In certain cases it may so happen that the rails being laid cross the threshold of a door, or there is some other object that will require a flat floor or wall space. For such an instance a hinge may be installed at the point of intersection so that a portion of the stairlifts rail can be raised up when not being used and thus not create any blockage of the path.

Not all stairs are made straight and can be curved for practical purposes. For these naturally, straight rail stair chair lifts or other variants of the same will not do. A curved track is required along which the curved stair chair lift is to move, going around the bending path of the stairs. The design is based on how close a curve is possible to construct, keeping in mind the various constraints upon the whole system. The smaller the radius of the curved path, less material will be needed as the radial path of the circumference of the curve (along which the rails are to be laid) and so the whole stair lift will incur less cost. Essentially this aims at reducing the stairlifts prices. The cost of a curved stair lift is substantially more than that of straight stair lifts. Often the price of the former stairlifts may be almost 3 times that of the straight chair lift.