Almost seven million Americans who reside in a community rely on assistive devices for better mobility and almost 90% of seniors would prefer to stay at home for as long as they can. If they live in an apartment building or multi-story home, elevator service can be a wonderful assistive device and way to keep people independent at home. Elevators reduce the risk of falls — which is one of the top causes of death for those over the age of 65, says the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. And, costs may be decreasing, given that aging in place-related home modifications are going up in demand. Over 60% of builders are working on this type of project. Indeed, according to the National Association of Home Builders, the last five years have seen a steady increase in how many remodelers are doing this type of work.

Why Is Elevator Service So Useful?
In some cases, navigating stairs might be too much for an individual, especially if they have bad knees or issues with balance already. This might mean that parts of their home are inaccessible to them, without an elevator. An elevator ensures that they can reach where they need to go without much hindrance and with increased safety.

Chairlifts and other types of lift services are useful if it’s a two-story home, perhaps, or one needs to get to the basement, but the risk of falling some distance is still there. With an elevator, it’s an enclosed space, so there’s no chance of them tumbling down the stairs — they’d fall in the confines of the elevator. An elevator provides a safer space, while still improving mobility.

It’s also simply practical if you live in a multi-story home. Carrying groceries, bags, or anything else up multiple flights of stairs isn’t enjoyable for anyone, no matter how good of shape they’re in.

What Should I Know About Elevator Service?
The size of a typical elevator is usually 12 by 15 square feet and a mid-sized one is considered 15 to 18 square feet. Adding an elevator can also make your home more desirable. According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, a quarter of homeowners said that an elevator was a desirable or imperative feature.

If an elevator is installed, you’ll certainly want to do preventative elevator maintenance and have elevator inspections routinely, to ensure that nothing goes wrong. For a bigger residential building, it’s likely that the superintendent or other building staff in charge will oversee maintenance and inspections, so you won’t have to worry about it.

If it’s a home elevator though, you’ll be in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly, so knowing an elevator repair company is important. You’ll also likely need to do some research on permits and coding in your area, to make sure that everything is installed properly — and to see if installing an elevator is actually even possible.

How Do I Get the Ball Rolling on Getting Elevator Service?
The first thing you’ll need to do is be in touch with an elevator company and contractor to see how much space you’ll need and where you should be installing the shaft. For example, some might need a separate machine room, along with space for the elevator shaft.

Keep in mind that installation will take under a week, but it might take up to a month and a half to create and finally ship the elevator and its parts, so it’s good to start thinking about an elevator a bit before you actually need to use it.

You’ll also want to discuss with the company what time of home elevator you should be considering — the most common are traction, hydraulic, and pneumatic elevators — and what to consider with in-home elevator maintenance after it’s been installed.

Improve mobility and safety when you consider installing an in-home elevator. It can be literally life-changing for people and greatly improve one’s quality of life.