Cohousing-L Mailing List: WARNING: Common House does not equal Residential

[Grace Kim (grace]

SNIP

There are several elevators out there made for more home-use that don't
require a shaft, per se, at all. Or that can use a converted closet
space as
the "shaft" for it, and would need a ground pit or mechanical room. Some
can
be housed in the middle of a staircase surround. Since it is for a
common
house, which would get much less use than say, a commercial bldg or apt
bldg, a light use elevator made for home use might be a better fit in
this
instance.

___

While the Common House gets less use than a commercial bldg, I would
disagree that a residential elevator would make a better fit.

Residential grade furniture, equipment, flooring, etc. simply does not
hold up to the use of any common area facility.  The one exception might
be kitchen appliances, where the higher end residential equipment MAY be
appropriate in some instances.  But a residential elevator in a Common
House will likely not be able to hold up to frequent use (unless you
lock it off w/ a key for only special use) - it will be difficult to
keep kids from wanting to use it.  And to limit its use for convenience.

Since the greatest cost of any elevator/lift is the maintenance
contract, I would caution against "saving" money for an inexpensive
elevator - make sure you are fully informed of the cost differences for
the maintenance contracts, warranties, and recommended intervals for
regular maintenance.

Having said that, if anyone has successfully installed/maintained a
residential in their common house, I'd love to get the
manufacturer/model and some history (when it was installed, how
frequently used, how frequently serviced).


grace h. kim, aia
principal
 
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