Seniors who live in multi-level homes are often faced with the issue of what to do if their mobility becomes a problem in the future. New reports have shown that older Americans are disproportionately affected by mobility issues, with 26.9% of those aged 65 and over struggling with their mobility including walking and climbing the stairs, compared with 13.7% of the general adult population.
For people who are hoping to age in place in the future and are planning ahead, or those with current disabilities, installing a home elevator is often a neat solution for seniors, ensuring they retain full access to their home.
Home elevators have gone from being manually operated ‘invalid lifts’ to powered home elevators at the start of the 1900s, through to the current state-of-the-art, sleek and elegant home addition. With the advancement of technology, elevators have not just improved in design, efficiency, safety and accessibility, they are also more affordable than ever too.
Other home mobility aids such as stairlifts and wheelchair lifts can be far from ideal. Often unattractive and bulky, these may also not be a good solution in the long-term. And moving, either into care or to a one-story home, is generally an unappealing and limiting option that many seniors would prefer to avoid.
Stiltz Home Elevators
There are different types of home elevator, from the large hydraulic elevator requiring a pit and machine room, to the more modern, and more costly pneumatic elevator, powered by vacuum. Stiltz Home Elevators specialize in overhead cable drum elevators also known as winding drum elevators, which are more compact, and more affordable than other types of home elevator on the market.
These elevators use a system that winds and unwinds chains or cables in a compact ‘drum’ situated on top of the cab, hidden away from sight and so taking up much less space in the home. The Stiltz range of residential elevators travel on dual rails with no requirement for a supporting wall, meaning that a Stiltz elevator can be situated almost anywhere in the home.
Stiltz is a company recognized as being solely dedicated to manufacturing and installing their elevators, and pride themselves on making their products affordable, attractive and simple to install.
All of Stiltz’s home elevators are designed to blend in. Not only are they ‘whisper’ quiet, making less noise than the more noisy alternative hydraulic and vacuum elevators – as well as stairlifts – but visually they are designed to ‘disappear’ in a room.
The shaftway-free elevators can be made of panels in colors that match the owner’s home or transparent panels. For the senior who wants a small elevator to blend in anywhere, Stiltz is the answer.
The cost of a Stiltz home elevator can vary considerably depending on the model of lift you select, the options needed, and how much site preparation/construction is required to be completed by your Stiltz partner ahead of your home elevator being installed.