A friend of a friend installed one in Canada for their aging parents and from what I heard they love it. They got that idea from someone they knew who installed one for their father also in Canada.

That said, I read an article about them in one of the builder magazines and installation doesn't look too complicated if you have room for it and pick the location in the right spot where you don't have to re-route plumbing pipes or HVAC ducts, etc. Also, there is hardly any maintenance involved since it works on air pressure something similar to when you send the deposit can up the pipe in the bank drive-thru.

Good luck

Thanks for your reply. I am starting the process to have a custom home designed and now is the time to incorporate this type of elevator into its best location.

At the planning stages, it is much easier to plan for that vs. retro-fitting so you should be fine, I'm sure your architect will fit that in the right location of your home.

Good luck to you!

@cpartist, built a a few years ago and installed an elevator. Not sure what type. Hopefully she'll see this post and share her experience.

If we had decided to go with 2-story instead of 1-story, we would definitely have added an elevator, or at minimum saved the space for it and done all the necessary wiring.

@Mark Bischak,

You post makes evident why architects need the collaboration of engineers on things that are not, well, straightforward. It is entirely possible for a pneumatic elevator to do loops and corkscrews. The issue is the required bend radius to accommodate the cab. There may also be the need for an amusement park ride operating permit, depending on the jurisdiction.

I've installed two pneumatic elevators to date. One was for an architect's personal home. We discussed the corkscrew option. He elected to install a straight vertical tube in the two-story Foyer and create a corkscrew with the stairs which wrap around it. It was probably a cost consideration. Or his wife may have vetoed it.

Maybe I've watched too many cartoons as a child . . . and as an adult.

Any ideas on the cost?

From what I have read, the cost of a one-person elevator starts around $35,000 assuming it is being installed in the construction of a new home.