Thanks much !

Does the pneumatic tube quickly "swoosh" people in the little capsule? That would be AWESOME.

I'll check into that and get back to you !

I know that my hairdresser said the pneumatic only require 30" of space. It sounds far less "commercial".

The pneumatic elevator is fine as long as you never need to get a wheelchair in there. Or two people.

And quite honestly, everyone I've seen is ugly.

Holy crap - I have a single story house and this thing is so cool. LOL

https://www.vacuumelevators.com/pve52/

up to 3 people and wheelchair accessible!

Just checked and we are putting in a hydraulic elevator.

3 people or one wheelchair. That's the problem. Usually, though not always, someone using a wheelchair also needs help from a second person.

Ugh - I hate the smell of hydraulic elevators. :(

we looked at the savaria eclipse and a few others.

We haven't put one in yet, but did rough in our basement and 3 in-line large closets on each floor to allow for one in the future.

The hydraulic option required more space for controls, lift system etc as another poster mentioned.

The hydraulic as I recall, also needed a deeper pit. The reaction forces may also have been different?

Its a good idea to meet with your designer/builder to discuss options - in our case, we roughed in the support-rail-wall such that we had a few options for companies when the time came.

Thanks, house is designed for elevator. Going to local elevator company in the morning.

Traction. The smell of a hydraulic would be a deal breaker for me. My friend has a traction elevator in their home and I don't find it significantly loud. You can hear it when it is running/in use, but it is quieter than their air conditioner. ;-)

Thanks CLC, smelll is a concern. MRL elevators is another option.

Thanks for the info on the different types of elevators. I hope never to need to put one in, but can certainly fit one into one of the master closets, should the time come. Traction sounds best for my space. It wouldn't be running continually, so I am certain I can live with the noise. Smells take longer to dissipate. Although scent sensitivity declines as we age...

If I'm going to need someone to move me around other than temporarily, that's gonna involve hiring live in assistance. A whole new ball game where at that point I'm not going to enjoy anywhere I'd be living. And in that condition, I'd never need to visit my basement, anyway.

My brother recently bought a second home in Florida. It came with a traction elevator. Yes, it makes some noise, but I've heard noisier laundry machines. His holds at least 4 people.

Pneumatic / vacuum elevators - sounds way cool! Just like the drive thru lanes at my bank!!

It occurred to me another issue with hydraulic: whether or not the smell bothers you, with a choice, do you really want to be inhaling those hydrocarbons? We run into enough already, why add to the mix?

Good point, we met with the elevator contractor this morning for about 2 hours and learned a great deal. Time well spent.

Interested in hearing more info from others - I'm in the same situation. Info I've gathered:

Hydraulic:

$650 more than "in-line gear" (traction drive?)

Requires ~3x3' machine room nearby.

Potential to leak fluid, more things to maintain

Shouldn't be used near ocean/saltwater. I guess if you have salt in the air it will corrode components and affect the seals

Traction:

$650 less than ^
Slightly louder/rougher

No machine room, requires less headroom and pit is shallower

Less parts to maintain


I'm leaning toward the in-line gear / traction since we wouldn't plan to use every day. Cost of ownership is less and they're really not noisy

Having worked with hydraulics for years if you can smell hydraulics, you've got a leak somewhere.

I'm putting an elevator in and it will be the winding drum electric. Yes, it is going to be slightly noisier than the hydraulic might have been. Note you are really relocating the noise elsewhere. While the elevator cab will be quieter, the hydraulic motor is not exactly quiet.

Has anyone been able to calculate a decent "cost of ownership" figure for these drive systems? I was trying to get info out of my elevator guy, but they kept dancing around it and just gave me the same "service plan" price for both.

Example - does the hydraulic fluid or seals EVER need to be replaced? What interval and what cost? Expected life of hydraulic pump system? For traction/in-line - do cables stretch or what are the consumables? All things aside, I'm very interested to know what each drive system costs over 10, 15, 20 years.

3 people or one wheelchair. That's the problem. Usually, though not
always, someone using a wheelchair also needs help from a second person.

The video shows wheelchair plus one standing person; however, it does look like a tight fit and more than a little claustrophobic.

Seeing how enormous some houses are these days, I think they need padding on one wall so the tube could shoot the rider horizontally as well as vertically.

Sprinkles working on that figure. Blues, ur right some are a tight fit. We measured clear floor space of the cab and our clear space is 4' square so no issues.

Going to do a vertical platform lift if needed. Way cheaper.

Going to do a vertical platform lift if needed. Way cheaper.

Yes but will you have a place to retro fit it if needed? And what will it cost to add it after the fact?

It's pay me now or pay me later. Later in this case could be quite costly. Get written estimates not guesstimates.

Going to do a vertical platform lift if needed. Way cheaper.

Yes but will you have a place to retro fit it if needed? And what will it cost to add it after the fact?

Vertical platform lifts are designed to be retrofitted. There is very little additional cost from retrofitting them and frankly very little benefit from designing a house for one. The mechanics of a lift are designed to fit into the lift and the housing which installs onto the wall and protrudes only about 8". The hydraulics can be installed pretty far away. The real benefit of a lift is that they take up very little space in the area where the lift is not parked, so lifts need only need to have space on one floor.

However, on the downside, an elevator will add some resale value to a home. Even though lifts are only about half as expensive they add no value and may actually devalue a home.

We had a lift installed in a home overseas, mostly for convenient access to parking structure as the access from the garage to the house meant going around the block. We picked a wheelchair lift over a small winding stair. I don't think there were any additional charges to install it in an old home. The price tag on the floor model included installation, however, I guess it is possible that they would discount it further for a new home.

I will be putting one on the guest house for sure, and I'm designing for it. My main house is actually old--but yes, if needed, there is a perfect place. I will need doors facing different directions that elevators can't handle in one instance

It will be in a niche with a door in both cases so it isn't an eyesore.

Elevators really don't add value except to your tax bill. No one will pay more for a house because it has an elevator. It might sell a little faster, but people who need it NOW aren't going to be looking for 2 story houses. Elevators/platform lifts are slow and annoying at the best of times. Good if you love a house and NEED it, generally bad otherwise.

The non-annoying use for either is going from a parking to a living level. That's what will happen on the guesthouse.

I will need doors facing different directions that elevators can't handle in one instance

Actually they can and do.

Elevators really don't add value except to your tax bill. No one will pay more for a house because it has an elevator. It might sell a little faster, but people who need it NOW aren't going to be looking for 2 story houses.

Actually that also depends on where you live. In my neighborhood you either build a one story house or if you're on a small lot, you build up with an elevator. The average age of the buyer in our neighborhood is retired.

Agreed CP, our house will be 3 stories total with 10' ceilings and a 32" stemwall foundation. Do the math, elevator is a must when aging in place. Right now, we are both in great health. God forbid one of us needed a wheel chair. Then what ?

The pictures of the pneumatic lifts seem very cool. In the event of a power loss, they slowly fall to the bottom floor. No getting caught in it and no one ever finding you. Every once in a while, you hear about a person getting stuck in one and only being found long after their demise. That means getting a land line or alert system that will connect to the outside.

P'cola, let us know what you decided to do and why.

homechef, nowadays elevators will go to the bottom floor and the door will open. Plus they all come with a land line.

No one will pay more for a house because it has an elevator. It might sell a little faster, but people who need it NOW aren't going to be looking for 2 story houses.

You say it will not add value and in the same sentence give an example of how it does. Leaving aside the "value" of selling faster, price and selling time in a house are perfectly complementary variables - Any house that will sell faster than the market average at a certain price will sell at the market average time at some higher price.

Additionally, appraisers are supposed to comp elevator homes against the price per square foot of single story homes. This only helps in areas where single story homes have a price premium, but in those areas elevators can add appraisal value well above their cost.

Elevators are like any other niche specific home upgrade, they don't add value to people who are not interested in those things, but they add a lot of value to people who want that item. My local real estate search engine has a handicap accessible box to click that includes single story and homes with elevators. I suspect as the population ages we will see an increase in similar search options.

I agree that putting an elevator in before you have a real need for one is a real waste of money, however, an elevator is much cheaper than the transaction costs of moving, so planning for a future elevator in a build is very smart. That 25 year old elevator has one thing going for it...A planned space for a new elevator.

It's not being "crippled" (so inelegant) - it's being temporarily incapacitated with a knee or hip replacement and not being able to do stairs for a while. That is VERY common these days and recovery from either surgery is "expected". Also, many families have a child with a disability and an elevator is a comfort as the child grows, or a necessity if the child is in a wheelchair.

And elevator allows a 2 story home to be considered like a ranch, as bry notes, so that can open up a larger pool of buyers. It can also allow folks who prefer to have a bedroom upstairs to stay in that home longer.

People put in designer kitchens they never use and there's little concern about that - but I don't understand Milly's hostility and condescension towards people that may have limited physical mobility. A shame, really.

I agree with Jannicone - hip replacements run in my family, and while all family members have needed surgery and rehab after, they were quite mobile afterwards! (My grandma had both hips done, one twice, because she felt it gave her her life back after limping in pain!)

Milly's use of the term 'cripple' angered me too - many people in wheelchairs are able to live successful mobile lives - they just need a home that is flexible/adaptable to do so. It's why I'm building an accessible home (with a roughed in stacked closets with structural rails for a future elevator)! Friends of my family in TO have a son in a wheelchair and yearn for a house like mine, and our stucco guy (also in a wheelchair) said he really liked to see more mobility-designed homes.

Remember, it may not be YOU who is mobility-limited as you age - it may be your friends, your family...if they can't move around your home, they aren't going to come visit you!

Milly may be a bit extreme but does have a point about a 25-year-old elevator. Probably better to do like Lookintomyeyes and rough-in the space, so that when the time comes you have the latest advances in a device you will rely on.

Doing things to lower the cost of putting in an elevator in the future is probably a smart idea. However, putting an elevator in before you need it is really not a great idea.

It takes about 10 years for the savings from waiting to pay for an elevator is greater than the cost of putting in an elevator. In other words putting the difference in mortgage payments in a modest 5% savings instrument will take you about 10 years to accumulate the total cost of the install (assuming your elevator only needs preventative maintenance for the 10 years). As technology tends to get cheaper and better over time, there is little reason to install an elevator preemptively.

Elevators can open front and back. They don't open front and side--or on three sides. And front and back costs more. A lot more.

Actually you can get elevators that open front on one floor and the side on another floor. I know, because I looked into them.

Since we and our neighbors are all on multiple acres, a person who needs an elevator would get a single story home.

Not all of us are on multiple acres, or wish to be, although my parents were on multiple acres. (I bring them up for some of your following comments.)

We are not in a high value urban neighborhood. While elevator condos nearby in planned communities sell to old people, they wouldn't want several acres of gardens and forest. Only in certain urban places and certain planned communities would an elevator actually add value.

Old people? You mean like 80 or 90?

"Aging in place" was super trendy for a while, but the problem is that very few people so disabled by age will be able to live alone, especially for long.

Your ignorance on this matter is showing.

And it has nothing to do with being super trendy and everything to do with being smart and far sighted. My mother who was "so disabled by age" as you call it was able to live in her home for 12 years after receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

My parents bought their house on 2+ acres when they were in their early 50's and were able to continue to live in the home because she did the "super trendy" thing of thinking of aging in place when she was still active and in excellent health.

And as others have pointed out to you, not everyone is permanently disabled. Some have hip or knee issues, or they break a leg, etc. I have a friend who broke her pelvis which necessitated her using a walker for close to a year.

Even with more than full time care, when my grandparents got that crippled--

Your grandparents didn't become crippled. They became disabled. How disgusting a comment!

and they did largely as a result of poor lifestyle choices--they had to move into a wing with my parents so the quality of their care as sufficient.

Not everyone becomes disabled because of poor lifestyle choices. My mother became disabled through NOTHING she did to herself. She didn't smoke, she went to the gym 5x a week, and on the days she didn't she walked or used the treadmill. She ate healthy and kept her weight down. Yet she still got Parkinson's Disease, a disease I wouldn't wish on anyone!

So despite what your ignorance is showing, not everyone becomes disabled because of poor lifestyle choices.

My other grandmother became unable to manage a house and cook for herself and moved to an independent apartment before moving into my aunt's "granny flat."

Thankfully someone in your family has more compassion than you seem to have.

It is the rare person who is too crippled for stairs and still able and willing to manage a house or living with someone the same age and lifestyle who can help them and manage the house.

Again your ignorance is showing. Most people, given the choice would choose to stay in their homes. My mother was smart enough to know that and because of the wise choices she made in her 50's, she was able to stay in her home until the last 6 months of her life. She passed away at 84.

And plenty of people may have issues with stairs, either permanently or temporarily, but still be able to manage to live and maintain a house.

And again, the word isn't crippled, it's handicapped!

Usually, you're selling fantasies of permanence. My gym membership is a much better investment.

Like I said, my mother had a gym membership and used it 5x a week. I hope if you ever become disabled, others will be more compassionate than you are. And fantasy has nothing to do with it. Smart planning has everything to do with it. Again, your ignorance regarding this matter is showing.

People living in multistory houses do not have a shortened period of independence compared to people who don't, on average. While stairs are a challenge, people who have stairs stay stronger longer. If no one is exercising, it works out to a wash.

Again, your ignorance on this subject is shining through loud and clear.

While I do agree with you that stairs are excellent exercise, it is not always something that people are able to do. If my Mom had to climb stairs, it would have been more hazardous to her health, even though she continued to exercise after her Parkinson's diagnosis.

And plenty of people have balance issues or as stated above, temporary problems with mobility. My Dad had balance issues for a while because of an inner ear problem. But you believe what you want because it's obvious you know better than all those folks who suggest planning for aging in place.

Few people also stay in a house for decades anymore. Our neighborhood is mostly an exception. But it's just that. So you're looking at a small subset of a general neighborhood (not a controlled age community) who might possibly have that in mind.

And again, can you back this up with facts? Probably not.

And even if people don't stay long term because of life circumstances it's still smart to build a house for the long term. Isn't it smarter to build or remodel like my parents did so they could stay for the 30+ years they enjoyed their home?

You install an elevator now for, what, 20 years in the future? 30? Let's say you really do stay in the house. You build at 50. Need it at 70. Die at 75. (Let's be honest--most people don't last 5 years from being that crippled to death.)

There you go again with your slimy comment about being crippled. Again, let me remind you, its disabled.

And there you go again showing your absolute ignorance on the subject since, despite what you are saying, people can last many years after becoming disabled. My mother lasted 12 years. I would have hated to think how despondent she would have been if she had to leave her beloved house. But maybe you believe it's better to warehouse people.

People have accidents and wind up disabled and live for 20-30 or more years. Should they be warehoused? Young people in their 20's or 30's get diseases like MS and I can tell you they live more than 5 years after being diagnosed.

You had an elevator getting old for 20 years without being needed. Now you have a house with a 25 year old elevator that you're trying to pose as a selling point to people who are likely 30-50 years old. How much money would it need before the next owner would need it? You think a 25-year-old private elevator, without public-level inspections, is a huge selling point? As many people would think it's a death trap.

Elevators can be maintained. Why are you so ignorant about the subject that you think they wouldn't be? Also I know of plenty of private elevators in older buildings that are still in excellent working condition. Just because you choose not to maintain something doesn't mean the rest of us choose the same.

And yes, elevators can be planned for and not put in until it might be needed in the future. For some, that's a good solution, but since this is a new build, it is actually cheaper to put it in now, than to have to retrofit it later. And as mentioned in certain neighborhoods, it's an excellent selling feature.

Well said CP. And I thought the use of the word "crippled" was poor.

And actually, for most of the houses I design now, we're setting it up for an elevator in the future. Case in point being the Chesapeake Bay house in a recent thread. Probably for 15-20 years the space will be nice closets! And that doesn't cost a dime!

I should also note that I suspect many neighborhoods (such as my city) are now making it mandatory that a certain %age of home sin each subdivision are 'accessible' - so its definitely not a trend, its the law!

Well we just had our elevator installed. It's a traction unit and much quieter than I was expecting.

Do you mind sharing how much the traction el cost and how big/how many stops it has?

Elevators are almost de rigeur in higher end homes here. All those damn rich cripples, I guess!

Let's hear from people who are using elevators daily while living in multistory residences. I think this idea is an oversold fantasy where cost outweighs actual utility for most people -- certainly for the elderly.

I have friends who bought multistory homes, rationalizing that the homes had elevators as 'backup' for 'later'. Now it's 'later'. They are not happy. A few continue to struggle with stairs rather than use an elevator, despite 'doctor's orders'. For some, the stairs are only one thing they can no longer do unassisted.

Disability aside, when did anyone cheerfully wait for an elevator several times a day just to get around in his own home?

The problem isn't the elevator, it's believing that an elevator is going to make a multistory residence a good choice when you are OLD. How long will a Senior or Senior couple live well with their disabilities before moving to a more appropriate (safer) place?

I can see 'an elevator for Granny' in a family home. I think it's whistling in the dark for people building 'forever' homes to believe they will live for long in a multistory home -- elevator or no -- when they are incapable of climbing stairs.

Actually, my parents lived in a fourth floor apartment for some years, using the elevator daily. Dad had had two hip replacements and couldn't manage stairs at all, but he lived quite comfortably in that apartment until he passed away, age 92. Mom stayed there for a few years afterwards before moving into a retirement home when she was 90. So I'm not sure it's all that unrealistic for an elevator to make a big difference in a home environment..

My Mom, in her late 80s taking care of her early dementia husband for years, opted for a knee replacement instead of an elevator or stair lift. A c. dificile infection in the hospital killed her. The money she would have wasted on an elevator was passed down to her children.

Taking an elevator TO your home (condo, apartment) is different from needing to use one several times a day within a multistory home.

Those chair lift commercials are weird. If you can't climb stairs, what else can't you do? How long will you be in that home? I feel about this the same way I feel about reverse mortgages for most people. If your home is no longer appropriate or safe for you -- or you can't afford to maintain it -- it's time to move. Why make expensive and temporary 'fixes', providing you have the option of moving to more appropriate housing?

My sister put in a chairlift in her last home so Mom could make it up the stairs when visiting. Sis also found it useful for moving heavy bags of groceries and boxes of wine ;)

As to elevators in apartments, my folks were in and out several times a day - shopping, collecting the mail, going for a walk, going for a cappucino, etc. I'm not sure that's all that different from a multi story house, where most of the living goes on on a single floor, interrupted by occasional forays up or downstairs.

We've lived with an elevator in our home for over a decade. At the time we bought this house, I only considered houses with elevators. There's very little flat property in our area and single story houses are both rare and small. Tornadoes are common and I wanted to be certain that all family members could get to the basement. Our youngest needed the elevator when we bought the house. Over the next year I experienced several tendon ruptures (thanks to fluoroquinolones) and found stairs extremely painful to use. Since then my spouse and I have both been in serious car crashes and have also sustained injuries from such things as a climbing accident and a fall on ice. I no longer climb stairs.

Our elevator comfortably carries four adults or a wheelchair plus one or two adults, with a load limit of 950 lbs. I use it at least twice a day and often more frequently. We've used it for moving furniture and other heavy items from one floor to another. Visitors love parking in the basement garage then using the elevator to carry their luggage to second floor guest rooms. A couple of friends who've had poor results from hip/knee surgeries are also happy to use it when they come over to watch movies or football games in the home theater. Their home no longer accommodates their needs and they can use only one of three floors.

We've had routine maintenance done, the back-up battery was replaced a couple of years ago and a switch was installed to turn on the lights when the call button is pressed. The total for those service calls has been less than $2K. More frequent routine maintenance might double that figure, but we haven't seen a need for it.

Anyway, that's our experience. I hope it helps someone considering whether or not to include an elevator in their home.

I'm not sure that's all that different from a multi story house, where most of the living goes on on a single floor, interrupted by occasional forays up or downstairs.

Exactly. But maybe that's because I've lived the last 10 years mostly in apartment complexes so waiting 15 seconds for an elevator to come to me or 15 seconds to go up or down the elevator, isn't such a big deal to me.

I've also used it to move luggage and heavy objects upstairs. And I was thrilled that my GF who is in a wheelchair was able to see my upstairs rooms.

As for not having an upstairs? On our infill lot, it was either go up or wind up with rooms too small to work for our lifestyle. We chose to build up and add the elevator.