Home Lift

[Ozi]

Not really, more a kind of safety thing, because it's obvious that the OP doesn't have a clue about lifting stuff, or people for that matter.

I can just see it in the paper...

"Man kills wife with home made lift made from a cheap Chinese machine hoist after receiving input from a bunch of inexperienced people on the UK Workshop forum - Police are investigating."

It appears that the hoist in question was not designed to be used for this purpose, but someone said it was a good idea for a DIY project and "you should do it like this, mate........"

Not good for the homeowners, advice givers, owners of the forum or the wife.

Edit:

If you've ever taken a Stannah stairlift apart, you would know that it is rack and pinion, not drum and cable.

There's a reason for that.

I'm with Adam on this one. I use to inspect a lot of disabled lifting equipment, the commercial lifts go through a lot of testing and development and have many safety features preventing entrapment, falling, fire etc. and allowing rescue in the event of failures including things like power cuts. That puts up the cost but which features would you be prepared to delete? One thing I would say is even a well designed lift can be badly installed, I have seen some very bad issues things like safety systems bypassed because "they just stopped it working" etc. Installing a good make followed by indipendant insurance inspection "should" prevent that.

Hydraulic lifts should be quiet, depending on layout the pump and motor can often be located in a garage etc. I would avoid installations where they are placed in an exterior box as they seem to cause trouble for even some of the better systems. If space and budget allow through the floor is often the best solution and useful even to a non disabled but older partner carrying washing / hoovers etc. up and down gets harder. For insurance you will need the electrical installation by a qualified electrician then 6 monthly LOLER inspections.

I have inspected home made systems some very good, there are people on this forum who I suspect could design and build to a very high standard but the good ones do not look to have been done to save money and the bad are terrifying the phrase "inspection abandoned, unsafe to continue" gets used.

Good luck

 

[Housey210]

Houst210..thank you.

Snap to 10 ft ground floor ceiling height.
9' 1st floor ceiling
7'-6" 2nd floor ceiling

We might get a stannah or similar to work with the (servants) original back of house staircase but it discharges awkwardly at 1st floor level and also a (possibly solvable) problem at ground floor.

Do you know of any good links for me to research regarding such as stannah staircase lifts.

Thank you for your input.

Edit: I hope I am right I am accepting a 'stannah' to be a staircase lift i.e. something on rails running up/down a staircase

Hi, Many make the stair rail track system, stannah I would say the trend setter. Straight flights tend to be single low profile track while curves, which can be one chunky rail, are two rails. Now a full time carer for my elderly mum she refuses to sell and move to a bungalow, despite builders wanting the land, so I had no option but to come up with a solution of getting her up and down the stairs. I found two vids on youtube, one from stannah on how its made and the other other from a chap who cobbled together some old track. Confident in doing the work, and a compehensive workshop, I opted for the latter. Sourcing many units, both hands, I cut and re-welded to our raking angle. The bends were tough going, using just the 90s I had. Of the two local aftermarket suppliers I spoke to both collect up old stannahs and cut and re-weld to customers needs. I would have prefered the through the ceiling unit and found two, free, but there was no means of extending. I would suggest looking at the aftermarket suppliers, should save a bit. All in mine was around £800, £400 on old stannahs the rest in welding gas, wire and timber to beef up under the stairs as very heavy gear. It was a gamble and a heck of a lot of heavy work but it all worked out fine in the end. Clever bit of engineering those chair units so I can see the cost in new.

pic 1- base, this was as untouched from purchase, all other pics I had to cut and re-weld.

 

[Superduner]

We bought my mum one (not a Stannah which had a long delivery period) from a fast talking shyster who rolled up in a new Jag - very flash Del boy type. He measured up and called his office to find out that they coincidentally had one that would fit with a few minor alterations and could be fitted the next week. Oh joy!
It was duly fitted and was nothing but trouble, on several occasions stranding my mum half way up the stairs. Having originally promised that they would take it back if unsuitable (or if my mum died), they reneged on the promise, and we found out that the construction was so poor that it was unsellable.
I deeply, deeply regret not following my instincts and kicking the salesman out of the house when he pulled the trick he did.

 

[dickm]

The annoying thing is that the stairlift companies charge you £80 to remove a stairlift when you no longer need it and sell it on as "re-furbished". They are very simple and,apart from plugg into the mains they operate on low voltage. Two of my neighbours had them removed on the same day by the same company. Being the magpie that I am I would have have loved to have dismantled them free of charge but had nowhere to store them until I or my wife needed one. Yes, disability is big business!

Not really a generalisable answer, but when Mother in law died, the solicitor who was handling the estate bought and paid for removal of the stairlift to go in his mother's house. Not sure how ethical this might be, but it solved a problem.

 

[Stevekane]

What stops it crushing someone on the ground?

What happens if the cable breaks?

What happens if it gets stuck part way?

1 nothing, they die
2 you die
3 you die from starvation or eventually trying to get out of it unaided!
But this is Greece and I expect no one is going to be greatly bothered or am I being a bit unfair?
Steve.

 

[morqthana]

What you are doing is trivialising the discussion of whether a DIY lift using a light duty-cycle winch would lack some vital safety features.

 

[ajs]

What you are doing is trivialising the discussion of whether a DIY lift using a light duty-cycle winch would lack some vital safety features.

I take it you are unfamiliar with the concept of "satire"? Of course those are all good questions. It didn't stop Gary Numan I Die You Die going through my head.

 

[morqthana]

Are you familiar with the concept of "inappropriate satire"?

 

[Stevekane]

I might be entirely wrong and happy to be corrected, but from my admitedly casual reading of the first few posts I got the impression that this bloke was going to buy a lift style hoist and fit it himself,,then there was a lot of hysteria and I got bored with it and drifted off to the greek contraption which seemed to me to be a genuinely super bit of kit,,mind you wasnt there a phrase that went somthing like “beware Greek bearing lifts”?
Steve.

 

[Housey210]

I might be entirely wrong and happy to be corrected, but from my admitedly casual reading of the first few posts I got the impression that this bloke was going to buy a lift style hoist and fit it himself,,then there was a lot of hysteria and I got bored with it and drifted off to the greek contraption which seemed to me to be a genuinely super bit of kit,,mind you wasnt there a phrase that went somthing like “beware Greek bearing lifts”?
Steve.

your not wrong! Both, Uk based users, wanted a lift and after great research I found our first choices, through the ceiling, not extendable. Showed what is achievable if one is determined, capable and has time and resources.

 

[Spectric]

It all boils down to a total lack of planing or some misconception that you will not age and maybe end up with restricted movement, a lot people have the same attitude towards pensions but maybe they have just worked out the odds and decided to live for today and retirement may never come.

The reason why this problem arises is because of the lack of land and it's cost so they build housing with several floors, they are now craming them in very tightly, won't be long before the neighbours have to use your front door to get through into their house! In other countries where land is more freely available then you get more large single storey dwellings and with a reasonable amount of land as well so you don't get the feeling of being battery farmed.
With some planing and acceptance then a good idea is to downsize into a bungalow, might be more expensive but you may then be able to live longer under your own roof than being carted off into a care home, no issues with lifts or living with the potential synario of dying in a house fire because you could not get down the stairs. You could gamble and just fall out of a window then hope the waiting time for new hips is not to long!

 

[Geoff_S]

It all boils down to a total lack of planing or some misconception that you will not age and maybe end up with restricted movement, a lot people have the same attitude towards pensions but maybe they have just worked out the odds and decided to live for today and retirement may never come.

The reason why this problem arises is because of the lack of land and it's cost so they build housing with several floors, they are now craming them in very tightly, won't be long before the neighbours have to use your front door to get through into their house! In other countries where land is more freely available then you get more large single storey dwellings and with a reasonable amount of land as well so you don't get the feeling of being battery farmed.
With some planing and acceptance then a good idea is to downsize into a bungalow, might be more expensive but you may then be able to live longer under your own roof than being carted off into a care home, no issues with lifts or living with the potential synario of dying in a house fire because you could not get down the stairs. You could gamble and just fall out of a window then hope the waiting time for new hips is not to long!

You're a jolly old soul

 

[martin45]

When I read this originally it reminded me of a Coroners Court inquest some years ago. The home made lift seemed to be very clever engineering including safety features but it still went tragically wrong.

Baby died after being hit by homemade lift



I recall a radio program some time ago when it was said that all new two storey + houses in one of the Scandinavian country's are required to leave space for a lift to be bolted on to the outside. Seems a sensible idea.

 

[morqthana]

Would the neighbours be impressed if you used the lift having just got out of the shower to go down to the utility room when you realised all your kecks were in the tumble drier?

 

[Adam W.]

I bought a used but nearly new Stannah from ebay for £250 and fitted it in my parents house. If it was 6 months old and been used three times, I'd be surprised.

It was easy to fit and I was very impressed with the engineering and safety systems that had gone into it.

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

I bought a used but nearly new Stannah from ebay for £250 and fitted it in my parents house. If it was 6 months old and been used three times, I'd be surprised.

It was easy to fit and I was very impressed with the engineering and safety systems that had gone into it.

I bought one from Facebook at the beginning of the year. It was working in the house so got to test it out before I bought it. Had been serviced by stannah every year and was mint. Cost me around £250 by the time it was fitted in my Mum & Dads place.

It was either that or install a downstairs toilet and there is no obvious place to put it.

 

[quintain]

I bought a used but nearly new Stannah from ebay for £250 and fitted it in my parents house. If it was 6 months old and been used three times, I'd be surprised.

It was easy to fit and I was very impressed with the engineering and safety systems that had gone into it.

Hi Adam
Can staircase lifts be adapted for different staircase angles and lengths.

BTW
1. staircase lift is my 2nd choice of solutions, it may be impossible in my case and comes way behind a 'through the floor lift'
2. BUT do I design/buy a one person lift or one for a wheelchair
3. or do I forget all about my wife and my future needs and hope for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (NO)

 

[Housey210]

Hi Adam
Can staircase lifts be adapted for different staircase angles and lengths.

BTW
1. staircase lift is my 2nd choice of solutions, it may be impossible in my case and comes way behind a 'through the floor lift'
2. BUT do I design/buy a one person lift or one for a wheelchair
3. or do I forget all about my wife and my future needs and hope for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (NO)

This one is for sale on Facebook, Leicester,

 

[Housey210]

Hi Adam
Can staircase lifts be adapted for different staircase angles and lengths.

BTW
1. staircase lift is my 2nd choice of solutions, it may be impossible in my case and comes way behind a 'through the floor lift'
2. BUT do I design/buy a one person lift or one for a wheelchair
3. or do I forget all about my wife and my future needs and hope for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (NO)

and this one, already removed!

 

[Housey210]

Hi Adam
Can staircase lifts be adapted for different staircase angles and lengths.

BTW
1. staircase lift is my 2nd choice of solutions, it may be impossible in my case and comes way behind a 'through the floor lift'
2. BUT do I design/buy a one person lift or one for a wheelchair
3. or do I forget all about my wife and my future needs and hope for the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (NO)

and another