Home sweet home: Couple discover way of delaying care home move and stay in home they love

Alan and Joan Walker love the home they share together in Headington, Oxford and did not want to move. However, the stairs were becoming more difficult to tackle each day, so the couple needed to find an alternative solution that would help them to still have access to the top of floor of their house.

Built in 1930s, the Walkers’ four-bedroom detached property had a steep staircase which turned in a few places as it went up, so a stairlift was out of the question as it would not have been possible to secure it to the stairs. An unsightly and noisy mechanical piece of equipment fitted on the stairwell equally did not appeal to them.

So after much thought Alan, 88, and Joan, 86, decided that the best way of helping them stay in the home they adored, and delay the possibility of moving to a nursing home, was to get a home lift installed in their house.

After contacting Stiltz Lifts, the couple quickly decided that having the domestic lift installed in their living room and travelling up to their master bedroom, was the most appealing place for it to be fitted.

The couple liked the fact that the Stiltz Duo Lift was easy to install because it did not require a supporting wall and there was no loud external hydraulics or vacuum systems to worry about either.

That is because this type of home lift is unique as it travels on a unique dual rail system and is powered by an electric motor that is housed inside the lift with it simply plugging straight into the wall using a normal 13 amp socket.

The innovative features of the Stiltz Lift, which covers less than seven square feet but is still spacious enough to comfortably fit two people inside, means it is possible for the Stiltz team to install the lift in virtually any place in the home.

Alan said: “We love our home, enjoy where we live and have wonderful neighbours so we certainly didn’t want to move house or move into a nursing home which can be very expensive. A stairlift was totally impractical and ugly. We were aware of home lifts and decided that it was the best solution for us.

“We no longer have to huff and puff up and down stairs. Now it is simply step in, press the button and arrive. It is marvellous and does what it says on the tin. It is quiet, was fitted very well, has LED downlights inside the lift and we were most impressed by the fact that we could have the same colour carpet inside the lift as is on the floors in our living room and bedroom.

“Everybody that comes around to visit us wants our lift! We think we have made the right decision to stay in our home as long as possible and the lift certainly helps. We would certainly recommend to anyone that if they are having trouble getting up and down the stairs then they should buy a Stiltz lift.”