Stair lifts in Canada are a popular solution for seniors and others with mobility issues who want to stay in their homes. They can be installed on any type of staircase and top manufacturers include Acorn, Bruno, and Stannah. Factors to consider when choosing a stair lift include weight capacity, safety features, and warranty options. A professional assessment can help determine the best type of stair lift for your needs.
Acorn Stairlifts are installed somewhere in the world every eight minutes, every single day of the year. Acorn has been striving to create new benchmarks in quality and innovation for the stairlift industry since its formation in 1992.
For three decades, Bruno Independent Living Aids has helped people with restricted mobility live happier, more fulfilling lives.
Handicare’s global headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, while its north North American headquarters and manufacturing facility is situated in St. Louis, Missouri.
| ACORN 180 | SAVARIA STAIRFRIEND | HANDICARE FREECURVE | BRUNO ELITE | STANNAH STARLA | |
| Capacity | 266 lb | 350 lb | 275 lb | 400 lb | 300 lb |
| Seat swivel | top | top | top | top | top and bottom |
| Folded width | Varies* | 16.63″ | 16.5″ | 16.75″ | 16″ |
| Arm width | 19″ | 18.25″ – 21.5″ (L seat) | 17.1″ – 18.3″ | 17.75″ – 21.75″ | 19.3″ |
| Rail type | modular aluminum rail | custom bent twin tube | single tube rail | custom bent flat steel rail | custom bent twin tube |
| Diagnostic display | digital | LED light | digital | digital | digital |
| Standard color/finish | white with beige seat | white with beige seat | off white with 3 seat colour options | white with grey seat | white with beige seat |
| Parts warranty | 1 yr | 3 yr | 2 yr | 2 yr | 2 yr |
| Minimum track to wall | 7″ | 6″ | 6.8″ | 7.5″ | 6″ |
| Notable | hidden gear track | fits closely to wall, choice of seat | multiple rail colors and seat options | footrest lever | seat load sensor |
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Access BDD, standing for “Access Business Development Division”, hails from the United Kingdom as a premier British enterprise. With its roots in the UK, the company has expanded its horizon, becoming a trusted name in providing top-tier mobility equipment globally.
Dedicated to championing accessibility and fostering independence, Access BDD shines in delivering:
Key Highlights:
A Seal of Quality: Those in Canada seeking unmatched quality in mobility solutions will find Access BDD a top choice. Their reputation is not just built on the excellence of their products, but also on the trust they’ve cultivated over the years.
Access BDD stands as a beacon for those seeking to transcend mobility challenges, promising both quality and reliability in their offerings.
Acorn Stairlifts is an American company with branches in both the US and Canada, offering a variety of stairlifts that are affordable and reliable. Their product range includes straight, curved, and outdoor stairlifts to suit different needs.
Key highlights:
Acorn Stairlift specializes in residential stairlifts only.
Ameriglide Incorporated is an American company founded in 1989 with its headquarters on the east coast of the southern US. Over the years, Ameriglide has become a major distributor of home medical equipment.
Key highlights:
Ameriglide is dedicated to enhancing the mobility and independence of individuals by offering reliable and high-quality home medical equipment.
Bruno Stairlifts is a family-owned company based in the US and known for its leadership in industry innovation, unwavering commitment to quality, and safety. They offer both indoor and outdoor stairlifts featuring their signature stair lift design.
Key highlights:
Handicare is a stairlift provider based in Stockholm, Sweden, with state-of-the-art manufacturing plants across the globe, reaching over 20 countries, including Canada. Their local offices throughout Canada ensure nationwide coverage. Handicare offers a range of stairlift options to cater to various needs, including straight, curved, and outdoor stairlifts.
Key highlights:
HME Accessibility is a British Columbia-based company specializing in providing accessibility solutions for seniors and people with disabilities. Established in 2008, the company has grown to become one of the leading providers of mobility and accessibility products in BC. HME Stairlifts is a division of HME Home Health, offering a wide range of products and services, including stairlifts, wheelchair lifts, home elevators, bathroom safety equipment, and mobility scooters.
Key highlights:
HME Accessibility takes pride in its dedication to customer service, ensuring a positive experience for all clients seeking accessibility solutions.
HME Accessibility is a company based in British Columbia, Canada, that specializes in providing accessibility solutions for seniors and people with disabilities. The company was founded in 2008 and has since grown to become one of the leading providers of mobility and accessibility products in BC. HME Stairlifts is a division of HME Home Health. It offers wide range of products and services including stairlifts, wheelchair lifts, home elevators, bathroom safety equipment, and mobility scooters. One of the things that sets HME Accessibility apart from other accessibility companies is their commitment to customer service.
Home Stairlift Rentals & Sales is a local Canadian company focused on providing mobility aid rental services to make independent living easier. They offer rental options for straight, curved, and outdoor stairlifts to cater to individuals who, for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to purchase their own. With local offices across Canada, they can deliver services efficiently within their communities.
Key highlights:
Savaria is a Canada-based company dedicated to providing mobility aids that help people maintain their mobility and independence. They offer a diverse range of products suitable for use in the home, outdoors, and even in cars.
Key highlights:
Savaria’s extensive selection of mobility aids ensures that their customers can find the right solutions for their unique needs, enabling them to live more comfortably and independently.
Silver Cross is a reputable accessibility and mobility product retailer with a history of providing solutions to mobility issues since 1993. Headquartered in Canada, the company operates stores in Alberta and Ontario. Silver Cross also offers in-home assessments and showrooms with working demonstrator models for potential users to try out.
Key highlights:
Silver Cross focuses on delivering high-quality, tailored solutions to its customers, helping them overcome mobility challenges and maintain their independence.
Stannah Stairlifts is a UK-based company with a global presence in over 40 countries, including Canada, and boasts more than 750,000 stairlift installations. Stannah offers curved, straight, and outdoor stairlifts to cater to various user needs. They provide free quotes, efficient installation, after-sales services, and exceptional customer service.
Key highlights:
Stannah Stairlifts is dedicated to helping individuals maintain their independence by providing high-quality, tailored mobility solutions and exceptional customer support.
As people grow older, the body becomes weaker in a lot of ways. Activities that used to be carried out routinely become difficult. Other activities that require a great deal of mobility like climbing for example become more and more difficult until eventually, seniors need help climbing the stairs at home and in other places as well. There is also an increased likelihood of accidental falls occurring whether it is as a senior is ascending a flight of stairs or when the senior is descending.
Another potential life saving device – a medical alert system – pairs well with a stair lift if falls occur. Check out our list of medical alert systems in Canada.
Stair lifts are a very viable alternative for the use of people who have trouble maintaining their balance, especially on a staircase. Family members looking to ease the struggles of their loved one and simultaneously reduce the risk of falling at the same time and seniors that want to maintain their level of independence, have begun to resort to the use of technological solutions known as stairlifts to meet their mobility needs.
A stair lift is a mechanical device that provide customers with an efficient solution to the problem associated with the climbing of a staircase. Fundamentally, a stair lift is designed to provide mobility aid to people with issues or complications interfering with their ability to climb a staircase, usually loved ones with impairments due either to injury or age or even both. Stairlifts provide a safety measure to guide against falls from a staircase and give customers peace of mind.
Asides from use in the home, stair lifts are also used in nursing homes and they can also be used to provide accessibility solutions to seniors who are residents of an assisted living facility.
The chair of a stair lift is arguably its most important part. It is the part that determines how comfortable people are when they use the stair lift. Fundamentally, the chair is what carries people up and down the stairs. The chair of a stair lift is customizable and it can be changed to meet the preferences of the customer, for example, the seat height can be adjusted to match the needs of each person.
Some manufacturers offer swivel seats that can be rotated to allow users to step out on a flat area rather than on steps they’ve just ridden up. These swivel seats are usually controlled manually using a manual swivel. Some manufacturers, however (e.g handicare) provide customers with a power swivel seat that swivels automatically. A power swivel seat is especially advantageous in situations where it may not be possible to operate the swivel manually. Some manufacturers in a bid to provide a measure of added security offer another kind of stair lift seats that are intended to recline somewhat as the user sits down.
Some stair lift manufacturers offer seats with a power folding feature that makes the seat of the stair lift fold up when they are not in use. As a result of this, they take up less room thereby ensuring that the stair lift poses less of a tripping risk to the movement of people.
For additional security and convenience, manufacturers include armrests and footrests in the stair lift structure. Some stair lift models feature a power folding footrest. The power folding footrest is designed to automatically collapse at the push of a button and fold up once the stair lift is no longer in use.
The seat belt is designed to keep people in place and prevent them from falling off. Most manufacturers keep the stairlift seat belt design very simple. For those who desire extra security for their loved ones, however, manufacturers offer optional harnesses for a more secure restraint.
It is also common for stairlifts to come with a lockable key that, when removed, prevents unauthorized or unsupervised use. This is important for the promotion of safety in the house particularly if the stair lift is to be installed in a house with children.
A rail stair lift can be designed to fit on any kind of stairs in the home however as earlier stated, the type of stairs will determine the type of stairlift to be installed and by extension the cost of the installation process.
The major determining factors of a stair lift cost are the rail/track and the type of staircase to be navigated. Generally, a curved stairlift is more expensive than its straight rail counterpart. A straight stairlift, which has no landings and does not handle bends, costs between $3,000 and $5,000. A curved stair lift however has its cost ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the number of curves and the number of landings.
It depends on what features you are prioritizing – whether that be price, comfort, design or something else. We’ve reviewed over 15 Canadian and US stair lift companies and rated each one to help you pick the best stair lift in Canada for your needs.
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