When you are about to install a lift, plenty of unfamiliar lift-related terms are bound to come up, such as lift pit , lift shaft , lift machine room , along with all the finer details, from the space in the house or building you need to prepare, to the car size, and even the lift door, where you have to choose the type, the size and the height as well. So, a lift door is the entry-exit point into the car area, normally made of metal, and its width x height depends on the type and size of the lift you choose
Today there are many lift systems to choose from, including the hydraulic lift , the traction (cable) lift, the vacuum lift and the screw-driven home lift . Buying a home lift is another decision every family and building owner should study carefully before committing, because it is a long-term investment that requires attention to safety and regular maintenance. Choosing a good lift company therefore takes a great deal of that worry away. And another favourite question among people looking for a lift is the price, which you can review, along with the factors that affect it, in our article How Much Does a 2-Storey Home Lift Cost?
The all-new Cibes V80i with the latest technology
In this article, however, Cibes explains how to choose a home lift door and what sizes lift doors come in, so that you can prepare your installation space smoothly.
What Is a Lift Door?
Home lifts are commonly made from high-quality steel and aluminum
Cibes believes everyone already knows that a lift door is the way into or out of the car area, and that it is mostly made of metal such as steel or aluminum for strength and durability. One important part of getting to know lift doors is understanding the different types, so you can pick the one that suits your space or the design you have in mind.
Lift Doors Fall Into 2 Main Categories
Lift doors can be divided into 2 categories: by the material they are made from, and by their design and how they are used.
1. Lift Door Types by Material
1.1 Metal Lift Doors (Steel Doors)
The metal used by Cibes Lift is specially selected and finished with a world-standard RAL coating that protects against rust extremely well, as seen on the S85 – another model with a Platform Highback car.
1.2 Aluminum Lift Doors (Aluminum Doors)
The aluminum used by Cibes Lift is premium, high-quality aluminum with special properties: light weight combined with strength, high impact resistance, and excellent resistance to water and heat. Lifts that use aluminum include the V80i – a luxury platform lift with touch technology – and Cloud Plus – a push-button platform lift.
2. Lift Door Types by Design and Use
2.1 Single-Hinged Door (Single-hinged door or Swing Door)
A lift with a single-hinged door (Single-hinged door or Swing Door)
Ideal for homes or buildings that have space in front of the lift. Because it is a single hinged panel rather than a sliding door, it frees up considerably more room inside the car. And with a platform lift you can also customize the door to open in 3 directions, in case each floor of the house or building needs the lift to open on a different side.
2.2 Double-Hinged Saloon Door (Double-hinged saloon door or Saloon Door)
A lift with a double-hinged saloon door (Double-hinged saloon door or Saloon Door)
It looks and works just like a single-hinged lift door, except that it cuts the space needed in front of the lift by almost half compared with a single-hinged door, and it feels more luxurious.
2.3 Sliding Door (Slide door)
A lift with a sliding door (Slide door)
Everyone is already familiar with sliding lift doors, since they are the ones you see in office buildings, shopping malls and so on. They suit anyone who wants an elegant opening and closing action and does not have much space in front of the lift. The drawback is that they can eat into the car space compared with single- or double-hinged lift doors, though this also depends on the space available in your home or building.
2.4 Collapsible Steel Gate (Collapsible Gate)
A lift with a collapsible steel gate (Collapsible Gate)
This is a lift door you rarely see these days, as most are found in older buildings. The advantage is that it is economical and inexpensive, while the drawback is that passengers have to open and close the lift door themselves.
What Size and Height Are Lift Doors?
A lift door looks much like a “house door”: an upright rectangle. As mentioned earlier, the size of the lift door depends on the size of the lift you choose. For example:
The Smallest Lift Size, for 1 Passenger
Cibes recommends the dimensions below, based on the Cibes Voyager V90 , for homes that want a small lift that saves as much space in the house as possible
- The car measures 710 mm x 815 mm (width x length)
- The lift door is 730 mm wide, and you should allow a floor-to-ceiling height of 2,500 mm on every floor where the door will open
Home Lift Size for a Family of 3
Cibes recommends the dimensions below, based on the Cibes Voyager V90 , for long-term convenience for our families
- The car measures 1,010 mm x 915 mm (width x length)
- The lift door is 830 mm wide, and you should allow a floor-to-ceiling height of 2,300 mm on every floor where the door will open
Home Lift Size for Wheelchair Users, Elderly or Disabled Users
Cibes recommends the dimensions below, based on Cibes Air , which is well suited as an elderly lift or a disabled lift for people with disabilities, and is the Cibes standard size for wheelchair users
- The car measures 1,100 mm x 1,600 mm (width x length)
- The lift door is 900 mm wide, and you should allow a floor-to-ceiling height of 2,300 mm on every floor where the door will open
Lift Door Requirements in Thailand and Abroad
Legal requirements and lift construction standards exist both in Thailand and overseas, especially for lifts used in public buildings such as office lifts, hospital lifts, hotel lifts and so on. Lift doors must therefore be designed to meet these standards so that they are convenient for users.
1. Thai Laws Covering Home Lift Doors
There is only the “Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Facilities in Buildings for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, B.E. 2548 ”. This law is not yet strictly enforced; it is being applied through cooperation between the public and private sectors and is starting to be used for new buildings and structures. The requirements are as follows
Chapter 2 Ramps and Lifts :
Clause 10 A lift usable by persons with disabilities and the elderly that takes the form of a lift car must have the following characteristics
(1) The lift car must be at least 1.60 meters wide and at least 1.40 meters long, or at least 1.40 meters wide and at least 1.60 meters long, and at least 2.30 meters high, and must have a safety glass panel allowing people outside and inside to see each other, at least 20 centimeters wide, at least 80 centimeters long, and no more than 1.10 meters above the floor.
(2) The lift door opening must have a clear width of at least 90 centimeters and must have a light-beam system to stop the lift doors closing on passengers.
(3) There must be a tactile surface on the floor in front of the lift door, 30 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters long, set at least 30 centimeters but no more than 60 centimeters away from the lift door.
(4) The lift call buttons, car control buttons and emergency alarm button must have the following characteristics
(a) The lowest button must be at least 90 centimeters above the floor, the highest button no more than 1.20 meters above the floor, and at least 40 centimeters from the inside corner of the lift car where the car is less than 1.50 meters wide and long.
(b) Each button must be at least 2 centimeters in diameter and marked with Braille, and pressing it must produce both a sound and a light.
(c) There must be no obstruction in the area where the lift buttons are pressed.
(5) There must be handrails around the inside of the lift, with the handrails as specified in Clause 8 (7) (a) (b) (c) and (d).
(6) There must be numbers, sound and lights indicating the floor position when the lift stops and when it travels up or down.
(7) There must be an illuminated sign showing the floor number and the lift’s direction of travel in the lobby in front of the lift door, mounted where it is clearly visible.
(8) If the lift malfunctions, there must be both an audible alarm and a flashing red warning light so that people with visual impairments and people with hearing or communication impairments are aware, plus a flashing green light to signal to people with hearing or communication impairments that those outside know the lift has malfunctioned and help is already on the way.
(9) There must be an emergency telephone inside the lift that can reach the outside, installed at least 90 centimeters but no more than 1.20 meters above the floor.
(10) There must be a backup power system so that, if the normal power supply fails, the lift will not be stranded between floors but can travel to the nearest floor with the lift doors able to open.
(11) Inside the lift car there must be emergency lighting and a ventilation fan able to run continuously for at least 1 hour if the normal power supply fails.
2. European Union Lift Safety Standard (EU Safety Standard) EN81-41
The European Union lift safety standard is an international standard that brands in Thailand and overseas widely adopt as their manufacturing benchmark. For lift doors it sets a height of no less than 2,000 mm, or 2 meters, while the width of the lift door depends on the application and so is not specified.
A key strength of Cibes Lift is that it is a leading manufacturer of screw-driven home lifts built to world-class international standards, with lifts in many styles that can also be customized for commercial buildings whose lifts must be designed in line with the ministerial regulation. You can therefore be confident that a Cibes Lift home lift is a lift that answers your needs with a very high level of safety.
