anyone installed an elevator in their home ?

[rfuerst911sc]

Don't get the wrong idea I'm not talking an extravagant mansion I'm talking about just a regular house. Here is the scenario I'm referring to. My wife and I are thinking about building our retirement house . In general terms it would be a 3 bedroom 2 bath with a basement . With a basement you usually park your cars in the garage portion of the basement. So to get items like groceries upstairs you have to walk up a set of stairs. But as you get older carrying items up the stairs will become more difficult. So that's where the idea of an elevator or a dumb waiter comes into play .
So can the average Joe design a home built elevator maybe using an electric winch for the power ? Or maybe a hand winch as you would not be lifting a lot of weight ? Or is this just a silly idea ?

[RKDinOKC]

Check out residentialelevators.com
A little more than just an electric winch.
They gots a controller and safety equipment so people can safely ride in it.

[DanielDudley]

If you have the money, it is very doable. Other people stick to living on one floor.

I'm going to say ballpark that it can add at least 30K to the price of a house.

[RKDinOKC]

Petticoat Junction had an elevator!

There are many older homes around here that are two story with elevators.

[Seahawk]

My business partner was a contractor for many years and built high end homes in Florida.

We had this conversation a few years ago. He felt that the best residential designs used water.

I did a quick search. Lots of options: Outdoor Home Elevators - Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana

[yetibone]

One of my customers is a residential elevator install/repair contractor. They have plenty of work, but not a lot of competition.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

If you have the money, it is very doable. Other people stick to living on one floor.

I'm going to say ballpark that it can add at least 30K to the price of a house.

Living on one floor is a good plan. If you need an elevator then you may be needing to move to assisted living anyway.

[Mark Henry]

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

to get items like groceries upstairs you have to walk up a set of stairs. But as you get older carrying items up the stairs will become more difficult. So that's where the idea of an elevator or a dumb waiter comes into play .
So can the average Joe design a home built elevator maybe using an electric winch for the power ? Or maybe a hand winch as you would not be lifting a lot of weight ? Or is this just a silly idea ?

I've got a buddy that bought a house that was 3 floors. Parking on the bottom floor, and kitchen up the stairs. I know it came with a dumb waiter to get stuff from the garage to the kitchen and it may have even gone to the upper floor too.

I would think that there should be some sort of commercial offering that you could integrate into the house as it's being built. I think I'd go that route rather than trying to rig up a winch.

In my neighborhood, they are tearing down the old homes built in the 20s & 30s and putting up 2 homes on the same lot that are worth a fortune. Most of them are 3-4 floors and are "elevator ready". I'm not sure that's the kind of elevator that you're talking about.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Mark Henry

I hope never to get in that kind of shape that I need something like this. The last couple of places my mother lived in(group homes) had one floor only. Note to self. Today is warmer so I will walk an hour and do my exercises particularly the ones for balance.

[greglepore]

Looked at these when I was paralyzed after an m/c accident. Around 30k for a nice one. Luckily recovered my ability to walk...

[group911@aol.co]

Look into what standard size a shaft would be and frame it into the house you are building.
Use as closet space until the time comes.
Staying active by using the stairs will push that time out- hopefully until you drop dead on the stairs someday.

[vash]

since your building a home..building a one-story not an option?

[id10t]

Friend/distant family of a coworker did. For handicap access to an upper story. Someone ended up dying on it... Florida woman reportedly crushed to death by homemade elevator | Fox News

[masraum]

Originally Posted by id10t

Friend/distant family of a coworker did. For handicap access to an upper story. Someone ended up dying on it... Florida woman reportedly crushed to death by homemade elevator | Fox News

That's why I was thinking it may be best to just include a commercial offering since the house is being built. You'd want all of the features safety and otherwise incorporated into the design that modern commercial stuff should have that a homemade item probably wouldn't have unless the person is an engineer that's familiar with the systems.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by vash

since your building a home..building a one-story not an option?

I was thinking the same. Lots of homes have basements with main-level garages. In fact, our house has two 2.5 car garages on the main level and a 1 car utility garage on the lower level.

Heck, you should just buy our house when we move back to the lake in mid 2018. Problem solved!

[daepp]

OT, but what an odd story - a mystery as to how the poor woman didn't hear or see it coming. I had to look a bit for more:






"WEEKI WACHEE - Robert Blair prefers to be the only person who operates the homemade wheelchair lift, located on the outdoor side of his three-story Island Drive home.
But on Tuesday morning, Blair was at the hospital for surgery. While he was away, his wife's friend, Margaret Harrison, arrived at the home to check on his wife, Jean Blair.
Harrison never made it upstairs.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Harrison, 66, of Spring Hill was crushed to death by the wheelchair lift. An autopsy ruled the death accidental.
"She was my wife's best friend," Blair said on Thursday, explaining the women knew each other from church. "I don't know what happened, we might never know."
Blair said that 17 years ago he built their home at 6263 Island Drive, which faces a canal, as well as the wheelchair lift. Blair said the lift rises only when a button is pushed, and the lift can operate even when the power goes out. The majority of the device is steel, as well as wood siding, he said.
Blair said his wife sent the lift to the ground floor on Tuesday morning so it would be there when Harrison arrived. Blair said his wife offered to meet Harrison on the ground so they could ride up together, but Harrison told her she knew how to use the lift.
Around 9 a.m., Jean Blair began to worry and wonder where her friend was, Blair said. She called Harrison's boyfriend, Francis Jorr, who drove over. Jorr used the power switch to raise the lift, and found Harrison's body.
Harrison was blue by the time help arrived, Blair said. The sheriff's office said she was pronounced dead on scene.
Blair said he didn't know what happened to Harrison to cause her to be under the lift as it lowered to the ground. He didn't know if Harrison had any health problems, but speculated it could have been a "spell" or a "seizure."
Blair said the sheriff's office investigated Harrison's death, and found the lift to be working normally.
"They couldn't find anything wrong with it," Blair said.
Blair said both he and his wife are saddened by the accident, and have received more than 60 sympathy calls in the past two days.
"We're Christians, and look forward to seeing her again," Blair said.
On Thursday, the outdoor lift was still wrapped in yellow caution tape. The sheriff's office said no permits had been issued for the lift, and the building department shut it down."

[Scott R]

30k is about right, I have one in my mountain house. The only downside really is you have to maintain a land line with the local phone company, at least that's the code in my county. You know just in case it gets stuck and you have to press the "call" button.

[vash]

this is beyond a 1st world problem

[rusnak]

You don't want an "elevator", you want a "wheelchair lift".

I'm installing one when we build the new office for my dad. He wants to have a second story office after he retires, so I'm going to build him a second story family room type of office space. The lift allows one person to stand behind an occupant in a wheelchair, but not turn around. They would either back in, or back out. It has a boxed shaft (enclosed) and will have a glass window running up the entire height, so the occupant can see out.

An "elevator" requires monthly inspections, must have an operating permit, etc etc. We don't want to go there because it's not for public use.