Home elevators

If it happens to be the case that you are mobility challenged, chances are that you experience day-to-day problems moving up and down the stairs of your home. For a significant portion of these individuals, a similar situation will lead to the purchase of a stair lift. However, in case you are cursed with a narrow or curved stairway, have obesity problems or are unable to leave your wheelchair, having a stairlift installed might simply not be suitable for your particlar situation. In this case, you might be better served by a home elevator. Having a lift at home may sound rather flamboyant, but as a large group of satisfied owners can testify, it may be a bare necessity to the elderly or disabled. So, if it happens to be the case that your house is fitted with a curved or narrow stairway, think about comparing the pros and cons of a home elevator with those of a stair lift.

A great advantage of a home lift, is that having one has the potential to signficantly increase the value of your real estate. A regularly maintained lift will retain its value almost indefinately. In fact, home lifts are one of the most common amenities offered to raise the value of newbuilt homes. Given modern technology and due to recent price drops, a home lift has now become an acceptable solution to persons wanting to improve the quality of their daily lives. The old advice of 'simply' moving to a bungalow once the stairway becomes troublesome, simply is no longer valid. Those still handing out this advice really underestimate the emotional impacts associated with being forced to move one's home.

When planning to purchase a home elevator, the best time to have one mounted, is during the actual construction of the house. Unfortunately, during this phase, most real estate owners don't take into account that they could one day be in dire need of assisted vertical transportation. Since elevators require a foundation, a shaft, an engine and several (usually two) access points, not all houses are able to accomodate an elevator without modifications. It may therefore well be, that major modifications are to be made before being able to install a home elevator. Some of these modifications might have major aesthetic or financial impacts. In order to be thoroughly informed on your house's suitability, you would do well to contact a local installer before purchasing the elevator. The company will send a skilled technician to inspect your home for any possible issues. The report handed to you afterwards may include a price quote for having the work done by the installation firm themselves. If you want to compile a non-subjective opinion of your home, be sure to have it inspected by several firms.

If your house is appropriate for lift installation, it is time to start worrying about the more subtle details of the elevator in question. The most important factors that will decide the price of your home elevator are track height, number of stops and the lift's cabin capacity (weight). Usually, the lower these metrics, the less costly your lift will be. An additional factor that will have major influence on your choice of elevator, is drive type. There are many types of drives, including the chain hydraulic drive, cable hydraulic drive and the vacuum lift. Every system has its own (dis-)advantages in noise, speed, durability, capacity and cost. So, be sure you are well-informed by your local installer, inorder to be able to make a well-educated decision. Lastly, you probably want to be sure the interior of the lift cabin has all the features you need. Features you could think about are an emergency button, a telephone jack and gate type. An accordeon-type gate is generally recommended, since a scissor gate might snap on your fingers when used incorrectly.

Article Source: http://www.rightbiz.com

If you have a desire to learn more about the home elevator, make sure to visit our website, which has guides and tips on home elevators

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated