Stairlift home survey questions: what to ask and what to take away

Confirm the purpose of the appointment

Before the visit, ask which company is attending, whether the appointment has a charge and what documents it will produce. Establish whether the person is providing a sales quotation, taking technical measurements or carrying out another defined assessment. Do not assume that a commercial survey is an independent assessment of every possible option.

You can ask for time to review the proposal afterwards and arrange for someone you trust to join the discussion. If photographs or plans are requested, ask what is necessary and how they will be used. Avoid including people, private papers or unrelated rooms in any images you choose to provide.

Prepare a short property brief

Describe the floors to be connected, changes of direction and anything near the top or bottom of the stairs that you want considered. A door opening across the hallway or a shared landing is worth mentioning even if it seems unrelated to the chair. Mark uncertain points as questions rather than attempting to resolve them yourself.

If you rent the property or share the stairs, establish who can authorise the proposed work. Ask the surveyor to identify any permissions or further checks they believe are needed. Their proposed layout is not a substitute for permission from the relevant property decision-maker. Keep any approval documents with the final specification.

• Which floors and flights does the proposal cover?
• What doors, passages and landing areas need to remain accessible?
• Are other works planned that could affect installation timing?
• Who needs to approve changes to the property?

Walk through the proposed layout on paper

Ask for a drawing showing the rail route, endpoints and parking positions. Have the surveyor explain where the chair stops and what occupies the hallway and landing when it is folded or unfolded. Ask why that side of the stairs was selected and what alternatives were considered. A model brochure cannot answer these property-specific questions.

Request the model and feature list alongside the drawing. Ask which functions are manual and which are powered, how controls are used, and whether a demonstration of the relevant equipment is available. Questions about individual ability to use equipment should be discussed privately with an appropriately qualified professional; this checklist makes no clinical or personal suitability decision.

Identify preparation and handover responsibilities

Ask what must happen before the installation team arrives, who organises it and whether it is included in the price. Stannah's installation information describes possible preparatory alterations and a demonstration at handover. Use those topics to question your own supplier, without assuming another company offers the same scope or timescale.

Confirm the anticipated installation date, access requirements and any period when the staircase may be unavailable during work. Ask what happens if the measured specification changes or preparatory work is incomplete. At handover, request the operating manual, service schedule, support contact details and an explanation of what to do if a fault develops.

Collect the documents before deciding

Take away an itemised written quotation, the proposed layout, condition details for any reconditioned equipment and the complete contract terms. Identify who will take payment, install the equipment and respond to problems. If these are different businesses, ask how responsibility is divided and where a complaint would be directed.

Check deposit and balance dates, quotation validity, cancellation arrangements and the terms for any bespoke work. Request the exact warranty and servicing inclusions rather than relying on a verbal assurance. Write a final unanswered-questions list and send it for clarification. A visit is more useful when it produces reviewable evidence than when it ends with a rushed decision.