THE growth in apartments and townhouses in Perth has led to a new trend towards upmarket lifts. Some have stylish finishes to match the luxurious homes.
The surge in demand for lifts is being fuelled by the growing number of retirees choosing to downsize to an apartment and, to a lesser extent, by younger owners who are setting up a home to last a lifetime.
Older people have more difficulty negotiating stairs, and with Australia’s ageing population, there is a growing market for lifts in apartment complexes, as well as existing homes.
Grant Elevators managing director Simon Henderson says lifts have become more popular in Perth. Installation rates have grown by more than 50 per cent.
“Large, upmarket building companies include as standard a lift in any home with three storeys – it is not a matter of ‘do you want a lift?’ It’s more like, ‘where do you want it’?”, Mr Henderson said.
While most home buyers assume that a lift needs to be installed when a residence is built, Mr Henderson said a good percentage of his company’s business was for lifts in existing homes.
“We are doing many installations in houses which have been renovated to include a second level,” he said.
“The builders need to construct the shaft, and then we supply and install the lift and supporting structure ourselves.”
Mr Henderson said that with such a wide variety of passenger lifts, domestic lifts, dumbwaiters and stairway lifts, price depends on a client’s selection.
“Our clients can pay anywhere between $40,000 and $60,000 for a residential lift – it is more expensive if we are installing in an established home. Commercial lifts are more expensive, once again.”
If your mind is racing to those old thriller movies in which lifts stop, stall between floors, break a cable and fall, then set your mind at ease.
Lifts today have a range of safety measures, including a number of safety valves, automatic levelling and re-levelling, a soft-stop feature, and an automatic “return to floor under power failure” condition.
A small cabinet attached to the lift shaft houses the motor and controller, which can be concealed by a home’s décor.
With lifts now including a technologically advanced hydraulic power system, passengers are assured of the added comfort of a smooth, quiet ride.