Going Up? Home Elevators

[glenn-k]

My father-in-law asked me to research installing a home elevator for him as, with hip problems it gets harder to safely negotiate the stairs.

What I found is fairly affordable - $27000 and up including tax and installation.  This does not include the elevator shaft and 6" deep pit.  The owner would have to provide that and engineering for the foundation.  

Here is online information - if wheelchair access is required it takes the largest one but even that doesn't take up much more room than a closet.

The Lev -Home Elevator

[Amanda_931]

That really may be affordable.  

Although I think I'd prefer to design a bedroom on the ground floor to start with.

Did you look at the sit-on jobs that go up the side of the stairs?

Someone with a bit of claustrophobia--or just a fear of being stranded in elevators--might prefer those.

[Jimmy_Cason]

[size=12]I see Glenn building this wooden enclosure then using the sky trac to get Dad up and down![/size]

[glenn-k]

We have a stair chair at our movie theater.  F-I-L's place has a landing and 90 degree turn.

By affordable I mean that if you have savings and not a lot of years left to use it in, then it could be a good investment to prevent possible injury that could send you to a home other than the one you want to be in.

Most new cars now cost more than a home elevator and senior safety can be an important issue.

Value of the home increases also.

[Amanda_931]

By affordable I mean that if you have savings and not a lot of years left to use it in, then it could be a good investment to prevent possible injury that could send you to a home other than the one you want to be in.

Most new cars now cost more than a home elevator and senior safety can be an important issue.

Yes.  The cost only sounds awful.  And yes, it may well be better than moving into a condo somewhere.  

Athough an elderly aunt ended up with three floors in her condo, only a half  bath on the main floor, laundry in the basement--down carpeted (!) stairs, the bedrooms upstairs.  She stayed there for years, quite happily.  But another aunt, her slightly older sister, moved into a nearby unit, frequently slept in a chair on the ground floor because of the stairs.

[glenn-k]

For me, Jimmy -

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44006



and

Maybe a firepole for a hasty exit.




Actually, Jimmy I do have a surplus 80 foot manlift and I entertained ideas about incorporating it into a part of my cabin -a couple of years ago I was really thinking of it.  What a thrill for my friends as the engine roared to life and a room of my camouflaged cabin popped up out of the ground and 80' into the air.  What a view.  I tipped it over once - fortunately I was only 68 feet up and was tied into the basket with my lanyard.

[speedfunk]

I saw in some mag somewhere ...about a new type of elevator that is meant for home use..  Like you don't have to have the foundation support.  It was a vacum sealed tube with a canister inside of it ...i belive it was cheaper then what u mentioned above.  Works kinda like those tubes at the local credit union....u get the idea...

8-)

[glenn kangiser]

I saw that one also but didn't look into it - maybe I should.

[Jimmy C.]

I googled TUBE ELEVATOR and came up with this... Now I want one!
http://www.daytonaelevator.com/index.htm


The future is here......
I knew I saw this somewhere before..

[Billy Bob]

Glenn, here's an outfit that supplies stair lifts and addresses the landing/90 deg. issue.
They are very forthright about troubles with the curved rail system, but have an elegantly simple solution!
http://www.acornstairlifts.com/us/index.php?source=google
I like what I read about the units being DC, no cables, and running off battery.
Might be worth a second look, although an "otis" in the house would be cool!

[MikeT]

If you are determined that an elevator is what one needs, this link won't be of much use, but if one is interested in looking at a new kind of wheelchair, then here is one I can vouch for:

http://www.independencenow.com/ibot/

My friend (43 years old) is in the middle stages of ALS.  He uses his Ibot chair to get around the house.  He loves it.  He negotiates the stairs in his house and is thus able to be independent.

It might be much less work than installing an elevator and then dealing with the limited resale value of such a home.

Cheers,
mt

[Amanda_931]

And the Acorn one has a model suitable for outdoors.  Good idea.  I've lived in plenty of places with--sometimes a lot of--outdoor steps. (2nd story over a garage, for instance)

The place I lived that was 94 steps above the garage was the last house on the street that did not have a funicular affair up to the house.  The street was divided into two parts with a hedge, just after (before, actually) our place, and I never met anyone who actually had one of them.  They were pretty crude, IIRC, mostly a platform, with a couple of seats, no seat belts, guard rails, etc.  This was the 60's but those places were probably pre-WWII.

A quick search found me a site that puts you in touch with manufacturers around the world, but so far it's mostly elevator parts.

http://www.alibaba.com/catalogue/1208c3ph/Elevators_Funicular_Cars.html

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks for the other links - I'll be talking to them over the next few weeks to see what they want to do.