Expert Stairlift Installation in Montgomery, NJ

Most straight stairlift installs in Montgomery take 2.5 to 3.5 hours from arrival to test ride. Curved installs run 4–5 hours. Platform lifts take about 5 hours. We schedule a single visit — measurement and install happen together for straight lifts. For curved lifts, the measurement is a separate 1-hour appointment, and the install follows 2–3 weeks later once the custom rail is fabricated.

Yes. Homes in the Blawenburg Historic District and older farmhouses along Great Road often have staircases as narrow as 28–30 inches. We use a compact rail model with a folding seat, footrest, and armrests — everything folds up to about 14 inches from the wall when parked. The rail itself is slim-profile and mounts to the treads, not the wall, so even irregular stone or worn wood treads can handle it. Each bracket is shimmed individually on uneven surfaces. We have installed in multiple Blawenburg and Bridgepoint-area homes built before 1850.

No. Stairlifts are accessibility equipment under the Fair Housing Act, not a structural modification. Montgomery Township does not require a building permit for stairlift installation. The rail bolts to the stair treads — no electrical work, no wall modifications, no structural changes. The lift plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet near the stairs. If your home is in a historic district like Blawenburg, the install is interior-only and does not alter the exterior appearance, so no historic-preservation review is triggered.

No. The rail brackets bolt directly into the stair treads — each bracket uses two small lag bolts that go into the tread, not the riser and not the wall. On hardwood treads, the bolt holes are roughly the diameter of a pen. If the lift is ever removed, the holes fill easily with wood putty and are underfoot, not at eye level. On carpeted stairs, the brackets compress the pile and the bolts go through to the tread beneath — the carpet is not cut or removed. Walls are never touched. No drywall dust, no repainting.

Yes, through the HISA grant. The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations grant covers up to $6,800 for service-connected veterans and $2,000 for non-service-connected. It is one-time, tax-free, and never repaid. Montgomery veterans are served by the East Orange VA Medical Center at 385 Tremont Ave, East Orange, NJ, and the closer Lyons VA campus at 151 Knollcroft Road, Lyons (about 30 minutes north). Our team helps with the two-page HISA application and the prescription letter from your VA primary care provider.

Yes. New Jersey's MLTSS program — Managed Long Term Services and Supports — covers home modifications including stairlifts for Medicaid-eligible residents. MLTSS replaced the old HCBS waiver system in 2014 and has no enrollment caps and no waitlist. To qualify, you must be a NJ FamilyCare Medicaid member who meets the nursing-facility level of care criteria. A needs assessment is conducted by your managed care organization. The stairlift is approved as a home modification when it is medically necessary. We work with all the major NJ managed care plans.

The NJ FamilyCare Housing Supports Program provides up to $15,000 as a lifetime benefit for residential modifications including stairlifts, wheelchair ramps, and bathroom adaptations. It is available to NJ FamilyCare Medicaid members through their managed care organization. The benefit is for home accessibility modifications that allow a member to remain safely at home. We help Montgomery families determine whether MLTSS or the Housing Supports Program is the better path, and we handle the paperwork for either.

Somerset County offers the Handyman Program through the Office on Aging, which provides minor household repairs and modifications for seniors and disabled residents — though it is limited to smaller-scale work and may not cover full stairlift installs. For Montgomery residents who do not qualify for Medicaid, the JACC program (Jersey Assistance for Community Caregiving) provides up to about $1,090/month in services for seniors at nursing-facility level of care who exceed Medicaid income limits. We also recommend checking with the Somerset County Board of Social Services for any emerging grant programs.