What Are Dumbwaiters

Dumbwaiters are small box like elevators that travel vertically from one floor to another. They provide an excellent way to move materials up and down floors. They are mostly used in homes, medical facilities, schools, and banks.

In residences, they are extremely helpful for disabled or even bed ridden people. Food can be taken from the kitchen to the bedroom of the disabled person. It makes life much easier on the caretaker and provides the disabled person some dignity too, as it saves them a trip down the stairs.

Dumbwaiters can practically haul anything from books, heavy loads of laundry from the utility room to the first floor bedroom, firewood from basement to the living room, bags of groceries from garage to kitchen, and other similar hard to carry items from floor to floor.

In commercial buildings, dumbwaiters are used to transport files, medical equipment, and drugs to save effort and time. A typical residential dumbwaiter can carry loads of about 100 to 200 pounds, with commercial units having greater capacities.

They are usually installed somewhere between the garage level and kitchen. They cost half as much as a regular residential elevator. An enclosed shaft of only about 2 feet square is installed along with the lifting motor device, and rails to let the dumbwaiter ride up and down the walls. It is easy to install them during the construction of the house, but can also be installed in existing homes.

Some dumbwaiters have the capacity to travel up to 28 feet at a speed of 20 feet/minute. They also allow two or three stops along the way, if using them for multiple floors. They operate with the help of control switches, just like elevators.

A dumbwaiter can be part of a closet in a bedroom or can be in the corner of a hallway upstairs. In the garage, you can leave it unfinished (to reduce the cost), while upstairs, it can be painted and paneled to make it look good and part of the home decor. A dumbwaiter has the option of opening on two opposite sides. This allows you to load stuff on one side and empty it from the other side of the shaft once it reaches upstairs.

Dumbwaiters are also subject to annual inspection to make sure the safety standards are maintained and the dumbwaiter is in good condition. They usually come with a five-year warranty.

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Choosing to Install a Dumbwaiter

A dumbwaiter is basically a box that will allow you to transport items from one floor to another. Many homes have now been equipped with dumbwaiters. They provide easier access for those with handicaps or mobility restrictions, by allowing them the independence of moving groceries, laundry, and other items from one floor of their home to another, or from a low level garage to the main level of their home.

Choosing to install a dumbwaiter is a fairly simple decision. Once you have decided to go ahead with the installation, and have chosen the model or company that you trust for your dumbwaiter, then you are ready to have it installed. But before that, you need to know a few things about dumbwaiter installation and pricing to make the decision on whether it would benefit you and your home.

Keeping in mind that the basic dumbwaiter can support between 50 to 100 pounds, you should determine what you will be using it for, and ensure that the weight restrictions will not pose a problem. There are models that support more weight, so if you find that you will need a larger model, it’s best to determine that before you choose which one you want, so that you won’t have to go back and have it re-installed, or risk causing problems to the mechanism by overloading it with weight that it can not support.

You should choose where the dumbwaiter will be installed. If you plan to use it for laundry, for instance, then you will want it installed in the laundry room, and directly above the laundry room. However, if the area above your laundry room is unavailable, or can not be used, then you may want to consider perhaps installing it at the end of an upstairs hallway, and then directly under that. You will need to know the specifics of your home area, so that you know what path will work best.

Most dumbwaiters are electrically powered, however, you can save money and opt to install a manually powered unit. This, however, does mean that someone will have to pull the platform and contents up to the next floor, so if you are mobility limited, or handicapped in any way, this option is probably better left alone.

There are many pricing options available, some that include installation, and some that do not. Be sure that you know whether or not your dumbwaiter has installation costs included. Typically, you can expect to spend around $3,000 without the added cost of installation, for an electrical unit. However, pricing varies, so be sure to compare pricing costs, and also installation costs to make sure that you get the best quality along with the best price.

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