0:00
In this video, I want to talk to you about porch lifts, show you a few situations where they've been installed successfully
0:09
just to get you thinking about, first of all, whether you'd want one or not, and second of all, where you might put it if you do want one
0:17
So this photo here shows just how unobtrusive porch lifts can be
0:25
I mean, you wouldn't, this is on the front of a house, you wouldn't really notice it, it doesn't deter
0:29
from the looks of the house. It's really quite simple. Doesn't interfere with regular use of the stairs
0:36
In this case, because there already was a concrete sidewalk in place
0:42
the preparation was minimal. All that was required was electricity to be brought close by
0:49
Generally, it's always a 120-volt circuit, but a little bit more capacity than a regular circuit
0:58
so 20 amps is usually what's required but this is a fine porch lift in action now before I go on I just want to
1:08
differentiate porch lifts from stair lifts they're they're quite different here we have a stair lift
1:14
I'm going to be talking about this in course number two of this program but essentially what you have is a rail
1:21
that what this thing is here it fastens it supported by the stairs along one side and the The rail is the only thing that supports the chair The chair is supported by the rail it powered by the rail and you simply sit on the chair hit the button
1:39
and then slowly that chair is going to go up the rail, and it'll stop at the top
1:44
So that's the way stair lifts work. But as I said, they're quite different from porch lifts
1:49
which are usually, though not always outdoor things, meant to accept a whole wheelchair or someone that might walk onto the lift as well
1:59
Now here we have another great lift. It's hardly noticeable at all
2:03
It's on the front of a house. This particular lift was installed at the same time that the stairs were reconstructed
2:11
So it fits right in. It does a great job. The stairs are nice and shallow
2:18
They have a wonderful geometry to them. They'd be easy stairs to walk up
2:21
But if you don't want to walk up them or you can't, then the lift is right there
2:27
Just sitting there ready to use, not much to distract the eye
2:31
Here's another lift, also on the front of a house, built into a new stair and deck arrangement
2:40
It's to one side. Once again, this is the kind of thing that shows off porch lifts at their best
2:47
It really works quite well. Now, this is inside a garage. Many garages are lower than the house they serve by a couple of steps
2:57
But those couple of steps can be quite a barrier. Now in a garage there really is no room for a ramp So if you want to be able to get out of your car and then get into your house without climbing steps then this is what you need
3:13
And in this case, it really doesn't even take away from the space in the garage very much
3:19
because the space that the lift occupies is to one side of the little porch here
3:24
And you certainly couldn't park your car there. You may be able to store a few things
3:29
but a great example of a not too standard application for a porch lift
3:37
Now here's another one. This is inside. Porch lifts aren't usually installed inside, but in this case we've got a split level house
3:45
We've got four steps up. That's awfully short, an awfully short run for a stair lift
3:53
But a porch lift, as you can see, fits in perfectly, works well
3:57
it just happens to be indoors. Here's another one. This house is certainly, this house in a lot would be way too small for any kind of a ramp
4:08
at least if you wanted to preserve the looks of the house at all. It's not very far from the road
4:15
There's all kinds of landscaping that's going on. All that would have had to have to go if you're building a ramp
4:20
But here we have a porch lift installed. In this case, it's actually very close to the front door
4:27
much closer to the front door than the steps are, which are over here
4:32
But this is exactly what you want. In this case this sidewalk you see here and this support pad was poured to prepare for the installation of the lift because I mean you don want to be wheeling a wheelchair across
4:49
grass or you know using crutches or a walk or anything like that you need a nice
4:53
smooth surface right from the driveway right to the lift and that's what we've got
4:58
here and finally although most porch lifts top out at about 60 or 60 or
5:04
70 inches of rise, there are some available that go quite a bit higher
5:10
And this is an excellent example of that. It's going up to a second floor door
5:17
So if you wanted, say, perhaps I don't know, a ramp at the front and a porch lift at the back
5:23
some people do that, then this is the thing, especially if you want direct access to the second floor
5:32
You just go around the back of the house and get on the lift and then away you go
5:37
So this is an overview of what porch lifts are all about. I hope it's been helpful
5:42
And really a necessary step, and I'll be getting to this later on in the course
5:49
But a very necessary step is to have a site visit from a trusted retailer of these things
5:56
That's the way it works because they're big. They require local delivery and installation and support
6:02
So they're always supplied by local suppliers. So you'll need to do a little snooping around
6:09
I'll tell you more about that later
