Manual Worktop Lifts: Enhancing Accessibility in your Adapted Kitchen
A manual worktop lift is a rise and fall worktop that must be adjusted by hand. It is a cost-effective solution for a nursing home, hospital or single-occupancy home, where the height will only need to be adjusted occasionally.
There are three types of manual worktop lift:
Let’s explore the differences between the two and which one would work for you.
Granberg Manulift 6350HA
The height of the Manulift 6350 is adjusted using a winding handle that can be located on the left or right hand side of the worktop lift. It offers 300mm of stepless height adjustment, from 700-1000 cm above the floor (excl. top board). The handle can be folded under the worktop when not in use, to ensure it does not impede movement during food preparation.
The length of the worktop lift can be made to your specified width, from 590 to 2400mm.
If you wish to, you can conceal service installations behind and under the worktop, such as brackets, water or sewers with the optional telescopic hose covers or cover panels. This hides them, giving your kitchen a clean finish. The cover panels are especially relevant when installing a sink, not only to hide the waste and water feed pipers, but also, they help to prevent a wheeled user’s foot plates getting entangled and at worst flooding the kitchen. An extra advantage of cover panels is that they allow you to fully customise your kitchen, as a cover panel fitting kit can be supplied and the installer can supply colour matching panels, so that you can choose what will suit your kitchen best.
To adjust the height of the worktop you will need someone with good upper-body strength to crank the handle. This is a disadvantage of this model – however, if you only plan to move it occasionally, then it may not be an issue.
The Manulift 6350 must be wall-mounted. Therefore, you must ensure that the wall you wish to fix your rise and fall worktop to is strong enough. A brick wall is ideal – however, if you only have a stud wall, a support can be added between the studs to improve the integrity of the wall.
Purchase Granberg Manulift 6350HAGranberg Manulift 6380HA/LA
The Manulift 6380HA/LA differs from the Manulift 6350HA because rather than having a winding handle, the 6380HA/LA utilises a peg system within the legs and the height is still adjustable by 300mm but at 25mm intervals. This means that if you choose to purchase cover panels they will have to be removed before height adjustment, as they block access to the peg system in the legs.
The Manulift 6380 requires two non-disabled people to raise and lower the worktop; however, there is a built-in gas spring to aid the height adjustment.
Similarly, to the 6350 above, the 6380 can only be wall-mounted, so this must be taken into consideration when designing your kitchen.
Purchase Granberg Manulift 6380HA/LARopox FlexiManual
The Ropox FlexiManual system is another cost-effective height adjustable worktop system. Similarly, to the Manulift 6350, it is lifted and lowered using a winding handle, between a height of 650 to 950mm from the floor. The handle can be removed completely so that it does not obstruct movement around the kitchen.
If you choose to buy a Ropox module, then it will have to be cut to the exact length and assembled on site, as they are sold in size ranges rather than made to your desired size, so this is something to bear in mind.
The Ropox height adjustable worktop has a higher weight limit of 150kg; however, it can only be wall-mounted, so you will have to ensure that the walls in your kitchen are strong enough or make modifications to strengthen them.
If you would like to maximise kitchen storage, then the Ropox worktop lift may not be the best option for you, as it is not possible to have drawers in the front facia.
If a manual height adjustable worktop doesn’t sound right for you, then maybe an electric worktop lift would be more suitable.
Ropox FlexiManual
