If walking up and downstairs is something that you have been doing on a daily basis because you have to, in order to get from point A to point B, then try to visualise the day when you are incapacitated and physically challenged. You will feel helpless, frustrated that you are unable to move up or down stairs, an activity that you had been doing daily. Fret not, as there is an alternative to liberate you from immobility and let you live an independent lifestyle again, even when you are in a wheelchair. The vertical platform lift is the answer to your predicament, although it is a totally different type of stair chair lift altogether.

A vertical platform lift is a system which makes it possible to safely use the stairs with a smooth ride and yet not get out of your wheelchair at all. There are two types, namely for interior and exterior use. For the exterior units, they are often located outside of the front porch, especially when there is extensive number of steps on a long stairway. Stairways pose as the greatest obstruction to wheelchair bound individuals and the option of vertical platform lift is one mobility device which enables them to safely and efficiently move up and down the stairs at will and ease.

Installed along the railings mounted along the stairways, either indoor or outdoor, with a small platform which raises up and down the railing, carrying goods along with it. Others might know them as porch lifts since they function for transporting both goods and individuals. Commercial buildings use them as accesses to stages and podiums. Compared to the home lift, the vertical platform lift is both easier to install as well as more affordable. There is no need to reconstruct the interior or exterior to make room for the lift and no changes to the layout is required.

The vertical platform lift is easy to install and spot a sturdy base, which are often cast in concrete. Some are pre assembled before delivery while others might need a little more customization work based on the specific configuration of the users.

They are more capable of carrying greater weight compared to their stair chair lift counterparts, averaging at a minimum of 500 pounds, which is the total weight of the individual as well as his mobility device and additional person to ride with him. Fro those exterior platform lifts, the wires are covered and metals are usually made of steel or otherwise treated to be rust proof in order to withstand the harsh weather.

These lifts can be configured to allow either straight through access or adjacent access, the latter of which is used in situation of with limited space while the straight through access is the more commonly preferred design. Unlike the stair chair lift, the vertical platform lift comes with manual override, a very handy feature in times of power outages. You can then manage the handles to move the platform easily and effective. Other models come with battery backups, ensuring that you will always have a smooth ride.

Compared to the home lift and the stair chair lift, the vertical platform lift is much more easily installed, requires no major layout reconstruction and helps to move more items and individuals than its counterparts.