Shaftless Elevators
Shaftless elevators are small residential elevators designed to fit easily into your home with minimal disruption during installation. They are a great alternative to a stair lift or full-size traditional elevator. This type of elevator is most commonly used for convenience and mobility. They are also available in larger versions to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers making a home fully accessible to create independent living. This is why they have become extremely popular with seniors and the ever-growing aging in place movement.
What Exactly is Shaftless?
The shaft-less design is possible by adding sensors to the exterior of the elevator and changing the operation to “push and hold” style buttons on the control panel. This design is permitted to travel between one floor opening only. If you need an elevator to serve more than 2-floors there are several other options including hydraulic elevators or MRL traction models. Learn about these in our guide to home elevators.
This type of elevator has a very small footprint and can fit in the tightest of spaces. Since the overall design is compact it is one of the easiest elevators to retrofit into an existing home. The ingenious design allows for the installation of the lift in almost any area you can imagine. They also do not require a pit or separate machine room helping to save even more space.
While they do not require a shaft-way a partial enclosure can also be used. This is useful in situations where an elevator might fit into a floor plan better with existing walls. For example, we’ve seen some elevators installed in closets and pantries converted into a partial hoistway. Shaft-less elevators are installed in the open or semi-enclosed as shown here.
