Enjoying Your Outdoor Space with the Help of a Stairlift

Reduced mobility shouldn’t mean giving up on your own outdoor space. A stairlift gives easy access to all your indoor living space. Let’s look at some of the main uses for an outdoor stairlift.  

For many people, being outdoors and enjoying nature is essential to maintaining a sense of inner peace and wellbeing. Reduced mobility shouldn’t mean giving up on your own outdoor space – not when an outdoor stairlift can let you enjoy it to the full. Just as an indoor stairlift gives easy access to all your living space, an outdoor one means you don’t have to give up on your outdoor recreation space. Let’s look at some of the main uses for an outdoor stairlift.   

If your home is accessed by stairs or a steep slope up to the door and you can’t manage them safely or comfortably, then you risk becoming a prisoner in your own home. Investing in an outdoor stairlift could set you free. If there are steps or a steep incline in your garden or yard – may be leading to a patio, raised decking, or veranda – you might be missing out on part of your valuable outdoor space. Remember too that outdoor steps are more likely to become slippery and potentially dangerous. An outdoor stairlift could help you regain full use of all your outdoor space.  

Another use could be to access an outbuilding separate from your main houses, such as a garage block, workshop, store, or annexe.  If you need to install a stairlift inside an ancillary building on stairs leading to a second story or mezzanine, you could use a standard indoor stairlift. However, for a modest extra cost, you might be better with an outdoor model. This offers extra protection against windblown dust and debris and extremes of temperature. Outdoor stairlifts work on the same tried and tested principles as indoor stairlifts, but are fully weatherproofed. Most run on a straight rail, which is the most cost-effective option. You can buy an outdoor stairlift running on a bespoke curved rail, but they are more expensive and complex to install.   

With an indoor stairlift, the choice of straight or curved is determined by the constraints of the staircase and the walls around it.  A typical outdoor stairlift doesn’t have those constraints, so it’s usually possible to fit a straight stairlift. Maybe it would be easier and cheaper to remodel the setting to accommodate a straight rail. The only other extra preparation work you might need to do is to get an outdoor power socket installed, but this is a quick and easy job for a qualified electrician. When your outdoor stairlift is not in use, it can be disabled (usually by locking and removing a key) so that it can’t be used by anyone else without permission. Most models also come with a fully fitted waterproof cover for the stairlift carriage, to offer extra protection.