EC 450 INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MN
Date – Oct 13, 2018
This too is another life changing home elevator job in Minnesota, south of St. Paul. This gentleman lives alone in his home, a ranch with an exposed finished basement with a deck off the back and a concrete patio out the basement door. He lost his wife several years ago. They had the home built about 25 years ago. He has mobility issues and a very hard time going down the steps. He rarely goes down to the finished lower level because of the fear he has of falling and getting hurt. He had considered moving and even stayed one night in an apartment. He realized then, even though he was alone, he did not want to leave the home he loves. It butts up to a wooded area which brings in a lot of birds and such which he truly enjoys! Once again, we prepare the floor to both the upper and lower work areas. This elevator went right up to his master bedroom next to his bed! We did not have to tent the lower floor area, just close the door while working and seal off the closets in that room. Structural engineering was required since it was in Minnesota. We opened up the drywall as needed including areas in the wall to transfer the load to the foundation. We had about a 12 foot span. Once joists were doubled and the hole framed, we installed the rail framing in the existing exposed basement wall. A bath fan had to be re-routed which required a small soffit to the outside by the window. 50 feet of phone wire was run outside along the cable work up to the router on the main floor. We then moved upstairs into his bedroom and put the tent up. We did move his bed and a few other things and he was still able to sleep in there during the couple days of work. Once we passed the rough inspection, we then installed the drywall and taped as needed with a ceiling finish on the lower level. The elevator mechanic then installed the elevator and we returned to do the finish carpentry as needed. We once again cleaned up and left the home as neat as or neater than we found it with virtually no dust from construction. The owner was very pleased with the work and very glad he could finally access the lower level without fear of falling down those stairs with one misstep!