|
DIY stair
lift
Stair lifts cost a
significant amount of money. There is the price of the
device itself. And you are also faced with the cost of stair
lift installation - although many suppliers will offer an
inclusive fee to sell and install your stair
lift.
For some people this makes
the idea of DIY installation tempting.
Some suppliers will sell new
stair lifts for home installation. But you have to consider
carefully the implications of fitting a stair lift
yourself.
Do you have the skills? Even
if the retailer quotes a short work time and simple
installation task, many people when they are faced with any
kind of DIY project will break into a sweat.
If you mess something up
with fitting the stair lift you may then need to pay another
fee for a professional installer to fit the
device.
It's worth looking at all
the factors involved and speaking to people who have
installed lifts to see if you are confident in carrying out
such a job.
A way of saving more money
is to buy a used stairlift direct from a previous owner and
install it yourself. This is likely to involve more work
than buying a new DIY installation stair lift. That's
because you may have to remove the lift from the previous
house, recondition any old parts and then fit it to your
stairs. Some stair lifts have to be bespoke made - such as
curved stair lifts - so buying used and fitting yourself may
not be possible.
For real DIY enthusiasts,
there is the ultimate stage - of constructing the whole
stair lift yourself and installing it. This would involve
fabricating the stair lift rail and then designing and
building the stair lift unit. You would need a strong
working knowledge of electrical wiring and safety. And you
would have to fit motors and gearing. Not many people would
even consider this.
|