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About Washington, DC

Washington, DC is the nation’s Capital, which is only part of the reason that Washington is such an expensive city to call home. Due to housing costs, the prices of home elevators are above the National average here.

Each new residential elevator must have a permit, and inspections are required for each new installation, which assists in raising the price of these home elevators.

Cost of Residential Home Elevators in Washington, DC

Known as the Federal capital city and federal district, Washington, DC is located on the east bank of the Potomac River. By being home to various attractions including: Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House and more, it’s one of the most visited cities in the United States. There are three branches of the United States federal government (Congress, the President, Supreme Court) are located in DC. There are thirteen cities in the United States with teams from all four major professional men’s sports teams and Washington is one of them.

Washington, DC is the nation’s Capital, which is only part of the reason that Washington is such an expensive city to call home. Due to housing costs, the prices of home elevators are above the National average here. Each new residential elevator must have a permit, and inspections are required for each new installation, which assists in raising the price of these home elevators. In addition to the permits and inspections, all mechanics working on residential elevators must be fully licensed, which results in higher labor costs associated with installation and maintenance. Aesthetics also contribute to these higher costs, because buyers of home elevators in the greater Washington DC area look for finished options and flexible designs, beyond just the price of the residential elevators for their new builds.

Washington, DC is the nation’s Capital, which is only part of the reason that Washington is such an expensive city to call home. Due to housing costs, the prices of home elevators are above the National average here. Each new residential elevator must have a permit, and inspections are required for each new installation, which assists in raising the price of these home elevators. In addition to the permits and inspections, all mechanics working on residential elevators must be fully licensed, which results in higher labor costs associated with installation and maintenance. Aesthetics also contribute to these higher costs, because buyers of home elevators in the greater Washington DC area look for finished options and flexible designs, beyond just the price of the residential elevators for their new builds.

What are home lifts and how much do home lifts costs?

Homelifts by Cambridge Elevating is our latest contribution to the Aging in Place sector, addressing the need for mobility in existing homes in Washington, DC.

A home lift is a shaftless personal home elevator providing safe travel between two floors (only). Because of its compact size, and not requiring the construction of an enclosure or recessed pit, a home lift is very adaptable and can be installed in many locations without compromising the design of a finished home inWashington.

Both standard and wheelchair capable models are available to meet your requirements. While every home and desired install location is unique, a typical home lift project in Washington, DC is an investment of approximately $35,000 to $45,000 with the home lift elevator price itself being often tax exempt.

All work (design, preparatory renovation and installation) is carefully planned and coordinated by Cambridge Elevating. We offer free home assessments and encouraged those interest to visit and ride our showroom model.

Which Residential Home Elevator Company Should You Choose?

How to pick the best home elevator company in Washington, DC? Let’s start with some background and a look at the competition.
Here’s a look at various elevator manufacturers and what they offer:

Savaria

Headquartered in Laval, Quebec with manufacturing facilities in Europe and China, Savaria has been offering accessibility solutions since 1989. Their products include various wheelchair lifts and low-rise elevators for residential and commercial use and accessible van conversions. Savaria’s Telecab is a hydraulic driven shaftless elevator, suitable for existing homes. The Telecab cost is low but requires a packed support wall which increases the total project cost. Savaria also offers a luxury glass cab & hoistway elevator option for new and existing homes called the Vuelift. The Vuelift cost will be more than all other traditional home elevators because it includes a glass enclosure within the price.

Stiltz

Stiltz manufactures its 2 sizes of shaftless elevators in China and distributes from two primary locations, Pennsylvania, USA and their head office in the UK.

An alternative to Cambridge Elevating’s Homelift, Stiltz units travel ‘through the floor’ on self-supporting dual guide rails. A Stiltz home elevator cost will be more compared directly to the price of a traditional home elevator but keep in mind it does not require the construction of an enclosed hoistway.

Garaventa Lift

Garaventa Residential Home Elevators date back to 1928, when they built their first cable car in the Swiss Alps. In North America they were known for their public Inclined Platform Lift (IPL) and Vertical Platform Lift (VPL) products before venturing into low-rise elevators for the home and commercial buildings. Garaventa’s head office is in Surrey, BC and was wholly purchased by Savaria in 2018.

Otis Elevator

One of the largest and well-known elevator companies in the World. Otis entered the residential home elevator segment in the United States for a brief period of time under the moniker ‘Otis at Home’. It didn’t last long, and Otis has not sold or installed private residence elevators in the U.S. or Canada since 2012. Otis’ residential elevator price would be significantly above all other options today because they’d be offering a full commercial elevator system.

RAM Elevators & Lifts

Founded in 1987 and located in Edmonton, Alberta, RAM is a North American manufacturer of elevating devices for both residential and low-rise commercial use across Canada and the United States. RAM elevators & lifts supplies the industry’s only screw-drive full Residential Home Elevators.

Thyssenkrupp Elevator

Another top 10 elevator company globally, Thyssenkrupp ventured into the residential elevator space from 1999 to 2012 as ThyssenKrupp Access Manufacturing. They manufactured 3 models of home elevators and a shaftless elevator called the Minivator. TKE residential home elevators are another player in the home elevating space for Washington, DC.

Symmetry Elevators

With over 80 offices across the U.S., Symmetry Elevators offers an expansive product list, including residential elevators, wheelchair lifts and vertical lifts. Recently Symmetry has partnered with Staying Home Corp to distribute their shaftless residential elevator. This unit uses battery operation technology borrowed from stair lifts and requires a support wall. Symmetry has a strong presence in USA an has been making recent efforts in Canada.

Types of Home Elevators

There are two primary categories of home elevators that move riders between levels within their home, those that operate within an enclosure or hoistway, and those that don’t require a hoistway, or what’s referred to as shaftless elevators.

Hoistway Elevators

These traditional systems are designed to move automatically between different levels within the home and thereby require a hoistway to surround the elevator car for safety. There exists a door at each landing combined with a door (or gate) on the cab. For level access at the bottom landing a recessed pit is required. Accommodating these requirements are far easier and more cost effective within a newly built home versus existing. The following are different types of hoistway home elevators:

• Roped Hydraulic: The combination of a hydraulic pump, a piston and ropes are used to raise and lower the elevator. Used for many decades and known for smooth and quiet performance along with strong reliability. Hydraulic systems require a separate space or machine room.
• Winding Drum: An electric motor winds two cables or wire ropes directly onto steel drums that raise and lower the elevator. Depending on the motor location, they don’t always need a machine room. Not as smooth or quiet as other available options.
• Electric Counter-weight: The elevator car is balanced and connected to a counterweight assembly by chains or rope which are driven by a geared electric motor at the top of the rail system. Geared electric systems do not require a separate machine room.
• Machine Room-Less (MRL): An MRL elevator means the drive system is located within the hoistway eliminating the need for a separate machine room. The actual elevator itself can still be either hydraulic, geared drive or a winding drum, but the benefit being an MRL takes up a smaller footprint within the home.
• Pneumatic/Vacuum: Reminiscent of ‘The Jetsons’ because the look, Vacuum Elevators combine an external cylinder shaft with a self-contained interior cab. Turbines and exhaust fans located at the top of the shaft manipulate air pressure to generate lift for the cab, the descent is achieved by gravity. The attractive self-contained feature bodes well for existing homes.

Shaftless or 2-Floor Residential Elevators

As it sounds, the elevator or lift moves through a cut-out in the floor between two floors without a shaft enclosing the system. These are generally used in existing homes due to their small footprint and limited construction requirements. Drive system options are hydraulic or winding drum cable. What largely separates these variants is how the 2-floor elevator is supported within the home.

• Rear support: The lift’s tower attaches to a support wall within the home.
• Floor joist support: The lift is primarily supported by the home’s floor joist using a structural ring beam.
• Support posts: Self-supporting vertical guides attached bear load of the elevator.

Homelifts by Cambridge Elevating is an example of a shaftless elevator. While every home and desired install location is unique, a typical 2 floor elevator cost will be approximately $35,000 to $45,000 with the homelift device itself being tax exempt in Washington, DC.

Home Elevators for Existing Homes You Currently Live In

When designing and building one’s forever home in Washington, two key factors should be considered before the design stage is Future Proofing and Age-In-Place.

Planning for a future elevator can be as easy as designing stacked closets (on each floor). This creates the foundation and location when the elevator is required, eliminating unnecessary home layout redesigns but a useful space in the meantime.

The better approach for your DC forever home is to incorporate the elevator at the time of the new build. It’s less hassle, less cost and allows the homeowner to Age-In-Place. For those living in Washington, an elevator might not be a need initially, but a simple fall or illness can make stairs a challenge instantly.

An residential elevator at the outset allows one to live worry-free, come what may, and enjoy the convenience in the meantime.

Home Elevators for New Custom Home Builds

A personal home elevator is a great feature for any new custom home build. Think of a home elevator more as a vertical hallway than a device that assists those who struggle with stairs. Designing a custom home in Washington allows one to position the elevator where it can be best used to connect all levels of the home to move both people and goods.

A traditional hoistway elevator may afford a larger footprint than a shaftless, 2-storey compact elevator but the homeowner will benefit from greater performance and control for the elevator to be hidden from view. When comparing costs, a hoistway elevator is more affordable than a shaftless device when building new.

Home Elevators for Seniors

As we age, simple tasks like negotiating stairs within the home become more challenging, and potentially dangerous – Falls related to stairs is one of the leading causes of injury and hospitalizations among senior Americans and Canadians. A home elevator or 2-storey home lift serve as a valuable investment for any senior or family living with seniors to assist with aging-in-place safely.

The Homelift is the better option when considering a solution for existing homes because of its compact footprint and ease of incorporation. Also, the total project cost will almost always be less than designing/building a hoistway to accept a traditional elevator.