pre-war elevators

We replaced the motor, cables, electronics and interior of our 6 person elevator in a pre-war 24 unit building for around $80K.

Took 3 weeks for mechanicals , around 3-4 days for lights, real wood panels, mirrors, floor (marble tile) fan and telephone.

Way less expensive than I would have thought. Thanks, raddoc. Anybody else?

what do you mean "motor" ? who is your service company ?

$80K is screamingly cheap, especially if you include a new cab, and 3 weeks is also very quick for a changeover. Based on what I've seen happen in buildings around NYC, I would have tripled both numbers.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

I dont think you can even change the control panel on the inside of the car for under 25k let alone the rest of things. Ive been told its at least 100k to replace the controller( the machine that movs it up and down) for a small elevator.

Anybody have any comments as to how often the pre-war elevators go down? Is 2x/year lower than average? 4x/year too much?

re: how often the pre-war elevators go down?

anything over 30 years, relay-based electricals, less than optimal maintenance, etc will break down more frequently. incidence will depend upon how worn out everything is - relays, door controls, etc

We changed ours to an automatic from a manual operated a few years back; all new motor, cables, cab the whole works. We did a custom millwork cab, and the total came to just under 200K and tooks a few months.

It's going to break down, no question. It all comes down to impacts and costs -- how bad is the inconvenience, and how costly is the repair tab, versus spending capital funds to modernize.

Your management should have records of the exact failures and repairs; an analysis of that might be able to pinpoint recurring problems, which could imply particular solutions.

You might look at how your service contract is structured -- is it a flat rate for the year, covering all preventive service and all breakdown calls? Or is the service company making an hourly-rate profit if they come more often? Either structure has its downsides; you might decide that a different arrangement suits your building better. (And of course, make sure the preventive visits are actually happening as scheduled!)

You could also hire a consultant (an engineer with elevator experience, or a specialty vertical transportation consultant) to assess the system and make recommendations. Asking for competing bids on the service contract could have similar effects -- each new bidder could be invited to submit a price for initial work to bring the system to a state of good repair, to be followed by an ongoing maintenance package.

and from experience.

even with brand new elevators. there can still be down time.