One of the questions we’re most often asked at Acorn Stairlifts is “Will a stairlift fit on my staircase?”
We might not be able to give you an immediate answer – we’ll need to take a good look at your staircase first – but in the vast majority of cases the answer turns out to be “Yes… it will!”
The most frequent worry among our customers is that their staircase is too narrow to accommodate a stairlift. Many older UK homes, especially terraced houses, have narrow staircases, but it’s usually not a problem.
As a UK company, we’ve designed and developed our stairlifts to suit the whole spectrum of British homes, not just those blessed with wide stairs. Acorn Stairlifts are among the most compact on the market, with several features which make them ideal for narrow stairs.
We use a single stairlift rail which is secured to the stairs, not the wall. It sits close to whichever side of the stairs the stairlift will run on. Mounted on the rail is our stairlift carriage, also designed to be as unobtrusive as possible. When not in use, the arms, seat and footrest of the stairlift carriage can all be folded neatly out of the way, allowing others to pass on the stairs.
With one of our straight stairlifts, the distance between the staircase wall and the front edge of the stairlift is just 22½ inches. When the stairlift is folded, that shrinks to a fraction over 12 inches. With our curved stairlift, those distances are 25¼ inches when the stairlift is in use and just 13¼ inches when it’s folded.
In some narrower staircases it might be necessary to remove a banister rail to achieve a little more space, but your stairs would have to be very narrow indeed to prevent one of our stairlifts being suitable at all. Various options and modifications are also possible to prevent the stairlift obstructing the stairway for other users.
Other customers worry their ‘non-standard’ stairs are too characterful or quirky for a stairlift, but again, that’s rarely the case with Acorn. There are very few corners, twists or turns that have us scratching our heads! Our FastTrack® modular rail system for curved stairlifts is extremely versatile and adaptable. It is designed for staircases where a straight stairlift rail can’t get the job done.
FastTrack® uses a parts library of interlocking rail sections, each with a slightly different degree of bend and/or incline. With so many rail sections to choose from, the possibilities and permutations for a curved rail are almost endless. Because the sections are ready-made and kept in stock, it also means we can install a curved stairlift within days of your order. You won’t need to wait weeks for a one-off rail to be manufactured.
Still more customers ask if they can have a stairlift outdoors, perhaps on the stairs leading to their home or in a split-level garden. Again, our answer is usually “Yes!”. Our outdoor stairlifts are fully weatherproofed, using a range of special measures to make them suitable for use outside the home.
The one thing you must never do is assume that your stairs won’t accommodate a stairlift – because it won’t cost you a penny to find out for sure. Just contact Acorn to arrange your FREE no-obligation home survey and quote.
Your local Acorn surveyor will professionally assess your stairs, discuss your mobility needs and explain all your options. Based on their findings, our surveyor will also provide an all-inclusive quote for your Acorn Stairlift installation. It will have no hidden extras and be valid for up to a year, giving you time to make up your mind.
Give us a call today on Freephone 0808 223 4871 to find out for sure if you could enjoy the benefits of an Acorn Stairlift, or click on the ‘Quick Free Quote’ button at the top right of this page.