Residential elevators

If it happens to be the case that you are mobility challenged, chances are that you experience day-to-day difficulties moving up and down the stairs of your house. For a large portion of these people, a similar situation will probably lead to the installation of a stair lift. However, if you are cursed with a narrow or curved stair case, have problems with severe obesity or are simply not able to leave your wheelchair, a stair lift might unfortunately not be a viable option. In this case, you might be better served by the installation of a home elevator. Having an elevator at home may sound extremely flamboyant, but as a large amount of satisfied owners can testify, it may be a bare necessity to the elderly or disabled. So, if your residence employs a curved or narrow stairway, you might want to think about making a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of a home elevator with those of a stair lift.

A secondary advantage of a home elevator, is that having one will likely signficantly increase the value of your home. A regularly maintained elevator will retain its value almost for a lifetime. In fact, home elevators are one of the most popular amenities installed to boost the value of newbuilt homes. Thanks to the current state of technology and thanks to recent price drops, a home elevator is now a viable solution to those seeking to improve the quality of their daily lives. The old advice of 'just' relocating to a bungalow once the stairs become troublesome, simply is no longer valid. Those that are still giving out this advice really underestimate the emotional effects that come with being forced to move one's place of residence.

If you are interested in purchasing a residential elevator, the most appropriate time to have one mounted, is during the building of the house. However, during construction time, most real estate owners don't take into account that they could one day need mechanical help in climbing the stairs. Since lifts require a foundation, a shaft, an engine and several (mostly two) access points, not all houses are able to accomodate an elevator without modifications. It may therefore well be, that significant adaptations are required before being able to have a home elevator installed. A number of these adaptations might have large aesthetic and financial impacts. If you want to be thoroughly informed on your home's ability to support an elevator, you would do well to contact a local installer before purchasing the elevator. The company will send an engineer to analyze your home for any possible issues. The report handed to you afterwards may include a price quote for having the modifications done by the installation firm themselves. If you want to obtain a non-subjective opinion of your house, make sure to have it inspected by multiple firms.

If your residence has been found suitable for elevator installation, the time is right to start bothering about the more subtle details of the device in question. The primary factors that determine the cost of your residential elevator are track height, amount of stops and the lift's cabin capacity (weight). Usually, the lower these values, the less expensive your lift will be. Another factor that will greatly influence your choice of elevator, is the kind of drive. You will find many types of drives, including the cable hydraulic drive, chain hydraulic drive and the vacuum lift. Each system has its own (dis-)advantages in speed, noise, durability, cost and capacity. So, be sure you are well-informed by your local installer, so you can make a good decision. Lastly, you probably want to be sure the interior of the lift carriage has all the features you seek. Things you could think about are an emergency button, a telephone jack and gate type. An accordeon-type gate is usually recommended, since a scissor gate could potentially snap on your fingers when closed incorrectly.

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