If you want to live in a house with a floor or more, then yes. Through floor, lifts would be worth it.
Are there any Benefits of through floor lifts?
Through floor lifts give the benefits of looking out of the upstairs window, a view a wheelchair user might otherwise miss. To take in views across your community. Whether that would be other houses, apartments, rooftops or maybe traffic, if you lived in a village or further in the countryside, it might be fields with animals grazing or woodland.
Views from an upstairs window are just one benefit of living in a property with an upper floor. Other benefits might be a feeling of ‘normality’ possibly after having lived in a house with an upper floor in the past. Another might be space. Having rooms away from the noise of computer games, kids playing or clanging and sizzling from the kitchen.
But how would you get up there?
But getting up to the next level if you cannot use stairs is the challenge. There are several options: a long ramp – would be good for fitness and wheelchair skills practice. But a lot of space is needed. A stairlift can be practical if the accommodation has the room. Fun for youngsters to ride on. But if wheelchair dependent, this will require another mobility aid at the top. Having a through floor lift installed can be the favoured option. Space is needed to allow the lift surface area to move between floors. . Depending on lift type, although you can get freestanding lift options, a load-bearing wall may be needed and restrict the location of the instalment. Although no need for a second wheelchair at the next level.
So what if it breaks down?
But what happens if you have a lift and it breaks down. It can cause awkwardness, annoyance, desperation (especially if you need the lift to get to the bathroom). And possible frustration of not being able to get on with your day.
It can be dangerous being stuck upstairs. If the lift is the only means of getting downstairs, what happens if you are alone? You need water or food, and there is no one to serve you. What if you have medication on the lower level you need, or – worst-case scenarios – what if there is a fire or the lift user is seriously ill?!
Always a risk
There is always a risk of a lift breaking down. Whether it is a through floor lift or a stairlift, it is mechanical. It can break down, develop a fault, or stop working due to power failure – although there should be some battery back up to help said lift descend safely.
There will be an emergency call-out number in the case of a breakdown. Or if a lift is not functioning as it should. A number you can call for an emergency engineer to come out and find the fault repair the lift. Restore it back to being fully operational.
Where is the engineer?
But, the time it takes for the call-out engineer to arrive to rescue you. Find the component responsible for the lift not ascending or descending is the big issue. Having to wait with the uncertainty of how long they will take to arrive? Will they be able to fix the problem? Will they have a much-needed part on them, that is essential to overhaul the mechanical contraption that moves from level to level?
All that aside. If you are stuck upstairs, and the engineer arrives to repair and restore function to the lift,,,,, will he be able to get in the house?
Experiance
I have a through floor lift. A Stiltz. It was installed eight years ago and gets used regularly. Unfortunately, it has malfunctioned several times, once late on Boxing Day at about 01:00 hours. One breakdown was my fault. The through floor lift I use is, or was a relatively new design. When the lift has been repaired, often, the engineer has upgraded a component. On the last failure, and being stuck upstairs for 24 hours, the engineer assured me that the five or six times my lift has failed to work due to a mechanical or electrical problem, is pretty good. Some lifts he repairs breakdown more frequently.
As it is mechanical, there is always the risk of failure, it is inevitable.
There are a lot of home lift designs out there to fit every type of home space.
After posting this blog, I received a very important via LinkedIn from a case manager, bringing an important fact about home lifts to my attention:
‘Also, don’t forget some clients need to be accompanied at all times and not all lifts allow for an escort and the weight of additional specialist equipment’.
When looking into home lifts this is a vital fact that needs to be considered. I didn’t when writing my post. Thanks, Jennifer Wildman, from Wildman Case Management, for bringing this to my attention.