Guide to Ceiling Hoists

Ceiling hoists can help you move more easily and safely throughout your property if you’re disabled, elderly or have reduced mobility. Dolphin Mobility in Surrey stocks all types of hoists for you to choose from. Our ceiling mounted hoists use up no floor space. Where appropriate they can be operated by users independently. They can travel from room to room. Some models can be easily detached for use on tracking installed in other rooms. We can supply and install portable and fixed overhead hoists for you anywhere throughout Surrey, London and the home counties.

The cost of a ceiling hoist system is determined by many variables. There are so many things to consider that it can be quite daunting if you are not familiar with hoist systems. For this reason it is often very difficult to give you an accurate price.

Straight Ceiling Lift Prices

Will the track be straight? Or will it need to have bends? A straight rail will always be cheaper. This is because they are much easier to fit. Track length is the easiest variable to quantify. The shorter the track, the cheaper the hoist will be. Therefore the material cost is lower and there will be less fixings required. Although the fixings are not usually that expensive, the labour for fitting them can add a lot to the cost.

A 3-metre straight track hoist fixed direct to timber joists or a concrete ceiling is usually around £2,000.

XY Ceiling Hoist Prices

XY hoists are used when there are multiple transfer points in one room. We often install them in bathrooms and changing places facilities. Sometimes they are referred to as H Frame hoists. XY hoists are generally easier to install than fitting tracks with bends, junctions or turntables. For this reason they are usually cheaper.

A simple 3-metre x 3-metre XY system would cost between £2,500 and £3,000.

Manual traverse or powered traverse?

A manual traverse hoist requires the carer to move the person along the track manually. Many carers prefer this as they find it easier to position the service user. The manual version is often called a 2-way hoist. Powered traverse lifts would be known as a 4-way hoist.

The powered option would usually add at least £100 to the price.

Lifting Capacity

The weight of the person being lifted has to be considered. If the user is less than 200 kg then it shouldn’t effect the price. The exception would be if we’re fixing to joists smaller than 6 x 2″ (140 x 38mm). That size of joist would mean the lifting capacity would have to be downrated. Alternatively the joists would need to be doubled up.

Suspended Ceiling

If there is a suspended ceiling this make can make a big difference to the price. We would need site information before we could price this accurately. A void of less than 10cm would not greatly effect the price. A bigger void may mean that we need to use lateral bracing. This type of bracing is needed to make the track stable. Without it the tracks could from from side to side. This would be usnsettling for the user and potentially dangerous. With a suspended ceiling there is a higher risk of services or insulation getting in the way of where we need to make fixings. Often we will need to look at alternative methods of fixing.

Wall Brackets

If the walls are of a solid brick contruction then wall brackets could be the simplest and cheapest way of mounting the hoist. If the wall is load bearing then you should be able to use wall brackets. They are only suitable for straight or XY hoist installs. If the track needs a curve then this must be supported from above.

A 3 metre ceiling track hoist fitted using wall brackets could be as little as £1800.

Wall Posts

Wall posts would be used when the wall is not load bearing. For example, if you have stud walls or partition walls. Most posts are fitted vertically. This has the effect of transferring the load to the floor. All manufacturers have a slightly different version but the principle remains the same. Fixing to the wall is an increasingly popular option.

A 3 metre hoist fixed using vertical wall posts would start from around £2200.