Anyone here have an elevator in their home?

Lee,

 

 I work for a home building company. The vast majority of our homes are large townhomes that are designed for empty nesters and have an elevator as standard. Many of the people that buy our homes are looking to down size, but I suspect a majority of them would stay in their homes if they had the room to put an elevator. It can be tricky retrofitting an elevator in, as you know. I think it is cool that you can do it and stay! May you and your wife have many years of healthful use in your new elevator!!

When we lived briefly (fifteen-months) in Nashville's historic 1859 mansion, "Two Rivers" (28 rooms!), we had an Otis personal elevator!

 

I was into standard gauge at the time (1975-1976) and had plenty of room to run my original Lionel boxed sets! 

We looked at several homes that had elevators, but decided to build our new ranch-style house instead.  We had a first floor master bedroom in our previous home, but were also trying to downsize.  I say trying as we stayed at 3,000 sq. ft., not real big, but not too small either. 

 

Good luck with your latest venture.

 

Art

When I started the train room several years ago, relocation of the laundry was a priority for more train space.  The laundry moved upstairs, which eliminated that constant up and down.  My hip replacement rehab several years ago was done on the lower level. A bed was moved to the lower level, when I came home from the hospital, all was done on the lower level.  The steps afford exercise, but to an extent, life could be done, either up or down, both are not a necessity. IMO.  All that ice and snow is another matter.  Arizona looks better every year.    Mike CT  

Lee, I would have taken you for a guy who would build his own elevator. Just kidding,good luck with your project.

 

Brad

nope, just a escalator.

 

 

 

Just Kidding Lee!, my retirement home is all on one level.

Lee

 

Look at the air-pressure version operated with a vacuum cleaner like motor that sucks up the rider tube in a tube and then softly releases the air to come down. Can be attached to stair structure as well.  

 

Small openings required very little structure adjustment. look at your local  building codes because this system is so new they may not allow without some code changes. The company is prepared for that as they have code specs.

 

Here is the Daytona Elevator one: 

 

http://www.daytonaelevator.com...or%20Main%20Page.htm

 

Real STAR_TREK looking!!!

 

 

Oh yeah and NO PIT TO CONSTRUCT.

I built my own, but to be precise I have to call it a "lift". The difference is that you have to hold the button until you reach the desired level. I built it to enable me to get my wheelchair-bound wife into, or out of the house. It is located in the garage and the elevation change from garage floor to house floor is 4 feet. To get a professional one installed would have cost in the range of $8000 to $10000. I built this one for under $200 in materials, (and everyone knows your own labor cost nothing). Reaction I've had from health care workers are at both ends of the spectrum; the most negative reaction was from a guy who sold this stuff; most positive was from fire dept ambulance person.

 

It has been in operation for about 8 years. It has operated flawlessly, and provided a much safer way to transport her than me carrying her.

 

Let me know if you want more info.

 

I saw the air pressure one.  they are very cool.  Nifty idea. But we are getting a hydraulic one.  Not sure if the air pressure is permitted here, but boy, do you have to have a lot of permits before you can start construction on one.  

Shouldn't this post belong in the elevator subforum

I have one in my Townhouse in North Carolina.  Here are a couple of pictures.

 

It is a hydraulic elevator,  no issues runs very smooth. 

 

If you need the complete specifications shoot me an email.

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My elevator doesn't go up as far as it should...

 

Jeff C

I don't think Lee needs any info. He stated that the contractors are there today.

Well, yeah....  we've all seen the "pneumatic" in the Polar express;  screw one of those up and it shoots you through the roof and halfway across the neighborhood...

 

 

I am thinking about one too!!  It's nice have a train room on the top floor, to avoid the mositure of the basement, but it's a workout.  I just finished building the train room and tables and friends came over and made sugustions.  So I added on by taking over a walk in closet of one of the bedroom that back up to the room.  Now it's back to haul materials up the stairs again to built the next table.

 

lee, will your elevator be able to hold 2x4x8 or a 4x8 sheet of plywood?  

Just curious. Do you have to install a phone line in a home elevator?

 

I think it is a requirement on commercial, just never looked a home install.

Well, I have six or eight elevators, but they are all model grain elevators.  My brother, who needed one, had a personal one built into his large house, from basement to second floor, during construction.  I designed this house with the laundry on the

main floor, looking at future aging, and with wide and gentle steps, that might accommodate one of those seat-like things that can carry you around the railing,

up and down.  This seat-like thing wouldn't be much help getting a 4x8 up or down, though.  (the wide and gentle steps were based on an experience getting a

stored refrigerator down the two-turn narrow stairs off the second floor of an old

farm house, and a second experience getting one up one-turn narrow steps out of a

basement in a much newer home) 

 

Great idea Lee...

We are in our 80s and have a two story Cluster House [which is simply a Condo with a 10' side yard] and love where we are located. My layout is now in a small attic space over the garage after dismantling a 15x23/8x12 operation down the hall which is now an Exercise and TV room for my wife.

 

 

I tried, along with an Architect, to determine where to an install an elevator but it was completely impractical at every turn and a permit was not in the cards even if I built an "A" roof dormer over a corner of the garage or the old dismantled layout space.

 

So, second or third best, I put in a Stairlift [16 steps,350 lbs.capacity],initially to accommodate my wife's rehab upstairs for knee surgeries. Ironically now 6 years later, due to health issues, I use it more than her [to access the attic layout]. Always for descending the stairs because that is when stairway accidents tend to occur.

 

Our Stairlift works great but definitely not in the elevator class.

 

 

 

 

No.  We had to cut ours down to 42 inches deep from the standard 48 inches.  I think a standared sheet of plywood would fit in a standard one, although I am not sure the door is tall enough to get it inside one.

 

Yes, it is required, and my wife insists in case she "gets trapped inside it."

 

Lee:  Regulations for residential elevators are not as stringent as for commercial. There have been more accidents/maimings and deaths in home elevators than people realise. Please research carefully.

We don't have one; however, a few years back a friend took to me to the home of his relatives in the Raleigh, NC area.  Due to declining health and conditions of his legs, he had an elevator installed to take him from main house area to basement in order to have access to his train collection.

 

My wife has bad knees and while we don't see an elevator in our future, I could see the back of home reconfigured for a ramp.

Hey Lee..........look into whether you need to cut out a square in the basement slab for the extra weight and load bearing.  Not claiming to be an expert, yet I do home structural design and I recall seeing the slab at the elevator area as being thicker and a bit wider than the elevator compartment.

 And yes......you are facil at things...why aren't you doing this yourself?

 

During the early 80's, I house-sat for a summer at my friend's recently deceased grandmother home. Built during the twenties in a highly desired urban setting, the house was enormous and owned all the trappings such an address would demand. A mother-in-law suite was planned for the third floor, including provisions for an elevator, but never realized. The space for the elevator had been finished into closet spaces, maintaining opportunity for a future conversion.

 

I have since seen this approach often with new construction, albeit, higher bracket homes. Provide for it on the front end with a future need in mind, a trend that's becoming more approachable. My dream house would certainly include one, and perhaps a freight elevator to service the train room.

By the time the elevator is needed, I doubt anyone would be handling 4'x8' sheets of plywood. I can no longer do that now, have to have Home Depot cut them into more manageable sizes I can deal with. They have been very helpful in doing that for me.

 

We moved to a new ranch in the fall of 2013 with everything on the main level. Trains are the only thing in the basement and I think the lift Dewey posted would do quite nicely for us to access the basement that way if need be. Laundry and everything else is on the main level. We also have 36" doors everywhere in the house for wheel chair access just in case that is ever needed. With a couple of other minor adjustments we should be ready for some health issues, but of course we are really hoping we never have to deal with all that.

Good Idea Lee!!
I live in a Ranch style home, but I still have to deal with steps to get to the train room. I do have a railing on each side that I find myself using a little more lately. 

Whenever my family took a trip to San Francisco I found myself taking the steps.
I took a picture of my daughter just before the elevator door shut…




Good Luck with your new Elevator…..
Just in case you need a sign for your new elevator…




K.C.

Our church just installed an elevator from the basement to the choir loft. It's very, very nice, but very, very slow. I hear lots of air when it runs, so I'm assuming it's air operated. I live in a 3-story home and so far I agree with Betty White. She says she also lives in a 3-story home and never can remember where she puts things, so she gets her daily exercise by climbing the stairs. I think I have to agree with that. I may change my mind when I hit 80, which isn't too far away.

 

George (G3)

When I bought our house (8 years ago on Sunday), it came with an elevator installed.  Apparently, the lady who lived here had had hip replacement surgery and needed it.  Ours looks very similar to the picture posted by PWTrains above, except, there are only two floors in ours.

 

A few notes:

• I don't know if I've ever ridden in ours more than once or twice.  However, when they were smaller, my daughters used to ride it down for breakfast just because they could.  It is IMMENSELY popular during sleepovers.
• It is AMAZINGLY useful for transporting heavy articles up and down the stairs. You guys would laugh if I took a picture right now because, as I write this, mine is stuffed with all the things I brought home from the Big E train show plus other train items I've added since then.  Big boxes of 40" straights are a lot easier to send up in the elevator and then retrieve on the other side.
• GET A PHONE.  The electric motor did burn out and the old lady called it to have the fire department come to cut her down.  Since she lived alone, I can't imagine what would have happened without it.  My neighbor, also since passed on, was on the rescue crew that came to get her.

More than anything else, it's a conversation piece and it amuses children like nobody's business.  Like you, someday I'll need it for real.  Until then, it carries train boxes quite nicely.

 

SJS

Any accidents with Stair-Lifts?  Do those things come with seat belts...I have wondered

as I see the ads...?

This is an interesting thread.

 

We will be moving into a new home after I retire in 7 years.  Most of the homes I have check on-line, have been two story homes.  I like a two story home as it opens up the opportunity to have a large family room, that would be perfect for a train room.  Thus, I've been wondering if an elevator would be a possibility in some of these homes?

 

Jim

Our Acorn Stair-Lift from ground to second floor has a seat belt.