Porch lift

A sesame lift will not look out of place anywhere. Have a look at some of our completed projects here

Many people have heard of lifts that can be installed into disabled people’s houses, especially the curved stairlift that follows the route of an existing banister and can move up or down the stairs with the push of a button. This has meant that wheelchair users can live in a standard 2 storey house and still be able to access all of the rooms without undue health worries, whereas previously they would’ve had to sell off their house and move into a bungalow instead, or else be restricted to living downstairs only. This would be putting a lot of pressure on both the disabled person and the housing market.

Nevertheless, for disabled people there is another obstacle to overcome that is all too common, namely getting to the front door in the first place. Throughout the history of house building, it has been fashionable to raise the house above ground level to improve drainage and attempt to deter any unwanted visitors, as well as reducing the risk of water damage. In doing so, front doors steps or porches were installed so that the homeowner could be level with the front door. However, this step can often be too much for anyone with walking difficulties and could put them off moving into such houses. The best way around this would be to find a way to adapt the stairs so that they can move out of the way and allow for a lift platform to raise a wheelchair user up to the front door. Fortunately, such an arrangement is indeed possible.

Sesame Access have been developing short rise wheelchair lifts for over 17 years and these lifts are ideal for replacing front door steps or even being installed within an existing porch. A porch lift would replace the inbuilt stairs with a lift platform that could be raised or lowered with a standard lift control. In many ways, a porch lift is a more sensible option than installing a gentle ramp since a ramp often occupies a far greater area than a lot of properties would allow, complying with British Standards, whereas the porch lift can be built in the existing space.

Given the numerous designs of porches and the types of material used, it is vital that any porch lift should complement the appearance of both the porch and the house. Sesame Access can clad the lift in all manner of stone or wood (to name a few) finishes making it appear as if it was part of the original design all along. All you need to do is inform us how the lift should look and we can provide you with the perfect answer. You can view our brochure to see examples of the types of lifts we can install and how each lift blends into the architecture.

The lifts that we make are completely bespoke with numerous additional features such as automatic gates, rising barriers and wheelstops that can be included as well as deciding what level of rise the lift requires.