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Home elevators

By: Roberto Garabelli

If it happens to be the case that you are mobility challenged, chances are that you experience major difficulties ascending the stairs of your residence. For a significant portion of these individuals, a similar situation will probably lead to the installation of a stair lift. However, if you have a curved or narrow stairway, have obesity problems or can not 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 luxurious, but as a large amount of satisfied owners can testify, it may be a bare necessity to those in need. So, if it happens to be the case that your house employs a curved or narrow stairway, consider comparing the benefits and cost of a home elevator with those of a stair lift.

An additional advantage of a home lift, is that having one has the potential to have a positive influence the value of your house. A properly serviced lift will keep its value almost indefinately. In fact, home lifts are amongst the most popular amenities installed to boost the value of newbuilt homes. Given the current state of technology and due to recent drops in retail prices, a home lift has now become an acceptable solution to individuals wanting to improve the quality of daily life. The classic advice of 'just' relocating to a bungalow once the stairway becomes troublesome, simply holds no more value. Those that are still giving out this advice often forget to take into account the emotional effects associated with moving one's home.

When planning to purchase a residential elevator, the best time to have one mounted, is during the building of the house. Unfortunately, during this phase, most home owners forget the fact that they could one day need assisted vertical transportation. Since lifts need a foundation, a shaft, an engine and several (usually two) entry points, not all buildings are able to accomodate an elevator without modifications. It may therefore well be, that major modifications are to be made before one is able to install a residential elevator. Some of these modifications might have major aesthetic and financial impacts. To be thoroughly informed on your home's suitability, you would do well to contact a local retailer before purchasing the elevator. The company will dispatch an engineer to analyze your house for any possible issues. The report handed to you afterwards may include a price quote for having the work done by the company themselves. In order to get a non-subjective view of your home, make sure to have it evaluated by different firms.

If your house is suitable for lift installation, it is time to start worrying about the smaller details of the elevator in question. The primary factors that will decide the cost of your residential elevator are track height, amount of stops and the elevator's cabin capacity (weight). Usually, the lower these values, the less costly your elevator will be. An additional factor that might greatly influence your choice of elevator, is drive type. You will find several types of drives, including the chain hydraulic drive, cable hydraulic drive and the vacuum type drive. Every drive has its own (dis-)advantages in noise, speed, durability, cost and capacity. So, be sure you are well-informed by your local installer, inorder to be able to make a good decision. Finally, you probably want to be sure the interior of the lift cabin has all the features you need. Things you could consider are a telephone jack, an emergency button and gate type. An accordeon-type gate is generally recommended, since a scissor-type gate might close on your fingers when closed incorrectly.

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

In case 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

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