Once considered a luxury, the home elevator is becoming more common among homeowners who want an easy way to move groceries, laundry, luggage, furniture - and themselves - from floor to floor.
Residential elevator manufacturers like ThyssenKrupp Access are seeing a growth in sales and overall interest in their products.
"Our business has doubled in three years," said Jim Quinly, general manager of the residential elevator division at Thyssen-Krupp Access, maker of the Lev residential elevator.
Quinly attributes that growth in part to a phenomenon he calls "aging in place" - the desire of older Americans to stay in their existing homes and the need to modify their homes accordingly.
Residential elevators also are popular in urban areas where homeowners have less land on which to build, so homes are built "up" instead of "out."
An elevator could raise a home's value by 10 percent, according to a Florida State University study, and, depending on the model you get, free up valuable living space. The Lev, currently the only residential elevator that does not require a separate machine room, takes up one-fourth of the space of a staircase.
For more information, visit www.thelev.com. - NU |
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