Stair Lift Kit

Measuring For A Stair Lift

One of the biggest initial concerns people looking at purchasing a stair lift run into is how do they measure accurately to make sure they receive exactly what they need? Measuring for a new stair lift is actually not as difficult as it might sound, and for many people should only be about a ten minute job to get all the measurements a company will need in order to deliver and assemble the appropriate stair lift for a customer's location and situation.

Many customers may initially have an unfounded fear of measuring wrong, but there is not a lot to be worried about. The process of measuring for a stair lift is very straight forward. The measurements are few and very easy to take. The stair lifts are specifically designed to tolerate slight differences, meaning that things like carpet runners will not make a difference, so don't worry. Just follow the measurement instructions step by step and you'll be fine.

Stand at the bottom of the stairs, look up, and decide which side of the stairs the lift will be mounted on. There is no need to consider handrails or anything else since stair lifts are designed to be successful around any obstacles. That is the first and most important measurement. For the next measurement, stand on top of the stairs, and extend the measuring tape so that it lies on each of the stair treads. When the tape measure touches the floor at the bottom, that is the correct measurement (it may help to have two people to do these measurements).

The next step is to measure from the edge of the top step to the edge of the first step. That's generally the second measurement. Simple enough, right? The next step is also simple enough. Just measure the width of the staircase. If there is a wall or door at the bottom of the steps, measure the distance form the bottom step to the wall or door. This will tell the company how much clearance they have.

These are the most basic angles that every company will need. Some companies and models will require more measurements to get a sense of space, but every one of the companies selling stair lifts should have instructions for any additional measurements needed. They will usually come with graphs or easy to follow instructions, making measuring for your new stair lift an easy and simple process.