New Elevator

It is time for a new elevator when…

We recently installed a brand new elevator at a middle school and the superintendent was kind enough to tell us why the project was such a success. If you are thinking about a new elevator instead of wrestling the old one, this video testimonial could be the most important video you see. It is a fantastic and honest look at why they replaced an elevator and the problems they were having that led them to the decision to upgrade with a new Phoenix Modular Elevator.

So, video has gotten us all thinking, what are the signs that your elevator needs replacing or modernizing? Sometimes it is like you are walking in the dark and guessing, so here’s a short list of considerations:

→ You begin viewing yourself as Ahab and the old elevator as Moby Dick. To refresh your memory, Ahab goes nutty in a search for a big white whale (Moby Dick). He starts seeing the whale as pure unadulterated evil and desires to overcome it by any means necessary. If you have ever thought about your elevator as your evil nemesis or a Moriarty to your Holmes, you need to step back and do a cost benefit analysis of a modernization or replacement. Make sure to include in your spreadsheet the cost of sleepless nights caused by lamenting over the many elevator failures. An elevator should never be your enemy.

→ The time between repairs is getting shorter and shorter. When you start to have a deeper relationship with the person on the other end of the line of your answering service for the elevator repair company than you do with members of your own family, you either need a new maintenance company or your elevator is just well past its prime. Believe it or not the average life for an elevator is around 30 years give or take. So, if your elevator is older than the Glenfiddich, single-malt Scotch whiskey, on your shelf, maybe it’s time for something new.

→ Parts have to be manufactured out of whole-cloth because they don’t exist any more. Strange but true, elevator parts are pretty easy to find. As a matter of fact there are companies that specialize in rare parts for all kinds of elevators. Even if the company is long out of business, you can usually get what you need. A warning, it can take some time to get them shipped and arrive in a reasonable time, but if your elevator technician is literally having your broken parts mended or fabricated because the elevator company has gone the way of the dodo, it might be time for an alternative especially if combined with point #2.

→ The current elevator is not ADA compatible and the shaft or hoistway is too small to accommodate a modernization to a compliant elevator. People, its 2019 and time to make your building accessible. A modernization is a great way to give your elevator a complete overhaul. You can have cosmetic improvements, but also full-blown replacements of jacks and sheaves and motors depending on the need. The problem is when the existing elevator shaft or hoistway is just too small to accommodate a larger elevator car. In that case a new elevator hoistway and car are needed.

→ You’re tired of talking to people through closed elevator doors. If you find yourself constantly shouting through a closed elevator door to people trapped inside, you may need a new elevator. But, if you like helping people through the anxiety and feeling of entrapment, then by all means keep your old one. After all it is sometimes difficult to meet new people or have a captive audience for your amateur stand-up routine. However, if your comedy act is flat you might want to look into a new elevator or modernization.

The above symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg. There can be even more reasons but, most often it is a lethal combination of all or several of the points above that spell the demise of the old white whale you have in your building. If you are not sure if you need a new elevator, feel free to contact us for a realistic discussion about when it is time to replace or modernize.