When planning a home elevator, the key question is, how much room will it take? At Stiltz, with models like the two-person Duo and wheelchair-friendly Trio residential elevators, these types of lifts have surprisingly compact space requirements, but it vital to get the planning right for all eventualities.
The space needed for a home elevator depends on the type whether it is a new build or retrofit, how many floors the elevator needs to travel in the home, whether wheelchair access is required and if a smaller size or larger weight capacity is preferred.
The typical space needed for a home elevator also depends on the type of lift whether it be a most traditional style shaft or hoist way elevator, shaft-less or through-floor lift, vacuum or pneumatic tube elevator, round elevator or larger wheelchair-accessible elevator.
Below, we walk through the space considerations using real specifications from the Stiltz shaft-less or through-floor range and homeowners may be surprised to learn how flexible they can be with the choice of locations.
Understanding What ‘Space’ Means
There are three interlinked elements to the space requirement: The car size, the internal cabin where people ride, the overall footprint, the external dimensions of the lift including rails and structure, Vertical clearances, including ceiling height, pit or floor recess if any, and maximum travel between floors
Here we look at how the Stiltz models perform in each area.
Footprint and Dimensions
Stiltz Duo Home Elevator
The Duo model is designed for two people, or one person sitting, and has a maximum load of 375lb.
The typical footprint is 1046 mm × 765 mm which is less than one square meter.
Another document lists an internal car footprint of 780 × 673 mm and a floor cut out of 1048 × 810 mm.
Because of its self-supporting vertical twin-rail system, the Stiltz Duo Home Elevator does not require load-bearing walls to mount its guide rails. This offers flexibility in where this type of residential elevator can be located.
Stiltz Trio Home Elevator
The Trio model caters for three people, a walker, or a wheelchair user, with a maximum load up to 485lb.
The footprint for this type of home elevator is larger, for example 1047 mm × 1280 mm. Maximum travel can reach up to 19 feet and 8.2 inches for the larger models.