Home elevator questions, answered properly
Everything homeowners in Pakistan ask us before committing to a lift, space, safety, power, timelines, cost and what happens after handover.
Getting started
Can a home lift be installed in an already built house?
Yes. Most of our installations are retrofits into completed homes. Because our systems need no machine room and no deep pit, a lift can usually be added to a stairwell void, a light well, an outdoor wall or an internal corner without structural demolition.
How do I know if my house can take a lift?
You do not, until someone measures it, and that is exactly why the site survey is free. We check the available void, the headroom at the top landing, the floor the base will sit on and the power supply, then tell you which of our four models will physically work.
Occasionally the answer is that none of them will. We would rather tell you that at survey than after a deposit.
How much space does a home elevator need?
Roughly 4 ft by 4 ft 6 in of plan area for a typical installation, and no machine room, because the guide track is wall mounted rather than needing a plant room. That is about the footprint of a small store cupboard. What matters as much as plan area is a clean vertical run and adequate headroom at the top.
Do you need to break walls or dig a pit?
Rarely. The system runs on a wall-mounted C-channel guide track and needs no machine room, so most of the heavy civil work a conventional lift demands simply does not apply. Where an existing structure cannot take any load at all, the EnclosureX tower carries its own weight so the building is not asked to.
Technical
Do I need a machine room?
No. The system is wall mounted on a C-channel guide track, so no machine room is required and you do not lose a rooftop or basement room to plant.
How many floors can a Vertico home elevator serve?
The residential range is engineered for buildings up to G+3 as standard, which covers the vast majority of houses and small apartment blocks in Pakistan. Taller requirements are quoted case by case after a survey.
How many people can it carry?
Load capacity is 150 to 300 kg depending on how the unit is configured, which covers two to four people, or one wheelchair user with a companion. Your final capacity is set on the survey drawing.
What power supply does it need?
A 220 V or 380 V, 50 Hz supply, driving a 2 HP or 3 HP motor through a worm gearbox. Most homes run it on an ordinary 220 V household supply; 380 V is used where the building already has a three phase connection or the installation calls for it. We check your existing supply and the cable run to the lift position during the survey.
How fast does a home elevator travel?
Between 0.15 and 0.25 metres per second. That is deliberately gentle: home lifts are designed for a comfortable, quiet ride over short distances, not for the speed of a commercial building.
How much electricity does it use?
Very little in practice. A home lift only draws power while it is moving, and each trip lasts seconds. Standby draw for the controller and cabin light is small. It is closer to a household appliance than to an air conditioner in monthly cost.
Safety
What happens if the power goes out while someone is inside?
Given load shedding, this is not a hypothetical question in Pakistan, so it is one of the first things we settle at survey. Every unit has an emergency stop function as standard, and the backup arrangement for your installation is stated in writing on your quotation before you commit.
What safety features are standard?
An emergency stop function is standard on every model. Structurally, the lift is a counterweighted design carried on a dual wire rope suspension of 6 mm to 8 mm rather than a single line, running on a wall-mounted C-channel guide track. Anything beyond that, including backup arrangements, is confirmed in writing on your quotation.
Is a home elevator safe for children?
With the interlocks in place, the lift cannot move while a gate is open, and it cannot be called into motion with a landing door ajar. As with any equipment in the house, sensible rules matter. We cover this in the handover briefing with the whole household present.
Is the glass on a glass lift safe?
Yes. All visible glazing is toughened and laminated safety glass. If it is impacted hard enough to crack, the interlayer holds the fragments together instead of letting the pane drop out, the same class of glass used in balustrades.
Project & cost
How long does installation take?
After the site survey and final drawing approval, fabrication and installation typically run a few weeks depending on the model, cabin finish and number of stops. We agree a schedule with dates in writing before fabrication begins.
How disruptive is the work?
Less than most renovations, because the majority of the build happens in our workshop rather than in your house. On-site work concentrates into the erection and commissioning window. Retrofit models like AirRail and EnclosureX are the least disruptive of all.
What determines the price of a home lift?
Number of stops, travel height, cabin size, enclosure type, door type, cabin finish and how much civil work the site needs. Enclosure is usually the biggest single variable, structural glazing costs considerably more than steel panels.
Our pricing guide walks through each factor in detail.
Do you provide a written quotation?
Always, and always itemised. Structure, cabin, drive, civil work and commissioning appear as separate lines so you can see what each part costs and decide what you want us to handle.
Aftercare
What does an annual maintenance contract cover?
Scheduled visits covering inspection, lubrication, safety-device testing, door and interlock adjustment, guide-rail cleaning and a written service report. Consumables are usually included; major component replacement is quoted separately and approved by you first.
How quickly can you respond to a breakdown?
Our engineers and spares are in Karachi, which makes same-day or next-day response realistic within the city. Response outside Karachi depends on travel and part availability. Clients under an annual maintenance contract are attended first.
Are spare parts available in Pakistan?
That is a deliberate part of how we specify. Components are chosen partly on whether spares can be obtained locally, because a lift that waits weeks for an imported part is not a reliable lift.
Which cities do you serve?
We manufacture in Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi, and install nationwide, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad and Faisalabad. Tell us your location and we will confirm coverage and what travel involves.
Still have a question we have not answered?
Call, email or send a WhatsApp message. If it is about your specific house, the fastest route to a real answer is a free site survey.