Home Elevators in Illinois

Start with your floor plan. Your home might be an older house with plaster walls and a basement, a two-story home from a more recent decade or a new build you are planning now. Either way, the first question is the same: where would the elevator stand? Many families find a spot beside the stairs, in a corner of the living room, or in closets that stack one above the other. Because the elevator is round and open to view, it can stand in plain sight without looking like equipment.

There are two ways to reach the upper floor. In a through-floor install, your dealer has a neat opening cut in each floor the elevator passes through, lined up from bottom to top. In a balcony install, the elevator rises beside an open landing, walkway or loft, and the upper stop meets that edge. If your home has an open stair hall or a loft, ask about the balcony option, since it can mean less cutting.

The elevator rests on your existing floor, and that floor must be fully level. In an older home, floors can settle over the years, so your dealer checks this on the visit and tells you if any leveling comes first. Ceiling height matters too, and so does the space above the top stop. If your top floor is low, ask about the split unit, which moves the machinery to another spot in the house or outside.

If you have a basement, the elevator can often start there and stop on each floor above, with up to 5 stops on the PVE30, PVE37 and PVE52. The elevator is meant for warm, indoor living space. It belongs in a heated room, not an unheated garage, porch or crawl space, and your dealer will point out any spot that would need work first.

Picture a couple in a two-story house with the bedroom upstairs and the laundry in the basement. A three-stop elevator links all three levels, so neither of them has to carry a basket or count the steps. The same plan works when a parent moves in and wants to keep a bedroom on the main floor while still joining the family upstairs.

Then there is the electrical side. Every model runs on a dedicated single-phase circuit at 220 to 240 V, so a licensed electrician usually adds a breaker and an outlet near the elevator. Your dealer will also suggest a buck-boost or voltage stabilizer to keep the supply steady. If your house has an older electrical panel, this is the part of the site prep to ask about early.

Permits come before the crew. Rules for an elevator in a private home are set locally, so what you need depends on where your house is. Your PVE authorized dealer works with your local building department on the permit and any inspection that follows, and tells you what to expect for timing. In many cases, the paperwork and site prep take longer than the install itself.

After the prep work, your crew is typically in and out in 2 to 3 days.

During those days, the cylinder sections go up, the head unit is set at the top, and the doors and controls are fitted. Most families keep living at home throughout. After that, your dealer handles service, with an inspection at least every 6 months. The elevator is low maintenance, so care is mostly routine checks. A free visit to look at your home is the best first step.