Installing a Lift: What the Shaft, the Pit and the Machine Really Cost

A lift is mostly a building problem. The shaft dimensions, pit depth, headroom, power and ventilation are fixed long before the equipment is ordered.

The price of a lift is commonly quoted as the price of the equipment, which is the smaller half of the story. The shaft is a structure with tight dimensional tolerances, a pit below the lowest floor, headroom above the highest, a separate electrical supply, ventilation, fire separation and access for maintenance. Get the builder work wrong and the lift either does not fit or does not pass inspection. This breakdown shows where the money actually goes.

What this number does and does not include

This covers a lift installation in a villa or small building: the shaft structure and finishes, the pit and headroom, power and controls, the equipment and its installation, the testing and approvals, and the maintenance commitment that follows. It excludes the architectural rearrangement of the building to accommodate a shaft, and it assumes a new build where the shaft can be designed rather than inserted.

The shaft structure and its tolerances

The shaft is a vertical structural enclosure built to tolerances far tighter than ordinary construction, because the guide rails are fixed to it and the car runs between them. Out of plumb walls, projecting reinforcement or a shaft that narrows over its height all cause problems at installation, and correcting a cast shaft is expensive.

• Pushes it up: A taller building, a shaft forming part of the lateral stability system and any requirement for fire rated construction.
• Brings it down: A simple, repetitive shaft with no changes of section and no services passing through it.
• How to control it: Survey the shaft for plumb and internal dimensions at every level before the lift supplier mobilises.

Pit depth and waterproofing

Every lift needs a pit below the lowest served level for buffers and equipment. That pit is often the lowest point of the building, which makes it a water risk, and a lift pit with water in it is a serious defect. It needs waterproofing, and in some cases a sump with a pump and an alarm.

• Pushes it up: A high water table, a deeper pit required by the equipment selected and a basement location.
• Brings it down: Selecting equipment with a shallower pit requirement where the design permits.
• How to control it: Waterproof and test the pit as part of the structure, and confirm the pit depth with the supplier before casting.

Headroom and the top of the shaft

Above the highest served floor the shaft needs headroom for the car, the overtravel and the equipment at the top, and in a machine room less arrangement the drive sits there too. Headroom is frequently the item that collides with the roof, the parapet or a height restriction, and resolving it late means altering the structure.

• Pushes it up: Machine room less designs with equipment at the top, higher speeds and larger cars.
• Brings it down: Coordinating the shaft height with the roof design early so the headroom is planned rather than squeezed.
• How to control it: Fix the required headroom in writing from the supplier before the top of the shaft is designed.

The lift equipment itself

Car size, capacity, speed, number of stops, door type and finishes all move the equipment price. Traction and hydraulic arrangements differ in pit and headroom requirements, energy use, ride quality and maintenance. A small home lift and a passenger lift serving several floors are different products with different installation demands.

• Pushes it up: Larger capacity, higher speed, more stops, glazed or special car finishes and two entrance arrangements.
• Brings it down: Realistic capacity and speed for the actual use rather than the maximum available.
• How to control it: Compare quotations on car dimensions, capacity, speed and the builder work required, not on headline price.

Electrical supply, lighting and controls

A lift needs a dedicated supply, isolation at a defined point, shaft and pit lighting, and in many arrangements provision for emergency operation and a telephone or intercom link for someone trapped in the car. These are electrical works that have to be coordinated and are frequently missing from a lift quotation.

• Pushes it up: Emergency power provision, battery lowering arrangements and integration with fire or building systems.
• Brings it down: Keeping the electrical scope clearly inside one package so it is priced once.
• How to control it: Obtain the supplier electrical requirement schedule and give it to the electrical designer before first fix.

Ventilation, fire separation and smoke control

A shaft is a vertical opening through a building, which makes it a path for smoke, and it also needs ventilation so that the equipment does not overheat in a hot climate. Fire rated doors, shaft construction, any smoke control arrangement and the behaviour of the lift during a fire are all requirements that come from the fire strategy.

• Pushes it up: Taller buildings, more demanding fire strategies and a requirement for mechanical shaft ventilation or cooling.
• Brings it down: A simple arrangement in a low rise building where passive provision is sufficient.
• How to control it: Take the shaft fire and ventilation requirements from the approved fire strategy and the civil defence approval route.

Testing, inspection and approvals

A lift is commissioned, tested and inspected before it is used, and that process produces documentation the building needs. There are statutory and approval requirements covering lift installation and periodic inspection, and both the process and the paperwork take time that has to sit on the programme.

• Pushes it up: Additional inspections where the first attempt fails, and any rework required to satisfy an inspector.
• Brings it down: Getting the builder work right first time so the installation and testing proceed without remediation.
• How to control it: Confirm the required approvals and inspection route with the designers early, since requirements in this area are updated from time to time.

Maintenance contract and spare parts

A lift is the only part of a house with a mandatory ongoing service relationship. The maintenance contract, the response time for a breakdown, the availability of parts in the Kingdom and the cost of a call out are all part of the real cost of owning a lift, and they vary enormously between brands and agents.

• Pushes it up: Imported equipment with limited local support, specialist finishes and a demanding response time.
• Brings it down: Choosing equipment with an established local service network and commonly stocked parts.
• How to control it: Ask for the maintenance contract terms and local parts availability in writing before selecting the supplier.

Costs that never appear on the first page

• Corrective work to a shaft that was cast out of plumb or undersized.
• Waterproofing or pumping a pit that took water after the structure was complete.
• Altering the roof or parapet to achieve the headroom the equipment needs.
• Electrical works omitted from the lift quotation and priced later as a variation.
• Delay while the installation waits for a shaft that other trades have not released.
• Repairs to lobby finishes damaged during equipment delivery and installation.

Keeping the budget honest

Treat the lift as two budgets: the equipment and the builder work. Ask every supplier for a complete schedule of builder work requirements, dimensions, pit, headroom, power, ventilation and access, and have the designers confirm each item before the structure is built. The reason is simple: the equipment can be changed up to the point of order, and the shaft cannot be changed once it is cast.

• At concept design, when the shaft position, size and the headroom are agreed with the structure.
• Before casting the shaft, with the supplier dimensional requirements confirmed in writing.
• Before electrical first fix, against the supplier electrical requirement schedule.
• At shaft completion, with a survey of plumb and internal dimensions at every level.
• At handover, reviewing the test and inspection documentation and the maintenance contract terms.

Domira builds and supervises projects across Saudi Arabia, and this is the level of detail its site teams work at. Send the drawings or the site, and Domira will tell you what the specification has to say before anyone prices it.