In case anyone is finding their stairs too challenging, I thought our latest project might be of interest.
We both have arthritic knees, and the dog is treated for arthritic hips, so we decided to investigate having a lift fitted. I subscribe to “The Oldie” magazine, and saw ads there for Stiltz lifts. I also investigated a French supplier of a different system. The latter needed a lift shaft to be built before he became involved (and coordinating with carpenters in our area can be tricky. Although I have recommended him to our Mairie where a lift is still on the horizon, we went with Stiltz who referred us to their French suppliers.
We have reinforced concrete floors, and cutting a hole through these would not really be a DIY option. However, ours is a traditional savoyarde structure with wooden balcony. Under the balcony is the original front door, and immediately above it is another door accessing the balcony upstairs. We had to cut a hole following a template provided by the lift installers, and in December they came and installed the lift which travels up two vertical rails through the hole. As the lift we bought is for interior use, we dismounted the old doors and remounted them outside a new insulated USB shaft - a DIY job for us.
Now, we use a remote control to summon the lift to the ground floor, get in and press a button to send it to the first floor. While the lift is upstairs we have free access to wheel the log trolley outside under the lift for restocking firewood. When the lift is downstairs we can step across it and out onto the balcony to access the winter tyres and roofbox which are stored there and winch them down to street level.
The dog loves the lift but we have never sent her up or down on her own, only with one of us inside. We are both overweight, so don’t both use the lift at the same time. It takes 24 seconds to travel between the floors. If anyone wanted to install one indoors, you would just have to get a local carpenter or mason to cut the hole in the upper floor. Ours connects only the ground and first floors - we have decided that when we can no longer manage stairs at all the loft (which is only used when lots of people visit) can be left for the next generation’s use! Had we had wooden floors we could have had an internal lift connecting all floors but we prefer our semi-exterior solution. It was an investment to enable us to live in our house forever, but cost under 20,000€ and has made a tremendous difference. The Mairie helped with permis forms and nobody raised any objections.
Very interesting information, thank you @DianaP . Because our house is titchy and the stairs far too narrow for a stairlift, I had assumed that, if we became infirm, we’d either have to move or convert one of the two downstairs rooms but it seems not! (Filing away for reference… )
Our present house had an exterior lift in the 70/80s apparently, the cable and trace of the lift is still visible. The lift was taken out and replaced with a traditional stairlift. The elderly gent who owned the property moved to a home, the place was sold and the new people took the stairlift out. That was two owners ago. We have looked at the possibility of a new lift to use in our d’otage but have instead decided to go for a smaller property on one level.
What an interesting project Diana. Thanks for the details of how you did it. We replaced a spiral staircase with a straight staircase so that we could install a stairlift in the future if necessary. But a real lift would have been great fun!
i was very interested to read about this. we have very steep stairs which my husband has trouble with. we have a large space where a lift could go internally and i would be very grateful for details of the french manufacturers you mention - the stilz option is going to be too pricey for us i think. thank you in advance.
The advantage of our lift is that the “cabin” comes down from the upper floor with a metal panel on top of it, and leaves this in its frame once the top of the lift passes below the upper floor. This means I can travel up in the lift and get out onto the landing, then send the lift down to the ground floor and step across the metal panel on to the external balcony which is used for storing Xmas decorations and seasonal tyres. I hook each tyre on to a hoist and lower it down to Phil! When I’ve finished I walk back across the lift into the house and call the lift up so I can go down and join him. This means we still have access to the balcony when the lift is downstairs, and can walk under the lift to collect logs from under the balcony when it’s upstairs. We have not lost any access. I tend to “park” the lift upstairs so that I can open the door under the balcony to visitors. I’m honestly very impressed, and nobody would realise we had a lift at all if they came in through our main front door at the side of the house. I should also mention that it qualified for tax relief!
We renovated the house ourselves, there’s too much of us in it for us to move, ever! Fortunately we had already planned well for old age, but the lift had to wait until we really needed it, and is now earning its keep.
The devis which we didn’t accept came from a local chap here in the Jura, so you would have to investigate locally. It does sound like a lot of money, I know, but if it means you don’t have to move house, it may be a wise investment when you really need it, and you would get income-tax relief, too.
or convert one of the two downstairs rooms but it seems not! (Filing away for reference…
)