There are two kinds of stair lifts that a person can purchase or possibly rent and these are straight and curved stair lifts. The straight stair lift is designed for use on stairs which are straight and it is often installed in such a way that the footrest of it will stop level usually with the stair at the top. However there may be occasions when a person may use straight stair lift on some stairs which are curved.



As for curved stair lifts, these are usually much more expensive and will often be made to measure (custom made). The curved stair lift will have a track that is able to run around bends on a set of stairs and can even be made to run right up on to the floor (landing) above the top step. The actual cost of these particular kinds of stair lifts will depend on a number of different factors, namely how long the stairs actually are how many bends they have in them and just how complex these bends are.

It is important to note that with these kinds of stair lifts not only are they expensive to install but should you try to sell them after they have been used you are not likely to get the money that you paid for them initially. Simply because the tracks or rails that are used to carry the chair up the stairs have been made to measure and it will only be possible to reinstall them in a property where the staircase is identical to the one that they were initially installed on.

The great thing however about curved stair lifts is that they can be installed on either side of the stairs. In fact it is the layout of the stairs in your home which will determine which side of the stairs the stair lift is going be installed on.

If you do have a home where a curved stair lift is required then often the manufacturer and installer of these kinds of stair lifts will require a deposit, which normally equates to around 30% of the actual cost of the stair lift. The reason that many companies require such a large deposit for the installation of any kind of curved stair lifts is that they are building one which is specific to your home and no one else's.