Pics if it matters.

For planning, I budget 5' square. I usually design around Residential Elevators https://www.residentialelevators.com/ but there are many other companies. In a house just completed they paid just under $20K. For door locations, etc, I'd call them up. They've always been very helpful (note: I have no affiliations with them what-so-ever. Just happy with their product).

We set it up for later install all the time but if you do be sure to depress the basement slab per their specs so the elevator floor is level with the top of the slab. Concrete slabs are very hard to modify later!

I'd comment on your plan but I've been busy with the "First draft" thread but there's some advice in there that might help you too.

Thanks so much, the price estimate alone is such a big help. I will go check the link. I was wondering about the mechanics so the slab info is great.

I think ours is ~4'x3.5' interior but don't recall exterior dimensions. Cost was somewhere between $20K-$25K. There are different types of elevators (traction, hydraulic, pneumatic) that have differing requirements. Depending on which you choose you would want to plan for foundation as architectrunnerguy mentioned. You will also want to reserve space for the mechanicals.

Figure out who in your area will do installation and service.

Useful - absolutely. We have extended stay family guests who have difficulty with stairs. Makes it easier to get their heavy luggage up there too ;-)

Reliable - yes, so far (knock wood).

Good luck!

In my
experience, there are 4 basic residential elevator drive systems (as of 2010).

MACHINE ROOM (drive is in space
adjacent to shaft at any level)
1. Elect. winding drum & cable (gearless) - counterbalanced
2. Hydraulic piston

NO MACHINE ROOM (drive is mounted at top of lift
frame)
1. Elect. winding drum & cable (gearless) - counterbalanced
2. Elect. gear & chain - counterbalanced

The critical issues to anticipate for a future installation are not only any recess that might be required in the lowest floor and the overhead space that might be required at the top especially if roof trusses are used. The shaft size and cost will depend on how big you want the cab to be, the location of the doors and the kind of drive you choose.

The location shown must accommodate the additional thickness of the foundation at the lower level so I would expect to see a thicker upper floor exterior wall. Since you don't want to heat the shaft, it is best to keep elevators away from exterior walls.

If you intend to install the elevator, later be sure the initial structure is adequate and the openings can be made easily.

I don't recommend installing an electric dumbwaiter and replacing it later.

Thanks so much JDS. I actually have a space that is 4'x6' but think the cab area allowance will be 4'x4'.

Currently the space I have for the elevator is an exterior wall upstairs, the downstairs space will be underground. If I can't put it there I will probably skip the whole thing as I don't want to redesign the whole house just to fit an elevator. Maybe then I will consider a dumb waiter in some other configuration.

We are going to be using Residential Elevators too. (Glad to know you like them ARG!) We were quoted a price of just under $20k too. That's for a basic interior which is fine.

If I can't put it there I will probably skip the whole thing as I don't want to redesign the whole house just to fit an elevator.

You are designing a house for yourself and your DH and your DH is now 66 years old. You're designing a house on several levels and you think you may skip the elevator?

While you are both healthy now and use the stairs, I would absolutely put the elevator in. I use the example of my mother to warn others. My Mom went to the gym 5x a week, ate healthy, and never smoked a day in her life. She lifted heavy packages, etc. Then at the age of 72, she developed Parkinsons. Luckily for her, she had the foresight to buy a one story house when she was 54 so she was able to live out all but the last 6 months of her life in her house. She passed away two years ago at the age of 84. If she had stairs to climb, there would have been no way she could have stayed in her house.

You're both healthy now, and hopefully you'll continue to be but I've seen what happens to even the most active elderly. (I live in FL and my building is mostly active seniors). Don't be short sighted or you may find you'll have to move sooner, rather than later.

Cptartist, I get what you're saying. With this plan, the original design had a detached garage on the front right side of the house with access to the house via the front porch and through the mud room. Currently the elevation requires one or two steps tops to go from the garage to the porch/breezeway which would be pretty easy to make a ramp if necessary. Then it would still be one story living from that point. I can probably add a simple one car garage in that space if the need arises for less than it would cost to redo the entire plan around an elevator. I've already put in my notes to the architect to design a one car to get it approved and allow for it in the site layout now. At this point I am making that spot a parking pad for guests.

I'm an odd bird in that I almost prefer outbuildings to the actual house and have a whole file of just garages, shops, kennels, greenhouses, gazebos and chicken coops I'd love to have.

I love this little garage for my MINI, Witchiepoo.

A better size allowance to keep the cost down would be 3-2 x 4-2 for the cab and 4-6 x 4-6 for the shaft.

It can go on an exterior wall if you furr out the upper shaft wall to align with the lower one which would make the shaft allowance 3 or 4 inches larger on the upper floor (4-10 x 4-10).

cptartist, the original plan has the breezeway leading to the mudroom as a covered porch. It is only about 4 or 5ft wide so kind of small for furniture but fine for a walkway. Our first instinct was to get rid of it as we wouldn't really use it but that would have changed the roofline so we are keeping it as is.

This is a mirror image. This shows many steps but will will only have the 1 or 2 per the builder. Plus we will lose those windows in the foundation as we will have more below grade. Also, this doesn't show the added bump out for the elevator on the side of the entry without the porch.

Thankfully in north Georgia we rarely get snow that sticks for more than a day. About every 5 years we get a good storm that shuts us in for a few days but that's about it.

We found most of the residential elevator companies near us had construction specs to allow you to pre-select what size of elevator you may want, and build accordingly. We found they all tend to be fairly similar.

Eg

Garaventa's Elvoron

Savaria's Eclipse

A house that required an elevator would be my *last resort*. I am delighted with our forever home that is the minimum one step above grade with no interior stairs. I've recovered from two hip replacements in this house. I'll soon be 75; had no idea of coming physical limitations when we built in 2001. I don't want the cost of building in or maintaining an elevator. I don't have the patience to use one either!

I was just talking with friends who are my seniors who bought a three story townhome with flights and half-flights of stairs *everywhere*. "Oh, but it has an elevator!" They spent a lot to repair the elevator. They hate living this way. It's just not 'the solution' it seemed.

"I was born in Chicago ... in nineteen and forty-one ..."

JDS -- Song? (I'm probably too old to have heard it! LOL) Yeah, I'm a slightly pre-war model.

Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Mike Bloomfield

Butterfield was a legendary white Chicago blues harp player from our generation who introduced many of us to the blues with his 1965 album "The Paul Butterfield Blues Band". He was asked by Bob Dylan to back his first live electric performance at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival, played at Woodstock and died at age 44.

Interesting discussion - I am 48 and building all on one level with level entry to the house - no stairs from garage or front door, etc. Healthy as a horse. Hubby is a little order, and also healthy as a horse (although - having had horses - not sure this saying is all that fitting...)

I digress.

The reason we have chosen one level is we are currently living in a 1.5 story home with a basement. We have about 5K sq ft. We "use" 1800 of it. I go upstairs to take stuff off the printer. We have 2 bedrooms, a bonus room, storage and a loft. All "unused" in 18 years - save 6 weeks when the dog was recovering from surgery and needed to be kept VERY quiet - so hubby carried him upstairs to work all day / every day. A quiet family of 4 could live up there and I'd never know. Sometimes the cat uses it.

The basement is another story - when we built, it worked for the cars (show type cars) and now, not so much for race cars. It also houses the second fridge and I am up / down all the time because I simply don't have enough fridge space with a 36" built in in the kitchen.

We decided to build on one level as a forever space. We have had blind dogs for many years. They will really teach you about aging in place. Having them navigate the stairs out to the garage / in out of the house "works" - but there is always a potential for disaster. (just like with older people). We had a disabled visitor a few years ago - hubby basically had to hoist her up the 4 stairs into the house. (it wasn't easy or pretty) She could not bring her scooter in.

Dwell just had an article about aging in place / kitchens. We're incorporating a lot of the features (and thanks to this group - it'll all work!)

I share all this because I would hate for folks to build a house and even with a elevator - not "use" all of it. I truly believe that a one story home - if you have the space - will encourage you to use ALL of it because it's just easier, and you feel more connected to the rest of the house. I CAN use the stairs - but I don't. And I don't ever want the old dogs or blind dogs trying to come up / down an entire flight. So - main floor I am! And until we move, a large portion of my home goes unused.

The main floor of this plan is 1700sf. Due to the lot, and pretty much any lot in the mountains, a basement will be the foundation. As we will basically have another 1700sf of walls and roof then it made sense to put the garage there and delete the detached garage. Plus we have hobbies that the space can be used for. Hubby does woodworking and there is no way I want that adjoining the main floor and living space. We have been professional dog trainers for 20 years and will dedicate a dog space down there for gear, bathing, kennels, etc. The kennel room would be pretty easy for someone to break down into a craft room or even turn back into a bed and bath if a future buyer wants. Additionally we enjoy mountain biking and hubby has kayaks. Every inch of the basement will have a purpose and at the point we can't partake in physical pursuits to that level the main floor is being designed to allow for aging in place. We will also have an upstairs as we have 2 children. The upstairs will consist of a bedroom, bath and loft with sleeping area to allow for holiday visits, but easy to close off the rest of the time.

We will also have a drive-under garage. It makes the most sense for us based on our lot slope and lot restrictions. Our architect is designing both a dumbwaiter into the pantry/kitchen and space for a future elevator.

Don't feel you have to defend your choice of a basement garage. There are instances where it makes the most sense, and it sounds like yours may be one.

You say you had one in a rental and didn't like it. Was the only reason lack of access (no elevator)? Or were there other things about it you didn't like?

Turtle, :D.

To answer your question, at the point we were in the rental it was when we were building the house we are in now. At that time I had a newborn and a 6 year old. It had a long flight of stairs going up into the kitchen hallway. It was such a pain to haul loads of groceries up there, not to mention carrying a baby in a car seat up and down. Plus leaving kids unattended at the top while I was going up and down. Once the baby began to crawl, then walk(at 9 months!) those stars were a nightmare. I also had to deal with getting trash down there as that was where the cans were that had to be wheeled up to the street.

A dumbwaiter would have eliminated much of this for sure.

The other aspects of that basement were good, though. There was storage and backyard access so we had convenient hobby space but still felt separate from the main house.

Kids are grown now so the drive under thing doesn't bother me now and has unbelievably even grown on me after cursing it for years. For this stage of life I'm thinking it will be a benefit.

Residential elevators run $20-25K to install in your shaft. I'd recommend designing it now, building for the loads needed in the walls and floor, including pit and overhead. Then you can install it later.

We're building an elevated house on an island. It will be a single floor house, but 8.5' above a concrete slab. We're going to have a Remi elevator installed. Price for elevator is $13K, Price for installation is $2500. The additional cost for framing the shaft is minimal. Edited to add: We're GC'ing ourselves, but I've talked to a number of builders here and they say the standard cost for elevator and installation is usually less than $20K