Residential Elevator?

[jyl]

My house is three floors plus basement. I intend to die here. Eventually going up and down the stairs won’t be possible. In the next 20 years, installing an elevator would be nice. Who knows about residential elevators?

[KFC911]

Now I get the other thread

You gonna have stairs too?

[Rick Lee]

My parents just had this done a month or so ago. They live in NJ, so a regulatory hell. IIRC, the cost was about $40k and took a few months due to permits and inspections. You need a permit in NJ to think about building something. My mom said that company was the only game in town and, although their house will be a teardown when they die (old house on a very valuable piece of waterfront property), there is a good used market for these elevators. Their pulling the trigger on this project pretty much assures me they plan to die in that house, whereas they had been talking about moving to AZ for the non-summer months and to my sister's area in WA for the summer. Not gonna happen now.

[Zeke]

Used to be that you had to construct an elevator on site with pre fabricated parts in your framing. Now they have self contained units that require only a hole cut where you want to put it. It's about as much work as installing a fabricated spiral stair, but the hole is smaller. Single person use. You can get sizes that will accommodate a wheelchair.

I haven't studied these so IDK about 3 floors. If look171 goes to the builder's show all the companies will be there. There is usually someone doing a YT on these and all other shows. That's where the latest products are found.

Just a random sample:

[rcooled]

Small pneumatic elevators are an option too. Info here → Residential elevators

[GH85Carrera]

When we were looking for houses, the location and features were important, but 100% NO multi level houses. All of our doorways are wheel chair width. There is one step into the house from the garage to the kitchen. A small ramp would fix that.

We plan to live here until they wheel us out in a wheel chair or on a gurney.

[jyl]

Yeah, a single level house would be a lot simpler. But I like my house and my neighborhood, so here we are.

I have a theory that an elevator will raise the house value, somewhat anyway.

[Rick Lee]

FWIW, my folks like to entertain a lot. I hate it, but they always have a lot of people over. Rest assured, if you have that elevator where guests can see it, and they have kids, it's gonna be treated like an effin amusement park ride, unless you lock the door or camuflouge it.

[porsche930dude]

Always thought it was a great idea for my house. Its a split level and there are 5 levels. When it was built it had a laundry shaft from top to bottom. We blocked off everything to make a kitchen pantry in the middle. It wasnt used for all the floors but its in a spot that it can be.

[Rick Lee]

We had a laundry chute in a previous house. One of the nails in the duct/flashing hit a copper pipe. Took a while, but the hard water eventually ate the nail away and caused a serious leak.

[Paul T]

3 floor plus basement, so you are looking at a 4 stop elevator? I would check with your State, everywhere is different, but in some States when you go past 3 floors it opens up a whole new can of worms in terms of regs. Some States also require annual inspections and some do not. Having a phone line installed is a must in case someone gets stuck. I have one that I rarely use, but agreed someday it will be nice to have it there.

[shadowjack1]

Also, consider installing the chairs that go up and down the stairs. No permits needed.

[javadog]

I haven't looked into this for a few years but the last time I did, most (if not all) residential elevators were designed for 2 floors and I could have probably installed one for about $20K.

If you want 3 floors (ignoring the basement here) I'd think you'd be looking at a commercial hydraulic elevator, which was a lot more money the last time I installed one in a commercial building.

[rwest]

I wonder if it would be cheaper to install more than one so you don’t have to have a unit that goes the whole distance?

Maybe do some remodeling before you get too old that consolidates most of your daily needs on one floor to limit your need to move between floors. Put a bedroom and bathroom somewhere on the same floor with the kitchen and maybe the laundry room too?

You could find someone to stop by occasionally to check on your mechanical systems in the basement and get water and temp alarms on the equipment too.

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by javadog

I haven't looked into this for a few years but the last time I did, most (if not all) residential elevators were designed for 2 floors and I could have probably installed one for about $20K.

If you want 3 floors (ignoring the basement here) I'd think you'd be looking at a commercial hydraulic elevator, which was a lot more money the last time I installed one in a commercial building.

You can get residential hydraulic elevators today that go up to 5 floors, with minimal equipment space (no pit needed). If I recall, the cab sits on a forklift type setup that is wall mounted in the shaft with a small hydraulic pump/control center in an adjacent equipment space. Slow moving, but fine for residential.

[javadog]

You’re describing a hydraulic elevator like what I install in two or three story buildings. There is usually a shallow pit, maybe three or 4 feet deep. Enough structure to accommodate the elevator, rails and ram.

Completely different thing than the cheaper, two story home elevators. More like what you’d find in a two or three story motel.

Maybe there is something new out there, I don’t know. I haven’t looked at it in six years.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by shadowjack1

Also, consider installing the chairs that go up and down the stairs. No permits needed.

This is the easy button