Telecommunication articles library
Telecommunication articles library
Search:

Home | Z-a Articles | Technology


Residential elevators

By: Robert D. Thomson

If you you are mobility challenged, you experience day-to-day problems ascending the stairway of your residence. For a significant portion of these individuals, a similar situation will probably lead to the purchase of a stair lift. However, in case you have a narrow or curved stair case, have obesity problems or are unable to leave your wheelchair, having a stairlift installed might unfortunately not be a viable option. In this case, you might be better off with a residential elevator. Having a lift at home may sound rather over-the-top, but as a growing amount of satisfied people can tell you, it may simply be a bare necessity to the elderly or disabled. So, if your house is fitted with a curved or narrow stairway, think about comparing the pros and cons of a residential elevator in relation to those of a stair lift.

A great advantage of a residential lift, is that having one has the potential to signficantly increase the value of your real estate. A regularly serviced lift will keep its value almost for a lifetime. In fact, home lifts are amongst the most common amenities installed to raise the value of newbuilt homes. Given the current state of technology and due to recent price drops, a residential lift has now become an affordable solution to those wanting to improve the quality of daily life. The old advice of 'just' relocating to a single-leveled home once the stairs become a hurdle, simply holds no more value. People still handing out this advice really forget to take into account the mental effects that come with having to move one's home.

If you are planning to purchase a residential elevator, the most appropriate time to have one installed, is during the actual construction of the home. Unfortunately, during construction time, most real estate owners don't take into account the fact that they may one day be in dire need of mechanical help in climbing the stairs. Since lifts need a shaft, a foundation, an engine and several (mostly two) entry points, not all buildings are able to accomodate an elevator 'out of the box'. It may therefore well be, that major adaptations are to be made before being able to have a residential elevator installed. Several of these adaptations could have large aesthetic or financial impacts. If you want to be brought up to speed on your home's suitability, it would be wise to contact a local retailer before having the elevator installed. He or she will send an engineer to analyze your house for any potential problems. The report handed to you after the inspection may include a price quote for having the modifications done by the company themselves. If you want to get a non-subjective view of your home, make sure to have it evaluated by several companies.

If your house has been found appropriate for lift installation, it is time to start worrying about the smaller details of the lift in question. The most important factors that determine the price of your installation are travel height, amount of stops and the lift's carriage capacity (weight). Usually, the lower these metrics, the less costly your elevator will be. An additional factor that could have major influence on your choice of elevator, is the kind of drive. There are many types of drives, including the cable hydraulic drive, chain hydraulic drive and the vacuum lift. Each system has its specific (dis-)advantages in noise, speed, durability, capacity and cost. Make sure you are well-informed by your local installer, so you can make a well-educated decision. Finally, you probably want to be sure the interior of the lift carriage has all the features you seek. Things you could think about are a telephone jack, an emergency button and gate type. An accordeon-type gate is usually recommended, since a scissor-type gate might snap on your fingers when used incorrectly.

Article Source: http://www.article-voip.com

In case you have a desire to read more about the home elevator, make sure to visit our website, which has guides and tips on home elevators

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Technology Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Z-a Articles | Technology
Sign Up for a free account or learn more.
Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
About Us
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
[SAPE ADS]


Powered by Article Dashboard