The area you need to allow for a home lift will depend on your answers to the following questions and then going to lift companies with your requirements so you get a clear answers to what you want and not what is being sold. Do not rely on web sites to determine shaft dimensions, you may end up with a lift that does not work the way you want it to, has an unsuitable look or simply doesn’t fit into your building.

Determine your list of requirements before you go to the lift companies

• How many kilos does it need to carry?
• How many people does it need to carry?
• Does in need to carry a wheelchair? Swing door lifts are very difficult for a person in a wheel chair to operate without assistance, so seriously consider a sliding door lift.
• Does it need to carry a wheelchair and carer?
• Does it need to go from one level to the next (2 stops) or goes to another level (3 or more stops)
• Do you need a front and rear entry to the lift? This should be avoided, if possible, as it creates issues for users and increases the price. Avoid entries to lifts that are front and side as they are problematic for users. Try to just have single entry cabins.
• Do you want a fast lift of greater than 0.5 m/second or a medium speed lift of 0.3 M/second or slow lifts of 0.1 M/second or less.
• If cost is a driving factor then remember a low cost lift will be lower quality. So, if you want quality be prepared to pay more.
• Is the lift going into an existing building? Can a pit be created to recess the lift into? Faster lifts need deeper pits.
• How much space is available above the top floor level for the headroom of the lift. The faster the lift the more headroom is required.
• Do you have the space for a machine cabinet or does the lift have to have all the equipment in the shaft?
• Do you want a swing door or a commercial lift style sliding door. All fast lifts need sliding doors. Sliding doors need wider and deeper shafts. Avoid sliding doors with more than two panels as multi panel doors can stick as they wear, its simple mechanics.
• After you have determined the above you should select the look you require, remember “form follows function”.

Once you have determined the above you can start selecting lifts.

The smallest lifts are the “pop through the floor” lifts, these are very slow but are low cost and need minimal building works or shafts. The smallest of these needs an area of about 800mm W x 1000mm D.

Lifts that require a supporting shaft will need the clear internal dimension of the lift plus the overall dimensions of your shaft, a good lift sales person can help with this.

At the top end, home lift overall dimensions for a single entry, sliding door lift, including the shaft structure will be approximately 2000mm W x 2000mm D. This is much bigger than most people think so if you want a fast big lift ensure your architect puts it in the design of your building first and not squeezed in as an after thought! Also, make sure you get any pit and headroom requirements for your specific lift and make sure your builder or architect does not get creative and reduce dimensions! Some Councils have building height restrictions so lifts to roof top decks must be considered carefully.

The process of selecting the right lift is not too complicated if you just follow the basic steps above, its just a matter of process so don’t get stressed.

All the best with the process!

Andrew Lewis
Director

Published: January 23, 2026