RESIDENTIAL ELEVATORS SEE LIFT IN POPULARITY
Need a lift?
It may sound outrageous but why not contemplate an elevator for your next new home build?
Consider that it would make the home more accessible — easier access to any floor for older homeowners who no longer have the mobility they did in their younger years; no more problems lugging that heavy Ikea furniture flatpack or other weighty items to the upper or lower levels — and adds to resale value, and as Scott McGillivray once said, it’s “just kind of awesome.”
McGillivray installed one in his new home build chronicled on HGTV Canada’s Moving the McGillivrays. But you don’t have to be an HGTV star to get one done.
In fact, Edmontonians are among a growing number of Albertans installing home elevators, said Dave Adamson, sales manager of Alberta-based Cambridge Elevator.
“It’s really becoming more popular,” said Adamson. “Interest is definitely rising. Our forecast for this year is for 45 to 50 elevators, mostly in Edmonton and Calgary, but we have quite a few projects in Canmore and Banff.”
While Adamson notes that residential elevators are popular with people aged 50 to 75 building their last home so they won’t have to move again, those aren’t Cambridge’s only customers. Younger clients are opting for elevators, adds Adamson, knowing that when they’re ready to sell they can appeal to a wider demographic. Then there’s the cool factor. “We can drop the elevator cab so it lands in a safe room,” said Adamson. “It’s very James Bond. It’s also something they can personalize. I’ve seen people put a scotch cabinet inside. I’ve even seen people put chandeliers inside. We can completely match the elevator to however modern or traditional you’d like it. Glass is quite popular — people really like it — but with glass the price jumps dramatically.”
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A new bungalow is nearing the finishing stages in Capitol Hill, expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of June.
With 2,300 square feet on the main floor, and another 2,300 square feet on the lower walkout level, this contemporary four-bedroom, three-bathroom home looks like any other eye-catching new home until you find out that Ivor and Mieke Lammerink’s new build includes an elevator.
Walk into their under-construction home and you’d be hard pressed to find the elevator even though it’s already installed. There is what appears to be a coat closet near the entry but no elevator in sight. Walk further in and perhaps it’s near the steps on the left. Nope. It turns out that so-called closet is not a closet but the entry to the elevator.
The Lammerinks selected Cambridge’s Heritage model with automatic sliding doors and a maple finish on the inside. A swing door — an exterior door placed in front of the elevator’s actual sliding door that locks when the elevator is not there — matches the rest of the doors in the home. If not for the nearby elevator wall/call button, one would not think it was the elevator entry.
“We purchased the elevator for future handicapped access to the lower level,” said Ivor, a now retired commercial general contractor.
“We’d like to grow old here and stay away from moving into a seniors residence.”
Their elevator is a bit distinctive as you enter on one side and exit on the other, an option which makes it an easier fit with the existing floor plan.
“It’s a nice elevator,” said Ivor. “It’s a quality elevator, and fits perfectly as its very contemporary and matches the house.”
Vicky Kujundzic is quite sure she’s pushing the right button.
The Edmonton custom home builder, owner of Vicky’s Homes, is building a new home for her family and it’s being designed to accommodate a future elevator.
“My family currently does not have a need for an elevator and this new home we are building isn’t going to be our last,” said Kujundzic. “So putting money into an expensive feature that we would never use just seemed like an unnecessary expense. But I did want to keep the option open for resale, just in case there was a potential buyer who does want to age in place or has a family member with current mobility restrictions we could offer them this solution.”
In order to accommodate a future elevator modifications were required.
“A couple of the major ones were that our floor joists had to be designed for an elevator shaft and the basement floor has a lowered pit that the elevator would go down into to ensure a person exiting did not have a step or a slightly different floor height to manoeuvre,” added Kujundzic. As to what they will do now with the space occupied by the elevator shaft, Kujundzic said that’s easy. Typically, she said, they are used as extra closets or storage space. Removing some shelving and flooring when an elevator is added isn’t difficult.
“More and more people are planning their retirement and are opting to build their forever homes, which they plan to age in place in,” said Kujundzic. “Adding that elevator really makes any home a possibility. No longer are you limited to bungalows.”