Elevator - VERTICAL Wheel Chair lift? Help anyone?

[Bob_Skurka]

Well something we never expected to happen may be happening and it looks likely that my wheelchair bound mother in law may be moving in with us in the spring? My father in law, who has been the pillar of health is in the hospital and near death. We have lots of issues to deal with, but one of them is the possible relocation of my M-I-L to my home.

One large problem is that our home is built on 4 different levels, it is not a quad, it is built on the side of a hill and partially follows the slope of the land. We have plenty of room (in fact I wish the house was smaller), but while we have lots of room is all in the wrong places because it is scattered over several floors.

My initial thought is to put an addition on the house with an elevator that would go down to the lower level family room. The addition would be 2 steps below the kitchen/dinette/dining/foyer area so we could ramp her up into that part of the house. The addition would also be level with the garage floor, which would make it easier to get her to her wheelchair van. The addition would be adjacent to our kitchen & dinette so it is in a high traffic area so she would not be excluded from the family activity. And by placing the addition there, I can excavate the side wall of the house along the slope and punch through the wall with an elevator access to the lower level.

Given the design of the house, there is NO way to have a wheelchair stair climber that works along a wall and takes a wheel chair up a staircase. We have 3 separate flights of stairs, and none is a full flight. We have only one option and that is a vertical lift or elevator.

Anyone have any experience with these? I have been in contact with Concord Elevator, which makes residential elevator units. Does anyone know of any other options or companies that do residential elevators or does anyone have experience with these types of units?

 

[MossRoad]

Sorry to hear of your in-law's health problems. I recall you mentioning your mother-in-law used a wheel chair before.

I have seen several home elevators, but cannot recall who manufactured them. If I find some information, I'll pass it along.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's some quick info, but you probably already found this as you have talked to Concord.

Otis Residential Elevators

Residential Elevators, Inc. They have a section on planning for a future elevator when building a new home by stacking closets that can be converted later.

Wheelovator

Otis has been around for decades and is a reliable company. They all look like they can be cusomized to match the trim in your home. Wish I had some hands on experience to give you. Good luck in your search.

 

[hazmat]

No experience here, but some thoughts....

Elevators aren't cheap. They ought to come with exemplary customer service. I'd have the various local vendors out to your house to discuss options.

Talk with your local council on aging or other relevant agencies/support groups. They will likely have some input.

Enlist the help of the building inspector early on.

If using an architect, use one who is familiar with elevators.

 

[Golfgar4]

Bob,

I would underscore what Stephen has said about getting some outside consultations.

I know you're the type of individual who is very thorough on anything that you do. Your postings here on TBN are evidence enough of that! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

But there probably is a lot more to dealing with your problem than just moving your MIL from floor to floor. You may recall that my wife is in the home design business, and she has, on occassion, had clients that are in similar situations as yours. She has always brought in an outside consultant who is an expert in dealing with handicapped accessibility issues in an existing home. I certainly can't list all of the issues, but they are more complex than most people realize.

So, you might want to consider touching base with your local builders association. They should be able to put you in touch with builders that specialize in these kinds of situations.

Good luck in your search.

 

[dmccarty]

Bob,

Golfgar4 is right on the money regarding accessibility issue in the house. Here are some links...

US Government Accessibility Standards(Has rules for elevators)

Kitchen Design Issues

NC State Universal Design Web Site

The last link is really good. They have design criteria for bathrooms that is very informative and should not be overlooked.

Sorry to hear about the family health issues. Hope these links help.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bob_Skurka]

All, I have every intention on bringing in an architect, I'm just trying to do my homework before hand because I want to know what I am getting and know the options available to me so that I can be part of the planning stages. Also, I was on the town's American Disability Act planning commission that worked with all the town departments and helped lay out plans for increased access to allow each of the towns services to help the physically disabled residents get the services they need. We did everything from measure walkways to help redesign parks to increase access. So while I don't have a degree in this stuff, I have a pretty good grasp on the basics.

But I've never dealt with an elevator company and I know that there are lots of different codes and they vary from residential to commercial and I also know that costs become an issue. Before sitting with the architect, I want to have a rough idea of the basic engineering requirements and physical needs required to put an elevator into the house. It is easy to add a room or two on the house, it is a bit harder to do it properly. I'd like to make sure it is done right which is why I am hoping to find some people who have done this and see if they are happy with their brand, the service, performance, etc.

 

[GaryM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
Residential Elevators, Inc. They have a section on planning for a future elevator when building a new home by stacking closets that can be converted later. )</font>

Stacked closets are what we did in our new home. We even refer to them as the "upstairs" or "downstairs" elevator closet!

 

[Currmudgeon]

My understanding of residential elivators is slim, but the primary issues will be geometric. You will need a continuous shaftway, that connects to all the accessible spaces. Depending on your layout, that may be more difficult than it sounds. A quadlevel has essentially four half-floors. Getting an elevator, with potentially a door on each end, to mate with four half floors may be a pain. Doing that part of the skull-sweat may be where you'll save your money.

Electrical requirements are modest and you don't usually need a machinery room for a residential elevator.

Use your achitect as a resource. If he knows what he's about, he waill have asked all your questions six times already, and found the thirteen sets of answers.

As far as re-converting the property to a non-elevator house later, I'd think you would add more value by having a HC friendly house. Those aren't too common, so it should increase the value of your property.

While you're doing your planning, consider the possibility of restricting wheelchair access to only part of the house. At our place, the upstairs is our bedroom, so it doesn't need to be accessible.

I am looking at a different HC access problem right now. We have a single level house, as far as HC access will be concerned, except for a depressed sun room. It was built as an addition, at patio level, three steps down. There isn't space for a proper ramp.

I'm considering a hydraulic dock lift for use as a wheelchair lift. I can get a one-ton lift, about three by four feet in size, that sits on the lower floor, for a pretty reasonable price. It won't be elegant, but it can be taken out later, and the stairs rebult.

This weekend, I get to mix fifty sacks of Quick-Crete for a small ramp to get out of the sun room. Just too small a job to buy readymix. Just big enough to beat me to death.

 

[Currmudgeon]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But there probably is a lot more to dealing with your problem than just moving your MIL from floor to floor. )</font>

The primary problems will be getting that wheelchair to where it wants to go. A 32 inch doorway will work, but three foot wide doorways will ease access a lot. Hallways and living spaces will want to be designed with wheelchair access and turn around space. IIRC, minimum hallway width for a wheelchair is 36 inches. A wheelchair will turn around in a 60 inch circle, but a 78 x 60 inch space is more reasonable. A Tee turn can be done in a 2 x 3 foot alcove off a three foot corridor.

Door knobs may need to be replaced with lever handles. Electric openers with remote operator pads may make sense in some situations.

Bathroom design will probably be critical. You might consider a zero threshold shower, so she can wheel in and out without getting out of the chair.

The toilet areas may need to be redesigned with grab bars and a higher profile toilet. Sinks with space underneath for the knees may be required.

Sink heights may need to change.

The various handicapped advocacy organizations may be able to assist you in making something workable without bankrupting yourself.

Look at the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (28 CFR Part 36 which has some extremely useful graphics. I got mine somewhere on line.