are open to everyone in your family.
To learn more, contact a resource that provides indoor stair lifts