Choosing where to place a home elevator is a design decision that touches comfort, safety, and the way you move through your house each day. Installing home elevators can greatly enhance accessibility and convenience within a multi-level residence. Get it right, and the lift feels like it has always belonged there. Get it wrong, and you’ll be negotiating awkward door swings or tight landings. The good news: with today’s compact residential systems and smart planning, most New Zealand homes can find an ideal spot.
World-class engineering with local expertise means you don’t have to compromise. At Canny Residential Elevators, proven global design sits behind every lift, while Kiwi installers and support teams make sure your project suits the site, the council process, and how your family lives.
Start with the vertical path
Before you think about doors and finishes, think vertically. Where can a clear line run from the lowest level to the highest? Stacking spaces is the trick. Pantries aligned over a laundry. A linen cupboard above a garage store. The corner of a stair void.
Sometimes the best location is hiding in plain sight.
A lift feels effortless when each landing opens onto a natural circulation area. Look for places where you already move: near the kitchen and living spaces, off the main hallway, beside a stair landing. Avoid sending users down narrow passages or around tight corners to reach the car.
New build versus retrofit
Building from scratch gives you a blank canvas. You can allocate a shaft in the early drawings, frame to suit the lift model, and set door orientations to create easy routes. You can also size landings properly, plan for a pit or ramp, and coordinate with services.
Retrofitting needs a more investigative approach. You’re often working with existing joists, slab levels, and heritage details. That does not rule out a great outcome. It just calls for careful checks on structure, service rerouting, and clearances. With Canny’s machine-room-less configurations, many two or three-storey homes can adopt an elevator without major layout surgery.
Common locations that work well
- Stair voids and half-landings
- Stacked cupboards or wardrobes
- Garage to kitchen or scullery link
- External shaft tied into decks or a covered entry
- Atrium corners near main circulation
The right choice will depend on span directions, available width, head height, and how you use each level.
A quick look at popular placements
| Location option | Best for | Space needs | Pros | Watch-outs |
| Stair void | Central circulation | Shaft approx. 1 to 1.5 m square; head height to suit model | Efficient travel path; minimal floor loss | Check stair compliance during works; acoustic treatment near bedrooms |
| Stacked cupboards | Discreet integration | Remove cupboard floors; reinforce structure | Clean fit; minimal new walls | Door swings and landing size can be tight |
| Garage to living | Groceries, mobility aids | Pit or ramp at garage level; weather sealing | Everyday convenience; direct access | Fire separation; moisture control; vehicle clearance |
| External shaft | Villas, bungalows, tight interiors | Weatherproof cladding; structural frame | Keeps interior intact; flexible siting | Thermal bridging; consent and boundary rules |
| Atrium or corner of living | New builds, feature element | Framed shaft; glazing optional | Architectural statement; natural light | Privacy and glare; furniture layout shifts |
Space, structure, and service basics
Every lift needs just three things: a shaft or enclosure, power and control runs, and compliant access at each landing. Modern residential lifts often eliminate a separate machine room, which keeps footprints lean. Some models use a shallow pit or even sit on the finished floor with a small threshold ramp.
Structural requirements are model-specific. Your installer will review joist directions, slab thickness, and wall capacities. Where framing is light, a steel surround frame can carry loads without stressing adjacent walls. For external shafts, foundations and bracing are coordinated with wind zones and site exposure, common across coastal New Zealand.
Services are simple but precise. A dedicated power feed, data or signalling cables, and provisions for phone or auto-dialler testing are standard. Plan clear routes early so you are not chasing conduits around the site at the last minute.
Quiet operation and smart placement
Noise is an easy concern to address. Place the shaft away from headboards where possible, specify acoustic linings in shaft walls near sleeping spaces, and use resilient mounts for equipment. With well-tuned traction systems and careful detailing, lift noise fades into the background of a modern home.
Consider the acoustic path beyond the car. Landing doors opening off a living room may carry kitchen noise upstairs. Flipping a door to open into a hallway can make night-time use quieter. Small moves matter.
Door orientation and circulation
A single-entry car with doors in line on every level is the most compact option. If your plan needs a through-car, where you enter on one side and exit opposite, allow additional shaft length and landing space. Through-cars are brilliant near stair landings because they mimic a natural up-down flow.
Remember people move in pairs. A parent guiding a child, a friend supporting someone with a walker, a caregiver with a wheelchair. Provide landing width for two people to stand aside while the doors open. Aim for clear space off the latch side of the door and avoid projecting handrails right beside the opening.
Accessibility that feels natural
A home elevator is about comfort and dignity as much as compliance, providing a crucial addition with home elevators that enhance accessibility. That means simple, level transitions; controls at a reachable height; and logical routes between the places you use most. When a wheelchair is part of the picture, size the car to suit your chair and any helper who might ride along.
Landings benefit from a flat, well-lit surface with no thresholds. A 1500 mm diameter turning circle on at least one landing gives flexibility. On upper floors, avoid placing the landing inside a bedroom unless that room is always accessible for guests or carers.
New Zealand consent and code points
Residential lifts require building consent. The process checks structure, fire, electrical safety, and access, and may trigger heritage or planning reviews in special cases. Canny systems supplied in New Zealand meet or exceed local safety requirements and carry international certifications, so documentation flows smoothly.
Our local teams advise on council expectations, prepare drawings for consent, and coordinate inspections. You get a single point of contact who understands both the product and the local process.
When space is really tight
Not every home can give up a square metre or two without a shuffle. In smaller terraces or villas with narrow bays, consider:
- Diagonal placement in a corner to open up landing space
- Partial encroachment into a wardrobe, rebuilt with sliding doors
- External shaft that ties into a new covered entry or porch
Small compromises in storage often unlock the most convenient route between floors.
New build ideas that pay off later
Planning ahead avoids costly rework. Even if you think a lift is five years away, you can frame and wire as if it were going in tomorrow. Leave a stack of cupboards on each level where the shaft could sit later. Run a capped power feed to the cupboard. Design landings and doors so retrofitting does not require moving a wall.
Builders love a plan that future-proofs without wasting floor area. So do owners.
Safety features and why placement helps them shine
Canny residential models include standard safety features that are easier to use when the lift sits in the right spot. Emergency lowering and backup lighting help during a power cut, but quick access to the lift from your main living spaces makes those moments calmer.
Sensors and door protection edges work best when landings are not cluttered. Keep plant pots, shoe racks, and coat stands away from elevator doors to reduce false triggers and improve safety.
A practical sizing snapshot
While every home is different, these common metrics guide early thinking:
- Internal car sizes: 900 by 1200 mm up to 1100 by 1400 mm are typical home-friendly footprints
- Pit and headroom: many models run with a shallow pit and moderate head height; your installer will confirm figures for your ceiling line
- Doors: 800 to 900 mm clear openings suit most mobility needs and furniture moves
These numbers help you sketch a likely position on floor plans before detailed coordination begins.
Real-life layout examples
A 1920s bungalow in Auckland adds a lift in a former linen cupboard stack. Floors are trimmed, a slim steel frame carries the shaft, and doors open into the main hallway on both levels. It looks original because the landings already acted as the home’s circulation spine.
A Queenstown new build sets the lift beside a stair in an atrium. Glazed shaft walls bring borrowed light to the centre of the plan. Doors open to a mudroom on the lower level, a kitchen scullery on the mid-level, and a study landing on top. Daily use feels natural because the car stops where life happens.
Working with site constraints
Sloping sites, tight boundaries, and high wind zones are common across New Zealand. External shafts handle these conditions well with engineered frames and cladding to match the house. Where a boundary is close, window placement and fire rating will guide which side of the shaft faces out. In coastal zones, specify fixings and finishes that stand up to salt and sun.
In cities, cranes and street access can motivate how home elevators are installed, influencing how the shaft is built and when the car arrives. Local installers know the drill and sequence deliveries to match your site window.
The Canny difference, close to home
Canny combines over 25 years of global engineering with a strong local network. That means proven technology installed by teams who understand Kiwi homes and councils. Every model is tested to international standards and tailored to meet New Zealand building requirements.
From early advice to ongoing servicing, the aim is a lift that works as well on day 3000 as it did on day one. Parts supply and responsive aftercare keep downtime minimal. Your support team is a phone call away, whether you live in a major centre or a rural community.
Shortlist your preferred locations
Once you’ve mapped your house, pick two or three candidate spots. Walk the path to each landing and pretend to push a trolley through. Think about where you would bring in luggage, where the groceries arrive, and how night-time trips play out.
- Best spot: shortest walk from parking to kitchen
- Quiet spot: away from bedrooms, with acoustic lining
- Future spot: a cupboard stack reserved for later, prewired and framed
A 20-minute walk-through often settles the choice.
What local support looks like
Canny’s certified New Zealand partners offer site consultations, sizing and layout advice, and guidance on consents. Installers are trained to the same global standards applied in airports, hospitals, hotels, and homes worldwide, adapted for local codes and materials.
- NZ-wide service: site visits, drawings for consent, and coordination with your builder
- Installation: local teams deliver, install, and commission to tested procedures
- Aftercare: scheduled servicing, parts onshore, and quick response times
- Compliance: all models meet or exceed New Zealand safety and building requirements
World-class engineering backed by local expertise makes the choice about placement easier, because you can expect clear advice matched to your plan.
Ready to draw a box on the plan
Grab your floor plans, a pencil, and these ideas. Mark the likely shaft on both levels, trace the vertical path, and check those landing sizes. If it blends into your daily routes and clears the structural checks, you have found the right spot.
From there, finishes, lighting, and controls turn a smart location into an everyday delight. And if you want a second set of eyes, a local Canny specialist can walk the site and confirm the details that take the guesswork out.