Expert Stairlift Installation in Benton, IL

A straight lift typically takes 3 to 4 hours from arrival to final test. Curved lifts take a single morning of about 4 to 5 hours, after the custom rail is fabricated (roughly two weeks). Outdoor and platform lifts are single-day jobs. The rail bolts to the stair treads, not the walls, so there's no drywall patching, no painting, and no rewiring beyond plugging into a standard outlet.

No. The rail mounts to the stair treads with lag bolts at each bracket - never to the wall. In Benton's older homes with original oak or pine treads, the holes are small and the weight is distributed across the whole staircase. If the lift is ever removed, the treads can be plugged and refinished, and your walls, plaster, and trim are never touched in the first place.

Yes. Pre-1940 coal-era homes near the square often have staircases as narrow as 30 inches. Our slim-rail straight lifts with compact, fold-up seats fit tightly and leave room to walk past. At the free assessment we measure the exact width to determine whether a standard rail or a slim-rail model is the right fit for your staircase.

Every lift includes a DC battery backup. During an outage - common in southern Illinois ice storms - the batteries run the lift for roughly 6 hours, or 20 to 30 round trips, so no one is ever stranded mid-stair. The batteries recharge automatically once power returns. We test the backup during the install and walk you through how it works before we leave.

Original Medicare does not cover stairlifts - it classifies them as home modifications rather than durable medical equipment. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer a small annual home-modification or home-safety allowance, but it varies by plan and rarely covers the full cost. Many private long-term-care policies include a home-modification rider that can apply. We walk through every option with you at the in-home assessment.

Yes. The VA HISA grant covers up to $6,800 for veterans with a service-connected disability and up to $2,000 for non-service-connected. It's one-time, tax-free, and never requires repayment. The nearest VA facilities are the Marion VA Medical Center (2401 West Main Street, Marion, about 21 miles south) and the Carbondale VA Clinic (about 34 miles southwest). The Franklin County Veterans Assistance Commission can help with the application. Call us at (800) 965-0350 and we'll help you start the paperwork.

It can, through the right waiver. The Persons with Disabilities Waiver, run by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), covers environmental accessibility adaptations - including stairlifts - for qualified residents. The Persons Who are Elderly Waiver, administered by the Illinois Department on Aging, can also cover home modifications for seniors who meet the nursing-home level-of-care requirement. Both need prior authorization and a medical-necessity assessment, so it's not automatic - we help you document the need.

Yes. The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) administers home-modification funds through local partner agencies for income-qualifying homeowners, which can include stairlifts. The Illinois Assistive Technology Program (IATP) offers device-lending and low-interest financing resources. If you don't qualify for a grant, our third-party financing starts at $79 per month with no prepayment penalty. For veterans, the VA HISA grant of $6,800 can cover most or all of a straight lift on its own.