Cheltenham Township carries thirteen National Register of Historic Places listings, more than any other municipality in Montgomery County, and the housing stock shows why: Wright-, Furness-, and Trumbauer-influenced estates sit blocks away from postwar twins, rowhomes, and split-levels built up as the township densified. That mix means a stairlift job here is never quite the same twice — a curved rail bent to fit a century-old staircase is a different build than a straight rail run up a 1960s split-level. We've measured stairs on both ends of that range in Cheltenham.
Why a stairlift installed in Cheltenham, PA is planned around the way this specific community lives, not stamped out from a one-size-fits-all template.
The township covers 9.03 square miles of rolling hills in the southeastern corner of Montgomery County, with elevation ranging from 63 feet where Tookany Creek flows toward Philadelphia to 411 feet near Sunset and Lindley Roads.
Source ↗Cheltenham Township holds 13 National Register of Historic Places listings, the most of any Montgomery County municipality, and its housing stock ranges from split-level and twin homes to rowhomes and other high-density forms, evolving from wealthy late-19th/early-20th-century estates designed by architects like Frank Furness, Horace Trumbauer, and Frank Lloyd Wright into diverse postwar suburban neighborhoods.
Source ↗The 2022 median household income was $102,589, up from $61,713 in 2010, and median family income of $138,731 slightly exceeded the Montgomery County median of $136,304.
Source ↗Every home is different. Here are six recent installs from Montgomery County. Tap any project to see the full gallery, tech specs, and the story behind it.
Cheltenham Township spans nine distinct communities with different stair challenges. Elkins Park carries the densest concentration of 1920s-1940s Tudor and Colonial Revival homes, with steep oak stairways averaging 35-degree pitch requiring careful bracket placement. Melrose Park's postwar colonials have standard 12- to 14-foot straight runs ideal for same-week installs. Wyncote's NRHP-listed Victorian-era homes along Bent Road feature L-shaped and U-shaped stairways where curved rails are the standard solution. La Mott's NRHP-listed rowhouse blocks present the narrowest stairways at 28 to 30 inches, requiring slim-profile rails. Cedarbrook's 1960s split-levels need short-run installs on carpeted half-flights, while Glenside and Cheltenham Village mix postwar capes with 1890s farmhouses.
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(800) 965-0350 Call Now. It's FreeThese are the three guides our Cheltenham customers read most often before booking. Written by our installers, not marketers.
Straight vs curved, standard vs heavy-duty, indoor vs outdoor. A read that saves you from buying the wrong model.
What a stairlift really costs, line by line: installation, rail, seat, add-ons, and the price hacks installers won't tell you.
Parts vs labor, how long coverage really lasts, and the exclusions that catch buyers out; questions to ask before you sign.
Compare Our Cheltenham Stairlifts
Select a stairlift on the leftabove to see full specs, pricing, and how it compares to the alternatives.
Stairlift Types
Bestseller · From $2,800
The right fit for Cheltenham's postwar colonials, Cedarbrook split-levels, and Melrose Park two-stories. More than 70% of the stairlifts we install in Montgomery County are straight-rail units.
vs Curved: 3x less expensive and installed in one visit. vs Home elevator: 10-15x less cost and no construction. vs Moving bedroom downstairs: Keeps your home exactly as it is.
Custom-Built · From $9,000
Custom-fabricated for Wyncote's NRHP Victorian L-shaped stairways and Elkins Park Tudors with landing turns. Cheltenham's older housing stock frequently features staircases that turn 90° or 180° before the second floor.
vs Straight with landing break: One smooth ride instead of transferring seats. vs Home elevator: Half the cost, no construction permits, no shaft needed. vs Moving: A fraction of what selling and relocating costs.
Weather-Tough · From $4,000
Hot-dip galvanized and sealed for Cheltenham's freeze-thaw winters — porch steps to patio entries. Montgomery County averages 62-plus freeze-thaw days per year, which destroy standard powder-coated hardware in 3 to 4 seasons.
vs Standard stairlift outdoors: Won't rust, seize, or void its warranty. vs Exterior ramp: No permits, no concrete work, no lost yard. vs Home entry renovation: Installed in a single day.
600 lb Rated · From $5,050
600-lb capacity for Cheltenham's wider Victorian staircases and homeowners who need a reinforced solution. Fits the broader stairways found in Elkins Park's Tudor and Colonial Revival homes.
vs Standard stairlift: Extra capacity and wider seat for maximum comfort. vs Custom furniture lift: A fraction of the price with faster install. vs Home elevator: Much lower cost with the same weight confidence.
When you call All American Stairlifts, you'll speak directly with a licensed installer who lives and works in Montgomery, PA.
Cheltenham Stairlift Specialist · 15+ years of experience
(800) 965-0350 [email protected]Proven local experience. Licensed. Insured. No surprises.
What a stairlift project looks like for families in Cheltenham and nearby Montgomery County. Drag to scroll, or use the arrows and dots below.
My mother lives alone in an Elkins Park Tudor with a staircase so steep the handrail is practically vertical. After her knee replacement the surgeon said no stairs for six weeks. Luis measured on Wednesday, installed Friday. She rode it home from rehab on Monday and has not missed a single night in her own bedroom since.
We needed a curved rail around a 90-degree turn in our Wyncote Victorian. Two other companies quoted $18,000 and a six-week lead time. All American came in at $12,400, custom-fabricated the rail in 16 days, and installed it in under six hours. The chair parks flush at the upper landing and my wife steps off directly onto the hallway floor.
Our Melrose Park colonial has original 1948 oak treads and we told them upfront: if you damage the wood, we do not pay. Luis used a depth-stop bit, matched the bracket finish to aged oak, and plugged every hole with a color-matched cap. The bridge club has been here four times and nobody has noticed the rail.
Community HealthChoices paperwork looked impossible. Luis walked me through every step, submitted the prior authorization to AmeriHealth Caritas himself, and coordinated directly with my MCO coordinator. The stairlift was fully covered and I paid nothing out of pocket. About five weeks start to finish — they told me that timeline upfront.
My father served in Vietnam and lives in Cedarbrook. The HISA grant covered $6,800 of the cost. All American pre-filled VA Form 10-0103 and worked directly with the Crescenz VA Medical Center on Woodland Avenue. Six weeks, honest timeline, no surprises.
Glenside split-foyer with two half-flights between three levels. I expected to pay for two complete installs. All American ran both units on one circuit with a shared remote and the total came in under what I had budgeted for a single unit elsewhere. Luis handled both runs in a single afternoon.
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Straight Stairlift, Standard Use
Estimated: $3,200 – $6,250
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Compare your options honestly. A stairlift is the only choice that keeps you in the home you love, at a fraction of every alternative.
| Your option | Upfront cost | 10-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Stairlift Installation Best value Professional install by All American Stairlifts, Cheltenham PA | $3,200 – $17,100 One-time | $3,200 – $17,100 Lifetime use |
| Moving to a single-story home Selling, buying, closing, moving costs in the Montgomery market | $50,000+ Plus relocation stress | $50,000+ Loss of community ties |
| Assisted living facility Montgomery County average, private room | $4,500/mo Recurring | $540,000 And rising annually |
| In-home caregiver (8 hrs/day) Licensed home health aide, Florida market rates | $6,000/mo Recurring | $730,000+ Before wage increases |
| Home elevator installation Requires shaft construction, permits, months of work | $25,000 to $50,000 Plus renovation | $28,000 to $55,000 Includes maintenance |
Sources: AARP Cost of Care Survey 2025, Genworth Cost of Care Study, and Pennsylvania Department of Elder Affairs. Figures reflect Cheltenham metro averages.
Most Cheltenham homeowners qualify for at least one of these programs. We help you apply at no cost.
Up to $6,800 for service-connected veterans and their surviving spouses. One-time, tax-free, no repayment.
Eligibility: Veterans & surviving spousesHome & Community-Based Services Waiver may cover up to 100% of installation for income-qualified residents.
Eligibility: Medicaid + medical needWith a doctor's letter of medical necessity, the full cost is deductible on Schedule A as a qualified medical expense.
Eligibility: Taxpayers who itemize0% and low-APR plans through our lending partners. Soft credit pull, instant approval, no prepayment penalty.
Eligibility: All homeownersNot sure which applies? Our local specialist will walk you through every program you might qualify for during your free home assessment. Get started here →
Straight answers about cost, installation, and funding, no sales fluff. Browse by topic or call us if you have a question that isn't here.
It depends more on which of the township's housing types you're in than on any single price tag. A straight-rail lift for a rowhome or twin staircase typically installs for less than a curved-rail unit built for one of the older Wright-, Furness-, or Trumbauer-era homes, where the stairs curve or split partway up. Straight rails commonly land in the low thousands installed; a curved rail custom-built to a bent staircase runs several thousand more because the rail itself has to be fabricated to that one stair.
Yes. It shows up mostly in the older sections tied to the township's thirteen National Register listings, more than anywhere else in Montgomery County, where staircases built by Furness, Trumbauer, or Wright-influenced designers often curve or have a landing partway up. That rail gets custom-measured and built for that one staircase rather than pulled off a standard straight-rail kit, which is why it costs more and takes longer to fabricate.
Median household income here hit $102,589 in 2022, up from $61,713 in 2010, and a good share of residents can cover a stairlift outright. Even so, plenty still use the PA Assistive Technology Foundation's 0% Mini-Loan (up to $7,000) or its Low-Interest Loan (over $7,000, up to $60,000 total, at 3.75%) just to spread the payment out rather than write one check.
A straight rail on a rowhome or twin staircase is usually finished in a few hours, same day. A curved rail for one of the older estate-style homes needs the rail custom-built from precise measurements first, so figure a template visit, then a separate install date once the fabricated rail comes back.
The high-density rowhomes and twins that make up a lot of the township's postwar neighborhoods tend to have narrower, straighter staircases, which fit a standard rail without much modification. The older homes near the historic district more often have wider treads, a landing, or a bend partway up, and that changes the rail design and the install time.
Most stairlift installs don't require a building permit since the rail attaches to the stair treads rather than altering the structure, but permit rules are set locally by Cheltenham Township and Montgomery County, not standardized statewide. Worth a quick call to the township before scheduling if you want it confirmed in writing.
The two main routes through Montgomery County are Community HealthChoices (CHC), a Medicaid waiver that pays for stairlifts as an environmental adaptation with no fixed statewide dollar cap, and the OPTIONS Program, which is state lottery-funded, has no income requirement, and may involve a sliding-scale co-pay. Both start with a call to the Montgomery County Area Agency on Aging at 610-278-3601.
The Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program, run through the same county Area Agency on Aging, reimburses caregiving costs up to $600 a month and separately allows a lifetime maximum of $5,000 for home modifications and assistive devices, a category a stair glide falls under. The reimbursement percentage is set on a sliding scale tied to the care receiver's income relative to the federal poverty level.
Yes, through the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant, up to $126,526 for FY2026, or the Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant, up to $25,350, when the stairlift is part of an approved home adaptation plan. One thing worth flagging: the VA's HISA grant explicitly excludes stair glides by name, so that particular benefit won't pay for one — SAH or SHA is the right program to apply through instead.
Cheltenham Stairlift Specialist · 15+ yrs
I've templated a staircase in Cheltenham with a newel post carved by the same firm that worked a Trumbauer estate, and three blocks later I've templated a 1960s split-level stairwell that barely clears 36 inches. Both needed a lift, neither needed the same rail. Median family income here runs above the Montgomery County number, so most of the calls I get are about matching the right unit to an unusual staircase, not stretching to afford one at all.
Cheltenham Township homeowners — from Elkins Park Tudors to Cedarbrook split-levels — have relied on our team for stairlift installations across Montgomery County. Your free assessment covers the stair measurement, a funding eligibility review for PA Community HealthChoices, the OPTIONS Program through the Area Agency on Aging, and the VA HISA grant via Crescenz VAMC, plus a written quote honored for 30 days.
The visit takes about 45 minutes, comes with no obligation, and produces a specific answer — not a ballpark. Call today or submit the form above. We schedule within 24 hours.
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