And the hurdles just keep comin'.

Hi folks!

Getting back into woodworking has been the best thing for me. It has helped me a lot. But as I try to get a shop set up in the basement, another hurdle pops up. I've had trouble with stairs for a long time due to my medical condition. But lately it appears to be progressing faster than I had hoped. I had never even considered it until a couple weeks ago, but my mom called one morning and we talked for a while. She mentioned something about me getting an electric stair lift. That thought had never entered my mind. I told her that it would be too expensive and insurance doesn't cover it because it's considered "home modification", not medical equipment. Later that afternoon on the day we talked, I went out for an hour or so to run some errands. When I left, I inadvertently left the TV on. When I came home and came into the family room, there was an ad on for Acorn Stair Lifts. That was too weird and I think someone was trying to tell me something. I picked up the phone and called. They came out a couple days later to measure and give me a quote. As I thought, it's about $3,000! That's not in the budget at all but figured at least I have a goal to shoot for.

A few days ago I decided to do some more research and I found another company that has a very comparable lift. It's actually rated at 350 lbs as opposed to the original I got a quote on that was only 300 lbs. It's an AC powered unit so it makes it less expensive and I don't really care for the DC powered units anyway. I can get one delivered to my door for $1950.00. That's still not in the budget, but if I can get a few of my pieces sold I'll put that money toward the lift. This morning I looked on CL and saw one for sale not far from me. It's only 2 years old and is the same model that was $3K. They're only asking $800 and I can't be positive, but from the picture they posted it looks like it might fit my stairway. (I think they have the same number of stairs I do) I found another one for sale for $800 but it was on a 10 stair set and mine has 12. Modification is too expensive so if a used one has to be modified, I'll just buy new with a warranty.

The sales rep brought up something I hadn't even thought about. When he saw the work I've been doing, he said that I could easily make a caddy that would rest on the arms of the chair and I can use that to get materials/tools up and down the stairs. That's a great idea! That would make my life a whole lot easier. Going up and down the stairs 20-30 times a day takes a lot out of me. I'm hoping to find the cash some way to put in a lift sooner than later. It will be a lot easier AND SAFER for me.

Don't give up on Craigslist. You can usually buy extensions to the track if you just need a few more feet. They just bolt on. The problem is finding someone to install a used one. I recently had to dispose of my MIL's home which included a $4.5k electric stair lift (battery hooked to AC charger in case of power failure) with all the bells and whistles, in excellent condition. Over the course of nearly two years--advertising in Trader magazines, news papers, Craigslist etc. I could not find a buyer, started at $900, went to $200, never even a nibble. I tried to give it away and had one person interested, if only if I would deliver and install it . Finally I put it out on the porch, called my scrap metal guy and told him to come and get it. Fortunately he worked at a local nursing home and knew of someone who needed one. They came and got it on the day we listed the house. Amazing that nobody wanted it.

I'm not going to give up on used. I'm going to call that CL one shortly and see if I might be able to go over and take a look at it. Installation is no problem, I can do that myself. It's easy to do. I've watched install videos for both types I've looked and and I can handle both of them. (the install is almost identical with both)

You may need help John. Our track was steel and weighed nearly 250Lbs. Looks like the newer models use aluminum extrusions. They should be much easier.

The hurdles might still be coming, but you seem to be able to get over them still! Keep on keepin on!

That doesn't seem like mobility should a "home modification". Does wheel chair ramps, grab bars, and such fall under that too?

Unfortunately I think a stair lift is in my future sooner than later. It's getting really difficult to negotiate stairs anymore. One other bummer, I called on that CL unit for $800 and they had just sold it.

Oh well, if I could get a few of these pieces I've made sold that would go a long way toward getting a lift. I'm going to try to stay positive and moving forward.