Although most people who have limited mobility, or loved ones with mobility issues, are quick to make the interior of their home wheelchair accessible, the outdoor areas of the home are often overlooked. However, limited mobility should not mean that you are no longer able to access and enjoy the outdoor features of your property, whether it be a deck, patio, or raised garden area.
In fact, there are many practical and affordable outdoor accessibility solutions that will allow you to maintain independence and provide less-abled family and loved ones access to all areas of your property.
There are a variety of outdoor accessibility solutions to choose from including:
- Vertical Platform Lifts
- Platform Stair Lifts
- Wheelchair Ramps
Vertical Platform Lifts
Vertical platform lifts are a great option for easy access to outdoor porches, decks, and raised gardens with minimal effort.
A vertical platform lift is essentially a lift platform that travels directly up and down between landings. Some vertical platform lifts come with built-in self-closing doors or saloon gates for ease of use.
Unlike chair lifts, vertical platform lifts are designed to accommodate a wheelchair, mobility scooter, or walker rather than having to transfer back and forward between seats. This makes vertical platform lifts a simple access solution useful for people of all mobility levels.
Additionally, vertical platform lifts can be used for single-level and multi-level transport with travel heights as high as 2 metres.
Platform Stair Lifts
Platform stair lifts are another great option for outdoor accessibility. Similar to vertical platform lifts, platform stair lifts can accommodate wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers, eliminating the need for users to transfer from one seat to another.
However, platform stair lifts travel on an incline, rather than directly up or down, following the route of the stairs. There are platform stair lifts designed for both straight and curved stairways to suit your needs.
One benefit of installing a platform stair lift to provide outdoor access is that, when not in use, the lift can be folded away taking up as little as 300mm in the folded position. This ensures that the stairs remain unobstructed when the lift is not needed.
Axis Lifts offers platform stair lifts designed with the user in mind. In fact, each of our stair lifts have automated safety arms, ramps, and platforms with controls at both landings and on the platform, as well as an optional remote control for ease of use.
Wheelchair Ramps
Often the first thought when deciding on how to make an area wheelchair accessible, wheelchair ramps are another outdoor access option. Wheelchair ramps are suitable for wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walkers, and simply for those who struggle to navigate a stairway.
Small, folding ramps are a great solution for providing wheelchair access up a kerb, lip, or small set of steps. However, the higher the vertical rise, the longer the ramp will need to be to avoid making ramps that are too steep to use. This means that using a ramp to provide access to higher areas becomes impractical as the ramp has to be much longer and will subsequently cost more, making platform lifts a more practical solution
Quality Platform Lift Installations
Axis Lifts is Queensland’s leading lift company, providing quality outdoor access solutions including vertical lifts and platform stair lifts Brisbane and Queensland wide. Not sure which access solution is right for you? Call us today on 1300 868 122 for expert advice and a free quote.
