What affects the cost
of a home lift

A home lift quote is four things added together: the lift, the building work needed to receive it, the installation, and the servicing afterwards. The first is a product. The other three depend on your house, which is why the same model can be quoted quite differently for two homes.

Our services page puts the homeowner's questions plainly: will it fit, what does it cost, and how long is the house a building site. They are linked. A model that fits the space you already have usually means less building work, and a shorter program.

Our residential range has four models, each kept because it solves something the others do not. The drive, cabin and brand shape both the price of the lift and what the house has to provide.

SWIFT Pro, SWIFT Lite and InDomo travel up to 12 metres, about four levels; Phoenix goes up to 8 metres. Every extra level the lift serves adds travel, another landing and another doorway to finish.

Rated load is a choice too: up to 400 kilograms on the SWIFT models, 500 on InDomo and 630 on Phoenix. If the lift must carry a wheelchair user or several people at once, put that in the brief. If not, ask whether you need the larger capacity.

Not every change of level needs a full lift. For a short rise such as a porch or split level, the Low-Rise platform lift covers up to 1.5 metres, indoors or out, with no-pit options. It is a much smaller scope of work.

In a new build the shaft, slab and ceiling heights can be designed around the model, and the lift becomes one more trade in the builder's program. The Deanside display home SWIFT Pro was specified this way, as a future-proofing feature.

In an existing house the lift is designed around what is already there. We assess the structure first, then choose the model that needs the least change. See the architectural home retrofit and an InDomo in a stairwell void.

If an old lift is already there, retrofit and replacement can often reuse the existing shaft without major building work, a very different scope from cutting a new shaft into a finished home.

Much of the building work sits outside the lift itself: the pit in the floor, the clearance above the top landing, and the structure that holds the lift up. In an existing house, pit depth often decides whether a lift is possible at all.

SWIFT needs 0 to 50 millimetres of pit and 2250 millimetres of headroom. Phoenix needs 100 millimetres of pit and carries itself. InDomo needs 120 millimetres and fits under a 2.4 metre ceiling. Matching the model to the slab and ceiling you already have is usually how building work is kept down.

Approvals belong here too. Our lifts are design registered against Australian standards, which covers most permission questions; some sites still need site-specific engineering, and our consultation service helps with council approval.

A home lift car is specified like a room. Our design service covers flooring, wall panels, ceilings, lighting, handrails and operating panels, in wood, glass, metal or stone, with a 3D visualisation before manufacture. Each choice is part of what you are quoted for.

Some choices come with the model: a touch screen or push buttons on SWIFT and swing or automatic sliding doors on InDomo. Deciding early keeps the quote stable, because a late change means changing what gets ordered.

Who will use the lift shapes what it has to be. A lift for shopping and a lift for daily wheelchair use need different car sizes, doors and controls, so put those needs in the brief from the start. We work through what the space allows and what compliance demands before a model is named.

If you are exploring support through the NDIS, read our NDIS page. This guide does not cover funding.

Installation runs from site survey to shaft and electrical preparation, installation, then commissioning and handover. A project manager coordinates the builder, electrician and other trades.

Where possible the lift arrives assembled and is craned in; our Australian-made modular lifts can be installed in as little as two days, while disassembled lifts take longer. Site access, how finished the house is and how many trades are involved all affect the scope.

Running costs are what the lift costs to own. Power is one part: SWIFT lifts charge from a standard wall outlet and put energy back into the batteries on the way down.

Servicing is worth budgeting from day one. Our maintenance agreements come in three levels: Compliance (statutory inspections on schedule), Standard (adds priority 24/7 call-out and preventative parts) and Comprehensive (parts and labour as a fixed annual figure). We recommend six monthly services for residential lifts, and quarterly servicing for public lifts, and parts for all three brands are stocked in Melbourne.

Warranty varies by brand; Area Lifting gives five years on its home lifts. With proper maintenance our lifts typically last 20 to 25 years, so servicing is part of the cost, not an afterthought.

The first consultation is free, at our Braeside showroom or at your property. At 2/226 Governor Rd, Braeside VIC 3195 you can ride a SWIFT Pro and an InDomo; we are open Monday to Friday 7:00–4:30, Saturdays by appointment.

Bring the number of levels, where the lift might go, who will use it, whether the house is built or on paper, and any drawings. A project manager then measures on site, and you get a quote for your house, not a brochure figure.

Melbourne readers can see local jobs on the Melbourne lifts page. To start, contact Southern Lifts or call 1300 580 000.