Installing a Powerglide Elevator was easier than choosing taps
No sooner did builder Superior Construction erect a “For sale: coming soon” sign outside their building site in St Helier’s Vale Road, than off the street walked a retired couple who came in and bought it. “We were thrilled,” says Dina Heylen, Director and Operations Manager of the company, “They purchased the home on the spot before it was even finished – mainly because it had an elevator.”
At the time, Superior Construction promised that they would certainly be using Powerglide again, and sure enough, their next development also features an S-Series elevator. This property, a renovation project on The Parade, has also now sold: to a couple that didn’t even need the elevator yet – but they liked the idea that it was already there for when they might need it.
“We deal with a lot of sub-contractors, and it is very unusual for it to be so easy to deal with people. It was harder to choose taps than it was to work with those guys. ”
“My thought process when we put together the renovation plans was that if it was my parents, including an elevator would extend the amount of time that they could live in their own home,” says Dina. “At their age, they are going to be thinking: what am I going to need at 83 years old?
“We’ve used Powerglide Elevators twice now – and we would absolutely use them again. There are other cheaper options out there, but we didn’t want a cheap option. I am a bit claustrophobic. I didn’t want a rollercoaster ride; I wanted a safe elevator, and riding in it felt safe. We could have gone cheap, but I felt that if I am not going to feel safe, our clients aren’t either.
“With the first project, we hadn’t installed an elevator before and didn’t really know what we were doing. A Powerglide technician popped in to inspect our site before installation and guided us on what we needed to do to correct a couple of things. We made the adjustments and they came and installed it with no hassle. You would think it would be difficult – but it wasn’t.
“It was also little things like the website was very informative, and the Powerglide contact I spoke to was super knowledgeable and informative. When they sent the quote through, the information was brilliant – very thorough. I had a bunch of questions, but all of them were answered. It had all the installation information, colour options and possible add-ons. The booking system, and in fact the whole process, was easy.
“From a design perspective, we loved the interior décor options and that we could have the same flooring in the elevator as in the hallway. We also loved the flexibility of having the option of putting in extra features like mirrors, and we were able to disguise the exterior of the lift shaft with floor to ceiling vertical wooden slats so it integrates with the rest of the home.
“Our concept to completion turnaround time is pretty quick and it was a real bonus that Powerglide lifts are manufactured here. So, if something was to go wrong, it wasn’t going to take 3 months to get it fixed. Also, as a company, we are all about using NZ-made wherever we can.”
Location: St Heliers, Auckland
Powerglide Elevator Specs: 1100 x 1100mm
Weight Capacity: 350kg
Lift Configuration: Corner car, doors on two sides
Design & Manufacture Time: 10 weeks
Install Time: 2 weeks
Design & Installation Process: Process managed by Powerglide’s specialist in-house engineering and cabinetry team in conjunction with client and clients expert carpenters
Architect: Sketch Architecture
Building Contractor: Superior Construction
Maintenance/Servicing Requirements: Maintenance-free for the first five years
Complies with: NZS 4334:2012
Mechanism: Hydraulic drive with self-supporting rails
Speed: Around 9 seconds, floor-to-floor
Manufacture: Manufactured in New Zealand using locally sourced materials and componentry