Update on the stairlift (Draft Proposal)

AS OUR ARCHITECT prepares to meet with City officials next month to discuss our entry accessibility plan, it is timely to revisit the stairlift component—which was introduced HERE (Feb. 12) and updated HERE (May 8). 

Again, the overall goal is to ease the entry to (and exit from) our sanctuary building for people who find stairs difficult. Our doing so is required in order to get building per­mits to make further alterations to the facility, such as expanded restrooms.

Below the jump, I give updates on three aspects: recommended equipment, cost, and the permitting experience of a nearby church.

Recommended equipment and cost

For a unit that spans the entire stairwell (from Social Hall to Main Street landing to lobby level), we now have two bids that include tax and installation:

• Look Stairchairs (family-owned; Simi Valley), $18,700, May 6 quote.
• Arrow Lift (family-owned, 15 locations in 5 states), $24,892, June 27 quote.

Both vendors carry products from more than one manufacturer. Yet both agreed that our particular needs narrowed the field down to one product. Hence both bids are for the same make/model (shown in photo above): 

Bruno Curve Elite, with power folding footrest, commercial safety package, and one intermediate parking station.

The brand is highly regarded, as noted by the National Council on Aging HERE and HERE. This model, which is considered suitable for houses of worship, has the following features:

• Average speed:  25 ft/min
• Weight capacity:  400 lbs
• Space between armrests:  21.75"
• Hidden gear rack
• Charges the battery anywhere on track
• Adjustable seat height
• Seat belt
• Obstruction safety sensors and overspeed governor
• Rail distance from wall:  6"
• Rail width:  <2.5" 
• Fold-up width:  15.1"
• Made in USA—less affected by tariffs
• Lead time:  drawings (1 wk), manufacture (3 wks), shipping (2 wks); installation (1 day).
• 2-year warranty on parts (Look)
• 2-year warranty on labor (Look)
• Lifetime warranty on motor and gearbox

(This brand is different from what Arrow had initially recommended in February, as reflected in my initial post on the topic.)

I researched several other brands and contacted several other vendors (including Lifeway Mobility and Acorn), yet I was unable to find a third bidder. The reason is that most of the industry is focused on private, residential use. They do not design for, or support, commercial applications like ours—which need to be heavier duty, with extra safety measures, and with onerous governmental review.

For maximum safety, the planned configuration would locate the top and bottom stations well away from the nearest stair; and at all three stations, the rest position would face 90° from the stairs.

Permitting experience

It was the owner of Look Stairchairs who told me that she has tried more than once but never managed to complete a commercial installation in Los Angeles; the process was so excruciatingly rigorous that the clients gave up. 

The sales rep for Arrow Lift was more sanguine; he told me on June 19 that his branch office had just applied with the City for the installation of a stairlift in St. Alban’s Episcopal Church (Westwood). I asked him to keep me posted on the progress. He at first wrote, “The permit process can take up to 30–45 days.” Then two months later, he wrote, “They required a drawing of the staircase and a bunch of really technical specs.” On Sept. 9, he wrote: 

We are getting close to getting approved. I think the next one I will provide drawings for the City from Bruno. I would do a survey that would give Bruno what they need, but on another note, they asked for some really obscure information, like deflection of rails and some really not pertinent information if you ask me but we have to give them what they ask for.

Today (Sept. 18) it’s practically 3 months later, and I still haven’t gotten news of the City approval for that nearby church.