Say the words ‘home lift’ to someone who has not seen a modern domestic lift installed in a home recently and it is quite possible they would respond with ‘ Hmm, that’s a good idea in theory but I don’t think there’s anywhere I could put one of those in my house’.
However, take even a brief look at the new-generation of home lifts and it becomes clear that the models by manufactured by Stiltz Home Lifts New Zealand are not huge, clunky lifts of old that will take up heaps of floor space and require massive renovation works. The types of home elevators offered by Stiltz are now affordable, attractive and in many cases, can fit into a home taking up as little space as that of a wardrobe or airing cupboard.
With the ingenious modular build systems and one-day installation times of the Stiltz range of home elevators it is easy to see why more and more home owners across New Zealand are adding a domestic lift to their home improvement wish-lists.
A growing numbers of New Zealanders are considering a home elevator either because of changing mobility levels or simply because it will help future proof their home or make transporting heavy items between floors easier, they might have wondered; is a home lift a realistic solution for my family? Where exactly could it go?
All Stiltz home lifts travel on self-supporting rails that carry the weight of the entire lift, eliminating the need for load bearing walls. The only building work required is a small opening in the ceiling for the domestic lift to pass through floors. So straightforward is the process that a typical installation can take just one day. Thanks to the self contained nature of th style of Stiltz home elevators, there is greater flexibility than ever before as to where in the home a lift can be located.
Here are the most likely approaches when it comes to where to install a home lift in a typical residential property in New Zealand.
Standard
This is the most common application, in which the home lift will travel between a downstairs room like a living room with the domestic lift arriving upstairs, typically to a bedroom. The lift will take up a small area of the floorspace and is, of course, designed to blend with the interiors in which it will be sited.
Stairwell Void / Landing
For some, usually those homeowners with a staircase which has a turn in it, this positioning option makes use of what would otherwise be dead space in the staircase void, making the Stiltz elevator even more unobtrusive.
Cupboard to Cupboard
Thanks to the compact, discreet nature of the new generation of domestic lifts, if it is preferred the lift can be completely hidden from view and installed in an airing cupboard or wardrobe sized cupboard space.
Vaulted or Sloping Ceilings
Whilst the home lift would need to secure to a horizontal surface, the installation teams from Stiltz are more than capable of overcoming the issues of vaulted ceilings or those that slope downwards. Subtle solutions to overcome the angle of the ceiling are commonplace in many of our installations. The recent extension to the travelling distance of the lift range ensures that the lifts are also more than capable of extending through more than one storey.
Basement or Garage
Perhaps easy access from an under-home parking space or garage into the ground floor (or above) of your home is required. By building a simple shaft around the lift itself it is possible to take into account the necessary health and safety concerns to enable this access from car to home.
Thru Car
Stiltz are the only home lift company in New Zealand that can enable entering and exiting the lift on opposite sides. For wheelchair users, or where a lift needs to be fitted into stairwell void this is an especially important consideration. Direct access from, say, the living room or lounge, to master bedroom can also be facilitated in this way if it best suits the property layout.
As well as these potential difficulties which the team at Stiltz regularly overcome for its customers in New Zealand and around the globe, recently the lifts themselves have benefited from a product update enabling them to travel a greater distance, to a new maximum of 4.5m. This longer travel option means that a Stiltz domestic lift can be installed into an even wider range of properties, such as period properties or others with high ceilings.
So if you felt that the limitations of your residence prohibits the installation of a home lift, now is the time to reconsider. For more information contact Stiltz Home Lifts New Zealand today.