Spratslade House Care Home Lift Refurbishment and Modernisation
Spratslade House is a well-established care home dedicated to providing high-quality short and long-term residential and dementia care for up to 30 elderly residents, as well as supporting individuals with physical disabilities. The home offers a welcoming and comfortable environment, with spacious living areas, personalised bedrooms and a wide range of activities and services designed to enhance residents’ quality of life.
For a care home environment, a reliable passenger lift is essential. The lift plays a vital role in the day-to-day operation of the building, ensuring residents, visitors and staff can move safely and comfortably between floors. Any disruption to the lift service can have a significant impact on the care provided and the overall resident experience.
Unfortunately, the existing hydraulic passenger lift had reached the end of its serviceable life. The positioning system had failed, and the original control equipment had become obsolete. With no electrical drawings available and many of the components no longer supported by manufacturers, maintaining the lift had become increasingly difficult. The ageing equipment was also showing signs of deterioration, resulting in concerns over reliability and future breakdowns.
Recognising the importance of maintaining safe and dependable vertical transportation within the home, TJ Lift Solutions were appointed to carry out a lift refurbishment and lift modernisation.
The primary objective of the project was to improve the reliability and performance of the existing hydraulic passenger lift while extending its operational lifespan. As the lift is an essential part of daily life within the care home, ensuring safe and dependable access throughout the building was a key priority. To achieve the above, a partial lift refurbishment was recommended.
The project involved replacing the outdated hydraulic lift controller and installing a new positioning system to restore accurate operation and improve overall performance. New shaft switches, stop buttons and a complete system rewire were also required to ensure the lift met modern standards and could be maintained effectively in the future.
The refurbishment also included the installation of a new car top control station, a modern car operating panel complete with position indicators and voice annunciation, and new landing push stations on all floors. To further enhance the lift’s performance, an additional hydraulic valve and solenoid were incorporated to provide improved ride quality and more precise hydraulic control. The hydraulic valve block seals were also replaced, and a new LED shaft lighting system was installed to improve visibility and reduce ongoing energy consumption.
By undertaking this programme of works, Spratslade House would benefit from a significantly more reliable lift installation with readily available replacement parts, improved diagnostics for future maintenance and fault finding, and the reassurance of a comprehensive 12-month warranty on all newly installed equipment.
TJ Lift Solutions carefully planned the lift modernisation works to ensure disruption to residents and staff was kept to an absolute minimum. Our experienced engineers worked closely with the care home’s management team to coordinate the refurbishment programme and maintain clear communication throughout the project.
The obsolete control system was removed and replaced with a modern hydraulic controller featuring advanced diagnostics and an integrated LCD fault logger. This new technology provides valuable information for future maintenance activities and significantly improves fault-finding capabilities.
The installation of a new positioning system and upgraded hydraulic controls has greatly enhanced the lift’s performance, providing smoother operation and improved levelling accuracy. New car and landing fixtures have also modernised the user experience, making the lift easier and more intuitive for residents and visitors to operate.
In addition, the new LED shaft lighting system offers improved visibility for maintenance activities while reducing energy consumption and ongoing operating costs.
The completed lift refurbishment has transformed the reliability and performance of the passenger lift at Spratslade House. The care home now benefits from a modernised lift system that is safer, more dependable and significantly easier to maintain.
By replacing obsolete equipment with modern components, future maintenance requirements have been simplified, with readily available spare parts helping to minimise downtime in the event of a fault. The advanced diagnostics within the new controller also enable faster fault identification and more efficient servicing.
Most importantly, residents, staff and visitors can once again rely on safe and smooth vertical transportation throughout the building. The lift modernisation project has extended the life of the existing installation while providing a cost-effective alternative to complete replacement.
Through careful planning and expert delivery, TJ Lift Solutions successfully completed another high-quality lift refurbishment project, ensuring Spratslade House can continue delivering exceptional care and comfort to its residents for many years to come.
