Elevator Installation South Africa covers a new lift in a new shaft or an existing building. The lift itself is only part of the cost, so compare quotes on what builder's work, electrical supply and commissioning each one includes.
Describe the building and get installation quotes.
Get the Best QuoteWhat a Full Price Covers
- The lift. Machine, controller, car, doors, ropes and fixtures.
- Shaft requirements. Headroom, pit depth, plumb tolerance and ventilation.
- Builder's work. Shaft construction, openings, lintels and making good.
- Electrical supply. Three-phase supply, isolator, lighting and earthing to the machine room.
- Installation and commissioning. Rigging, alignment, testing and the handover file.
- Statutory items. Registration, load testing and the certificate for the installation.
Machine Room or Machine Room Less
- Machine room less. No separate room; the machine sits in the shaft headroom.
- Machine room. Traditional, easier to service, needs the space and ventilation.
- Hydraulic. Low rise, deep pit, a tank room nearby, cheaper to install.
- Traction. Higher rise, better energy use, higher install cost.
- Retrofit into an old building. Structure and headroom usually decide this, not preference.
Elevator Installation Prices
Ballpark installation figures so you can check a quotation.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| Passenger lift, 8 person, 3 to 4 stops, supply and install | R750,000 - R1,600,000 |
| Passenger lift, 13 person, 6 to 8 stops | R1,300,000 - R2,800,000 |
| Hydraulic lift, 2 to 3 stops | R550,000 - R1,200,000 |
| Machine room less traction, per additional stop | R90,000 - R220,000 |
| Builder's work for a new shaft, per storey | R120,000 - R400,000 |
| Electrical supply to machine room | R45,000 - R180,000 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African lift and escalator supplier and contractor rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Confirm what each quotation includes, such as travel, parts, certificates, after-hours work and minimum callout fees.
Get an installed price for your shaft rather than a range.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- Stops and travel. Every landing adds doors, fixtures and shaft work.
- Capacity and speed. A 13-person lift at 1.6 m/s is a different machine to an 8-person at 1.0.
- New build or retrofit. Cutting a shaft into an existing structure is the expensive case.
- Finishes. Car and door finishes move the price more than people expect.
- Import lead times. Most equipment is imported and quoted at the exchange rate of the day.
- Site access. Crane access and delivery route for a machine and car panels.
What to Include in Your Request
- Building type and storeys. And whether it is built, under construction or at design stage.
- Shaft. Whether one exists, with internal dimensions, pit depth and headroom.
- Capacity needed. Persons or kilograms, and the expected traffic.
- Power available. Three-phase supply at the building, or not.
- Programme. When it has to be usable.
- Drawings. Architectural plans speed a quote up more than anything else.
Comparing Installation Quotes
- Check what is excluded. Builder's work and electrical supply are the common exclusions.
- Compare the warranty. And what the maintenance costs once it lapses.
- Ask about the controller. Open or proprietary decides your maintenance market for decades.
- Confirm the programme. Imported equipment lead times drive the dates, not the installer.
- Price the first five years. Install price plus maintenance, not install price alone.
Elevator Installation FAQs
How long does a new lift take?
Equipment lead times commonly run twelve to twenty-four weeks because most of it is imported, and installation adds four to ten weeks on site depending on the number of stops.
Can a lift be added to an existing building?
Often yes, either into an internal shaft or in a new external shaft. The structural work and the headroom and pit requirements are what decide it, so a site survey comes first.
Do I need a machine room?
Not for most low and mid-rise installations now. Machine room less designs free up the space but can make some service work slower, which is worth weighing up.
Who certifies a new lift?
The installer commissions and tests it and hands over a file with the load test and the registration details. Keep that file; it is the first thing a future maintenance provider asks for.
New installations are quoted through Elevator Maintenance South Africa alongside the maintenance that follows them.
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