Everything you need to know about home lift installation

Home lift installation requires construction work, and the building costs can become very expensive. If the cost of installing a home lift concerns you, you are not wrong. The installation of a residential elevator can turn into a money pit that transforms your home into a dusty building site for weeks. The good news is that it does not have to be that way. By choosing a compact, ready-made home lift solution, you gain control of both installation time and building cost.

Home lift installation with low construction costs

Although installing a lift at home always requires some construction work, the scale, duration and cost of the build depend a lot on what type of lift or elevator solution you choose. Cibes platform lifts are among the most cost-saving home lift solutions in the market when it comes to building work.

The machinery of screw-driven lifts is so compact that is fully integrated with lift shaft. That is why screw-driven lifts, unlike most other home elevator solutions, require no extra space neither above nor beneath the lift. In addition, screw-driven platform lifts come with a ready-made shaft, so you do not need to have a shaft enclosure built, unless you really want to. That means that you can minimise the structural alterations and building work necessary by choosing to install a screw-driven home lift solution.

Where do you want to install your home elevator?

Your choice of lift type may have the biggest influence on the amount of building work needed but your choice of home lift installation also has an impact. We will take you through the 5 main installation scenarios for Cibes residential lifts that all require different levels of site preparation.

1. Through-the-floor installation

This is a very common type of home lift installation that makes the lift shaft pass through openings between the floors. In the ideal scenario, the machinery side of the lift (same side as the control panel in the lift car) is placed against a wall to make it easy to attach and secure the lift. But if that is not the case, we have solutions for that too.

2. Existing or site-built lift shaftway

If you already own a residential elevator, it is probably installed in an existing shaftway. And, depending on the age of your elevator, it may need modernisation. If that is the case, it is wise to compare the cost of modernising it to the cost of installing a new lift with a fully updated design that will last longer. Cibes offers you a wide range of lift models and sizes that will fit inside most existing hoistways. But if you are planning to buy a new lift and want to create a site-built shaftway for it, all you need to do is to adapt the shaft dimensions to the size of the Cibes home lift you want.

3. Inside an interior stairwell

Installing your home lift in an interior stairwell is a smart and space-saving solution, as the void space at the centre of a staircase normally is an unused space. As you do not need to create openings between the floors, this is also a solution that requires less building work than through-the-floor installation. Cibes home elevators offer you a wide range of lift models and sizes that are slim and compact enough to fit inside most staircases, such as the Cibes Cloud Plus, the Cibes Air or the Cibes A4000.

4. Built against a mezzanine floor

This type of home lift installation is faster and easier to achieve than most of the other scenarios, but it often requires some extra attention to detail and design. Why? Because a lift placed against a loft, or a mezzanine floor tends to become the centre piece of the room. That said, if executed well, the result can be stunning. A great way of making sure that your lift makes the most of the natural light and your beautiful views, is to go for a glazed lift shaft and panoramic doors.

5. Outdoor installation

If there is not enough room to install a lift inside your home, outdoor installation is a space-saving solution that also provides easy access to your garden. Cibes outdoor lifts require special site preparations, such as drainage and sturdier fixing points. But if you are struggling to find enough room or the right place for a lift inside your home, our outdoor lift is a great option to consider.

Site preparation for a Cibes home lift installation

In this section, we will walk you through the different types of site preparations required to install a Cibes residential lift. The amount of construction work needed for a Cibes home lift depends on your choice of installation, but it is always less than for a conventional home elevator.

Lift foundation

A great advantage of Cibes lift solutions is that they can be installed either with or without a lift pit. Both alternatives have their pros and cons:

Home lift installation with pit

The pit depth of Cibes residential lifts is very shallow: just 5 cm for a platform lift and 10 cm for a cabin lift, while conventional elevators often require a pit of about 120 cm. The 5- 10 cm lift pit ensures that the lift floor is level with the floor of the bottom landing.

Note: The lift pit must be created by a professional builder. The pit floor needs to be completely level and must sustain the weight and forces of the lift.

Pitless residential lift installation

Cibes offers you the option to install your home lift directly on the ground, without a pit. Pitless installation is a great advantage in areas at risk of water infiltration as it preserves the water sealing of your home. A pitless home lift is also a great solution for duplex and penthouse apartments because it keeps the structural integrity of the building intact.

Pitless residential lifts come with an access ramp for the bottom landing to even out the level difference between the lift floor and the landing.

Note: Installing your lift without a pit requires less building work, but the floor must be level and strong enough to sustain the weight and forces of the lift. This should be checked by a building professional.

Floor openings

If you have chosen a through-the-floor installation, a professional builder needs to cut out the floor openings for the lift prior to lift installation. This kind of building work of course comes at a certain cost, but a conventional elevator would require a contractor to create the floor cut-outs and build a concrete or masonry shaft. For Cibes lifts, you only need to pay for the floor openings.

Lift shaft

Our prefabricated shaft is a great solution that comes with the lift and requires no building work. However, if there is an existing shaftway in your home, it may be smart to use of what is already there. Just contact your local Cibes dealer to find out what lift models and sizes will fit into your existing shaft.

If you do not have an existing shaftway but still prefer to build a shaft for your Cibes home lift, the shaft only needs one load bearing wall to attach the machinery side of the lift (same side as the control panel in the lift car). This is an advantage compared to most other elevator solutions.

Fixing points

Because Cibes residential lifts travel at a lower speed, they generate less strain on the structure of your home than conventional home elevators. In fact, only the machinery side (same side as the lift car control panel) of your Cibes lift needs to be attached and the number of fixing points is limited.

Even though our fixing points are comparatively few and far between, it is not always possible to comply with our recommendations for home lift installation. That is why we provide a range of fixing brackets and other solutions that can adapt to the specific conditions of your home. For detailed information on the fixing points for your specific lift, please contact your Cibes dealer or consult your lift drawings.

Headroom on the top floor

Most conventional home elevators need a lot of space above the lift. That space above the lift is called headroom and requires a builder to cut your ceiling open to make the lift fit on the top floor. Cibes residential lifts, on the other hand, fit under almost any ceiling height. They need a headroom of only 2,3 metres with standard doors. Even less, if you opt for an 1,1-1,3-metre-high gate on the top floor, as shown in the image below.

 

Finishing touches

Finishing touches are an important part of your home lift installation. Elements such as thresholds for the landings, and aluminium profiles to fill the floor and ceiling gaps around the lift, can be provided by your Cibes dealer. However, depending on the lift configuration and the architectural style of your home, you may need customised finishings to achieve the result you want.

Note: To avoid unexpected building costs, we always advise you to discuss the finishing details with your Cibes dealer and builder already at the quotation stage.

 

If you have questions about your specific home lift installation, please reach out to us. To read more blogs like this one, please visit our blog space.