[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.