Serving Maryland, Washington DC & Northern Virginia
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Serving Maryland, Washington DC & Northern Virginia
Call Us Today!
* Vacuum Elevators need only 9 sq ft per floor versus the 23 of other elevators
* Signature has a working model on display in our Rockville, MD showroom
* We can install a Pneumatic Vacuum in just one week!
* The PVE requires very little maintenance and is one of the most dependable elevators on the market
Pneumatic vacuum elevators make for great accessible design, partly because they provide sufficient cabin space while using minimal floor space. One of the biggest advantages of pneumatic elevators is that they don’t require a hoist way, saving time, money, and, perhaps most precious, floor space. To really appreciate the size advantage of the pneumatic vacuum elevator as it relates to the square footage of your house, you have to compare it to a home elevator in a standard hoist way.
Let’s use a size often used for residential wheelchair lifts or residential elevators, 42″ by 54″. We’ll compare that to a UB-52 vacuum elevator that will occupy 53″ of floor space. A standard elevator requires a 54″ by 60″ hoist way clearance. If we assume that the hoist way will use two existing walls and two new ones, we have to add an additional 5″ for each new wall – for a total hoist way box displacement of 59″ by 65″. This means that the pneumatic vacuum elevator uses 16 sq. ft. versus the standard elevator’s 27. That’s almost twice as much floor space! But those square footage figures are for just one floor. You can see just how advantageous the pneumatic vacuum elevator is when you add more stops.
Stops | Vacuum Elevator Floor Space | Standard Elevator Floor Space |
2 | 32 square feet | 54 square feet |
3 | 48 square feet | 81 square feet |
4 | 64 square feet | 108 square feet |
Vacuum Elevator vs. the 36″ by 48″ Home Elevator
Our other popular model is the UB-37, which requires only 39″ across. This amounts to 9 sq ft per floor, per stop. To make a fair comparison to a standard elevator, instead of a luxury home elevator or a residential wheelchair lift, let’s use the most popular residential elevator size, 36″ by 48″. Standard clearance with two existing and two new walls is 55″ by 59″ of floor space. With four stops the pneumatic vacuum elevator saves 56 sq. ft.! That is the size of a 7′ by 8′ small galley kitchen or bathroom!
Stops | Vacuum Elevator Floor Space | Standard Elevator Floor Space |
2 | 18 square feet | 46 square feet |
3 | 27 square feet | 69 square feet |
4 | 36 square feet | 92 square feet |
What You Need to Begin Your Pneumatic Vacuum Elevator Installation
It’s surprisingly simple. Signature Elevators & Accessible Design is a licensed contractor in DC, MD & VA. However, we install elevators anywhere in the mid-atlantic region. We have a showroom in Rockville, MD where we have an operational pneumatic elevator. If you live nearby we suggest you visit the showroom to test it out! We would then come out to inspect your home, take measurements, and provide you with a proposal. Your PVE will be in before you know it!