Why Shaft Dimensions Matter Before Anything Else
Most home lift conversations in Singapore start with budget or brand. They should start with shaft dimensions. The space you have available determines which lifts you can install — not the other way round. Get this number first and the rest of the planning is straightforward.
Below are the practical dimension ranges we see on Singapore landed property retrofits and new builds. These are not theoretical — they are what fits when you measure with a tape, accounting for shaft wall thickness and door clearances.
Minimum Shaft Footprint
The smallest residential lifts in Singapore — typically Cibes compact models — fit into a shaft of around 800mm x 990mm internal. That gives a cabin around 600mm x 700mm, enough for one adult standing or one wheelchair in tight quarters. Useful for narrow terrace homes where every centimetre matters.
A more comfortable two-person cabin needs a shaft of roughly 1100mm x 1200mm internal. This is the size we recommend most often for Singapore landed homes because it fits two adults plus shopping or one wheelchair plus an attendant. Most brand standard models target this footprint.
Comfortable and Family-Sized Shafts
Three-person cabins — useful for multi-generation households where the lift sometimes carries grandparents plus a helper plus shopping — need a shaft around 1300mm x 1400mm internal. The cabin lands around 1000mm x 1100mm, which feels notably more spacious without becoming a commercial-sized lift.
Beyond that, you are into stretcher-capable territory — shafts of 1500mm x 1600mm or more, suitable for accommodating a medical stretcher diagonally. This matters for elderly owners who may need ambulance access in future. Worth thinking about during a new build even if it is not an immediate need.
Pit Depth and Headroom
Most residential lifts need a pit — a recess in the floor slab below the lowest stop — of 150mm to 350mm depending on lift type. Vacuum lifts often need only 50mm or no pit at all because the drive sits above the cabin. Hydraulic lifts typically need 200mm to 350mm.
Headroom above the top stop is equally critical. Plan for 2400mm to 2800mm of overhead clearance above the highest landing slab. Homes with low ceiling-to-roof voids sometimes need a roof modification, which adds cost and BCA submission complexity. Measure ceiling-to-roof carefully before committing to a plan.
Where to Place the Shaft in a Retrofit
On retrofit projects, the most common shaft locations are the stairwell void (if the staircase wraps around an open space), a converted storeroom adjacent to the staircase, or a corner of the kitchen-utility area extending up through bedroom space above. Each has trade-offs.
Stairwell void retrofits look the most elegant when finished — the lift becomes part of the staircase. Storeroom conversions cost less because you reuse existing walls. Kitchen-utility shafts are the most disruptive because they slice through three floors of finished living space. We walk you through these options at the site visit.
Get Your Dimensions Checked Properly
Measuring a shaft accurately yourself is harder than it sounds — you need to account for wall thickness, door swing clearances, structural beams that may protrude, and electrical conduit runs. A 30-minute site visit catches these before you commit to a lift model that does not actually fit.
WhatsApp DirectHome at +65 8223 3005 with a few phone photos of your proposed lift location. We will tell you within a day which lifts your home likely supports and what shaft size makes sense to plan around.
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