Ramps or stairlifts? Which will do?
Posted by InJour on August 14, 2009
Wheelchair lifts can sometimes be rather complicated installations. Depending upon a number of factors, the time and expense associated with complying your business with ADA guidelines can be easy and inexpensive are hard and cost you.
The good news is there are a lot of alternatives to choose from that may end up allowing you to meet complete compliance without going bankrupt in the process.
First off, in many situations, ramping can be completely legitimate ways to provide equal access to wheel chair bound visitors and employees. There is usually a bit of carpentry work that needs done, but wood and nails hammered together usually costs much less than elevator style lifting mechanisms. The ongoing maintenance is also much cheaper with a ramp.
Other scenarios which might be more than a ramp or two will solve may be met with stairlifts. These are tracked devices that provide a moving seat to traverse the flight of stairs. The traveler embarks at one end of the stairway, up or down towards the other. Once there, they can easily switch back to a wheel chair or other assistive device.
Stairlifts are usually much less expensive than complete wheelchair lifts, but tend to cost more to install and maintain than the simple ramps discussed earlier.