Stiltz Home Elevators has a team of highly-trained and professional installers which means the process, in most cases, can take as little as one day. However, for some homeowners considering installing one of our residential elevators, here it is a straightforward guide which details what is involved during a typical retrofit installation of a Stiltz Duo Home Elevator by one of our authorized partners.
Essentially, the first step is for an authorized Stiltz installer or professional builder to cut an aperture in the ceiling of the room where the home elevator will travel upwards from, for example, the living room to the master bedroom – this is one of the most typical customer installations.
Having removed the aperture, the technician can see which way the ceiling joists are running, so the next step will be to use timber props around the hole to support these joists until these been cut out as required for the home elevator to go through. Then the joists are cut, and the required small section removed. A timber brace is then fitted around the opening to maintain full support for the ceiling timbers.
After this step is complete, it is onto the opening of the hole in the floor of the room above; the carpet is pulled back and the underlay or padding cut away above the hole. Once this is completed, only the plywood flooring remains above the hole which has already been cut into the ceiling of the downstairs room. Stiltz provide a template of the selected style of home elevators ‘footprint’ which is then used as a stencil to ensure accurate cutting.
Next is the assembly of the motor and the winch for the residential elevator and then the elevator cab itself. At this point the customer can be reassured by the many safety features of their Stiltz Home Elevator. One of these is the infrared light curtain which works via sensor bars either side of the cab entrance door which automatically sense when someone crosses the threshold of the elevator. These sensors turn on the inner lights and, in the event of them being triggered while the lift is in use, will pause the residential elevator.
The panels of the elevator cabin are then assembled to form the shape of the completed home elevator. Rollers at the top and bottom allow this cabin to run up and down on its surrounding rails (the stilts from which Stiltz got their name!) and once all this is completed, the elevator cab is then raised using the motor up to the top floor.
The cap of the residential elevator is covered neatly with the same piece of carpet or flooring, cut into shape, as was removed from the upstairs room. When the elevator descends to ground floor level the cap sits in place, matching the aesthetics of the room.
Only the home lift pillars remain, keeping the room as light and airy as possible. To ensure safety, if someone happens to stand on the flooring above the residential elevator when the button is pressed, safety sensors will prevent the lift from moving until there is no one standing there.
Similarly, safety features on the bottom of the elevator cab prevent it from reaching all the way to the floor as it descends if anything contacts the cap on the base of the elevator cab. The cap is then fitted to the bottom of the elevator too, so that the look is as clean as possible.
Once all the remaining safety checks have been completed, the home elevator is ready for use.
For more information about Stiltz Home Elevators, contact 0800-926-677 or download a free brochure here.