Major benefits with minimal disruption

IT CAN cost a lot of money to move house, but investing in an afforable home lift or stairlift means you can stay in the home you love, while living an easier and more comfortable life. Installing a home lift is also a great way to future-proof your home, so that you never have to contemplate a move. The latest home lifts are small, elegant and understated — and can be quickly installed without significant building work and disruption. Some have a footprint of less than a square metre. They are self-supporting, without the need for bulky hydraulics or load-bearing walls. A quiet, self-contained drive system is housed out of sight at the top of the lift. And the lift itself plugs into a standard domestic 13amp power socket, just like any other household appliance. Use it to move between floors or to carry luggage and laundry. It will be incredibly useful. Stairlifts are even easier to install. A stairlift is fixed to the stairs, not the wall, so there is no need to drill through plaster. Well-designed supports hold the light, but strong, aluminium stairlift rail at exactly the right height above the stairlift and the correct distance from the wall. There is no need to remove stair carpets, and the rail supports can be fixed to stone stairs as well as wooden ones. Disruption is minimal, while benefits are huge.