Expertise for every level of your home.
From a single feasibility study to complete owner’s representation, AboveAll guides Florida homeowners, architects and builders through every decision in a residential elevator project.
01
Feasibility & Site Study
Before a single drawing, we answer the questions that decide everything else.
Brett or a senior consultant walks the property with your plans, measuring candidate shaft locations, checking structural load paths, reviewing your FEMA flood designation and electrical capacity. We weigh a new hoistway against a through-floor lift, a pit against a pitless design, and give you a realistic installed budget range for each — not a sales number.
On-site assessment
Written report in 10 business days
3 layout options
Budget ranges
02
Design & Specification
Your elevator, specified to the standard of your architecture.
We work alongside your architect and interior designer to select the right drive system and to detail every visible surface: glass or framed hoistway, cab panels in rift oak, bronze or back-painted glass, automatic sliding or swing landing doors, concealed lighting, and integration with Savant, Control4 or Crestron. The result is a performance specification any qualified installer can bid on fairly.
Drive selection
Cab & finish design
Hoistway drawings
Smart-home integration
03
Code & Permitting
Florida’s rules, handled by people who read them for a living.
Residential elevators in Florida answer to the Florida Building Code, ASME A17.1 Section 5.3, and Chapter 399 of the Florida Statutes administered by the Bureau of Elevator Safety. We prepare and track the state elevator permit, coordinate with your local building department, and handle condominium association and HOA approvals so nothing stalls your schedule.
State elevator permit
Local building dept.
HOA / condo approvals
Inspection scheduling
04
Bid & Procurement
Competitive bids. Clear contracts. Better terms.
We issue your specification to three to five licensed Florida elevator contractors, then level every bid line by line so you can compare like for like. We review the contract, warranty, lead times and service terms — and negotiate on your behalf. Clients typically save more on the installed price than our entire fee.
Pre-qualified installers
Bid leveling report
Contract review
Warranty negotiation
05
Installation Oversight & Commissioning
Eyes on site at every milestone that matters.
We verify hoistway dimensions before your builder closes walls, inspect rail alignment and wiring, keep the installer, GC and architect in sync, and witness the state acceptance test. At handover you receive owner training, a complete documentation binder and a punch list closed out to our standard, not just the contractor’s.
Milestone site visits
Hoistway verification
Acceptance-test witness
Owner handover
06
Coastal Resilience Package
Florida’s coast is beautiful. It is also hard on machinery.
Our Coastal Resilience Standard specifies 316 marine-grade stainless, sealed and coated components, controllers relocated above Base Flood Elevation, pitless or flood-tolerant designs in AE and VE zones, battery lowering and automatic door release. Before each hurricane season we issue a written park-and-protect protocol, and clients receive priority post-storm inspections.
Marine-grade materials
Above-BFE controls
Battery lowering
Hurricane protocol
- Specialty services
Beyond the new build.
Not every project starts with a blank lot. These services serve existing homes, aging-in-place plans and elevators already in service.
Retrofit into existing homes
Stacked closets, stair voids and exterior towers — we find the quietest way to add an elevator to a home that wasn’t designed for one.
Modernization
New controllers, door operators and cab interiors for 10- to 25-year-old elevators, without replacing what still works.
Aging-in-place planning
Elevator, wheelchair clearance and future-proofing coordinated with your OT or accessibility specialist.
Smart-home integration
Call, monitor and lock out the cab from your home automation system, with remote diagnostics for your installer.
Care & Compliance plans
Annual independent audits of your maintenance provider, hurricane-season readiness checks and service-contract review.
Pre-purchase inspection
Buying a home with an elevator? We assess its condition, code status and remaining life before you close.
- Brand-agnostic guidance
Choosing the right drive.
There is no single best residential elevator — only the best one for your home. Here is how the five main systems compare in typical Florida projects.
Most proven
Hydraulic
Smooth, quiet and robust. Needs a small machine room and, usually, a shallow pit.
|
Stops |
2–5 |
|
Pit |
~8 in |
|
Feel |
Very smooth |
Most refined
MRL Traction
Counterweighted, energy-efficient and machine-room-less — our default for new estates.
|
Stops
|
2–6 |
|
Pit |
~8 in |
|
Feel |
Silent |
Compact
Cable Drum
Efficient footprint with no machine room. Excellent in retrofits with limited depth.
|
Stops |
2–4 |
|
Pit |
~8 in |
|
Feel |
Smooth |
Statement
Pneumatic Vacuum
A self-supporting glass tube. Striking and pitless, with a smaller cab.
|
Stops |
2–5 |
|
Pit |
None |
|
Feel |
Airy |
Minimal
Through-Floor
No shaft required; the cab travels through a sealed floor aperture. Ideal for two-storey homes.
|
Stops |
2 |
|
Pit |
None |
|
Feel |
Gentle |
- Engagements
Transparent, fixed-fee advice.
We never take commissions from manufacturers or installers. You always know exactly what our advice costs.
Advisory
Feasibility Study
from $1,950 / residence
For homeowners and architects exploring whether — and how — an elevator fits.
- On-site assessment
- Flood-zone & structural review
- Three layout options
- Budget ranges per option
Most chosen
Owner's Representation
Fixed fee / quoted per project
Complete guidance from first sketch to final ride — the AboveAll Method end to end.
- Everything in Feasibility
- Design & full specification
- Permits, bids & contract review
- Installation oversight & handover
- First-year Care & Compliance plan
For the trade
Architect & Builder Retainer
Monthly / multi-project
On-call vertical-transportation expertise for design firms and custom builders.
- Plan reviews within 72 hours
- Spec templates & details
- Priority site visits
- Client presentations
- Questions
Frequently asked.
An installer’s design is built around the products they sell. Ours is built around your home. Because we’re independent, we can compare every option honestly, bid the work competitively and hold the installer to the specification — which usually saves more than our fee.
Yes. New residential elevators require a construction permit through the state’s Bureau of Elevator Safety in addition to your local building permit, and must meet ASME A17.1 Section 5.3 and the Florida Building Code. We prepare, file and track all of it.
Installed costs in Florida typically range from the mid-$30,000s for a two-stop through-floor lift to well over $150,000 for a glass-hoistway traction elevator with custom cab finishes. Construction of the shaft is separate. Our feasibility study gives you realistic numbers for your specific home.
It can, when it’s specified for one. Our Coastal Resilience Standard raises controllers above Base Flood Elevation, uses marine-grade metals and includes a written storm protocol, so the elevator is parked, protected and back in service quickly after the storm passes.
In most cases, yes. Stacked closets, stair voids, garages and exterior towers are all common locations. Through-floor and pneumatic systems also remove the need for a traditional shaft.
Planning, design and permitting typically take eight to twelve weeks. Manufacturing lead times run another eight to sixteen weeks, and installation itself usually takes two to four weeks once the hoistway is ready.
- Private Consultation
Let's take your home to the next level.
Every engagement begins with a complimentary 45-minute discovery call with Brett — in person at your home, on site with your architect, or by video.
Brett Callahan
Founder & Principal Consultant
Direct line
(239) 555-0172
brett@aboveallelevator.com
Headquarters
999 Vanderbilt Beach Rd, Suite 210 Naples, Florida 34108
Hours
Mon–Fri 8:00–6:00 · Sat by appointment
Request a consultation
Tell us a little about your home. Brett personally replies within one business day.