02 Jan Can A Stair Lift Damage My Walls?
If installed correctly, a stair lift or chair lift will not damage your walls during its actual installation or operation. This is due to the fact that a stair lift is not technically installed on your walls but rather on the staircase of your home. As such, it is highly unlikely that it ever comes in contact with your house’s walls.
Why a Stair Lift won’t Damage Your Walls
For homeowners who are interested in installing a stairlift to increase the mobility of their home, they are often concerned with potential damage to their house. In particular, they worry that the structural integrity of the staircase of surrounding areas will be compromised. However, this concern is easily answered when considering how a stair lift is installed or operated.
For starters, a stair lift is installed with a track that is attached to brackets. These brackets are attached to the treads of certain steps of your staircase. This means that the track and chair lift does not put weight on your walls. Indeed, it is never technically attached to your wall.
As such, the only risk that your walls could bear is that of an improperly installed track that does not give sufficient space for chair movement. In this case, the brackets would have been installed at too close a distance to the wall, thus leading to potential scuffing or scraping.
To mitigate this risk, other than proper measurements, simple test runs should be conducted upon installation of the track. This will ensure that you will be able to make corrections to the track’s path before full operation of the chair lift is done.
A Stair Lift Should Not Damage Any Part of Your Home
We have already covered the fact that stair lifts should not ever be in contact with your walls. But what about other parts such as your staircase or carpet? Will a stair lift’s installation and operation cause damage to these parts?
A Stair Lift Will Cause Minimal Harm To Your Stairs’ Carpet
Your chair lift will come in contact with your stairs’ carpet as the brackets are installed on top of them. During installation, support screws with a small diameter and circumference will go through the carpet. These screws hold your chair lift’s brackets in place and ensure that they do not shift and damage your carpet. As the holes made are small, they will be hardly visible and can be easily patched up if you ever remove the stair lift from your home.
By utilizing brackets, the actual chair and tracks will not be in contact with your carpet. This ensures that no friction or dragging occurs. As such, no further damage to your carpet is expected, nor will the carpet require refitting during installation.
However, you should expect some indentation or fading of colour for areas of your carpet that are trapped under the brackets. This occurs due to the weight of the system and the user during operation of the chair lift.
Additionally, regular checks should be made on your carpet for any stray threads. Over time, due to wear and tear from other factors, it is possible that any stray threads will clump together. This poses an obstruction hazard for a stair lift and may cause it to malfunction.
Stairlifts should cause minimum harm to your staircase’s carpet. Only where support screws are inserted should you find holes in your carpet. These are often very small and can easily be patched up if and when you choose to remove the stairlift from your home.
A Stair Lift Should not Damage your Stairs’ Structural Integrity
If a proper inspection, calculation and installation is carried out, then a stair lift will not cause harm to your stairs’ structural integrity. When you engage professional chair lift companies, one of the first steps they need to take is to inspect your staircase. The inspection would cover the following factors:
- How many flights of stairs are involved?
- Is the stairs straight or curved?
- Is the stairs exposed?
- What material is the stairs made of?
These factors will inform them of the requirements of the stair lift. If a standard product is unsuitable for your home, a custom system will have to be manufactured.
Moreover, since the rail is elevated by the installed brackets, the chair lift should never collide with your staircase. Should you ever desire an uninstallation of the chair lift system, you will be delighted to know that the entire mounting is done in discreet fashion.
Why Engage a Professional Stair Lift Company For Installation
As alluded to before, the actual stair lift installation process in your home is not a simple one. Proper planning and measurements must be taken in order to ensure that the chair lift operates with no issues in your house. Furthermore, the safety of the user is always paramount, hence all foreseeable risks should be mitigated.
Due to these reasons, it is important that you engage professional and certified chair lift companies for the installation.
How Tai Hee Engineering Trading Can Help
Tai Hee Engineering is one of the leading chair lift companies in Asia. Since 2006, we have been bringing the latest accessibility equipment and technology from Europe to Asia. Over the course of more than 500 private and commercial projects, we have successfully provided mobility solutions to our clients. We provide sound advice for all clients and recommend the appropriate product that best caters to their needs. Enquire about our electric stair lift products today.
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