Home Elevator Company in Mission Viejo, CA
Aging in Place in the Saddleback Valley
Home elevators for Mission Viejo’s two-story homes
Mission Viejo was planned around a lake, a valley and a very particular kind of house: stucco walls, barrel-tile roof, bedrooms upstairs. Developer plans from about 1960 put the roads in the valleys and the houses on the hills, and by 1980 most of the city was built. Advantage Elevator serves Mission Viejo from our Costa Mesa office, a drive down the county, and we help homeowners add elevators and lifts to houses that were never designed with one.
The statistics point to why. Wikipedia lists the median age at 45.9 and 21.4% of residents as 65 or older. The city has 34,982 housing units, and 77.9% were owner-occupied in 2010. These are people who bought, stayed and raised families. Many of them are still in the same two-story house. When the bedrooms are upstairs and the owner is in their seventies, the staircase is the thing deciding how long they can stay.
- Licensed by the state as an elevator contractor (CSLB C-11 #1027832)
- We install Savaria as an Elite dealer, and offer Stiltz and Cambridge Elevating too
- No-cost estimates in every Mission Viejo neighborhood
- Day-and-night emergency service for a stuck car
Advantage Elevator crew and service fleet, Carlsbad
Stainless cab detail
Advantage Elevator technicians
Elevator services in Mission Viejo
Retrofitting a tract home
Repair and troubleshooting
Maintenance for long-term owners
Homes in Mission Viejo and what works
The housing here is more uniform than elsewhere in the county, which helps. The common house is a 1970s or 1980s two-story tract home with a staircase near the front door. Behind the staircase there is often a closet on the ground floor and a closet or bathroom above it. Where those line up, a traditional hoistway can go in with relatively little disruption. The Savaria Eclipse uses a geared traction drive and needs no machine room, while the Savaria Infinity is hydraulic and needs a small machine space, often a corner of the garage.
Where they do not line up, a through-floor lift fits. The Savaria Telecab runs between two floors through a cutout in the upper floor, and the Savaria Luma is a smaller-footprint option with a clear acrylic cab. Stiltz makes a modular home lift that assembles inside the house and does not require a shaft.
Larger custom homes, such as those in Nellie Gail Ranch, tend to have more space for a hoistway and sometimes want three stops. A Savaria Zenith is built for a heavier load. For homes with a view of the valley or the mountains, the Vuelift offers a glass cab.
If your concern is a single flight to the bedrooms and you do not need to carry a wheelchair, a stairlift may meet your needs for far less than an elevator.
Aging in place in Mission Viejo
Aging in place is not a slogan here. It is the reason most of our Mission Viejo customers call. They love the house, the neighbors and the lake, and they do not want to leave.
An honest conversation helps. A stairlift costs less and installs faster, but it takes one person at a time and leaves a seat on the stairs. An elevator costs more and gives you a full ride for you, a guest or a walker. A platform lift works for a wheelchair at short heights. We lay out the trade-offs with your house in front of us.
We also talk about the future. A shaft built now can serve a wheelchair later if you pick a cab size to match. If anyone in the household uses a wheelchair or might, we make the cab size part of the first conversation.
Questions about coverage and tax treatment belong with your doctor, insurer and tax adviser. We do not promise either.
HOA and architectural review in Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo has a strong association culture. Many neighborhoods fall under HOAs with architectural committees, and the city’s Spanish-influenced look is protected on purpose. Work done entirely inside the house usually passes without much comment. Anything touching the roofline or the exterior, such as an elevator overrun that rises above the roof, needs approval first.
Before you sign a contract with any elevator company, ask your association what it requires. Then ask us for drawings. We provide dimensions, a floor plan sketch and the model’s overhead requirement so your committee can see exactly what is proposed. We cannot promise the committee’s decision.
The building permit is separate. Your city’s building department reviews the framing, electrical and hoistway, and we coordinate the permit and inspections.
Service and repair in Mission Viejo
Mission Viejo sits at about 410 feet above sea level and well inland. Salt air is not the usual problem. Age and heat are. Elevators installed in the 1990s and 2000s are reaching the point where controllers and door operators wear out, and original dealers are gone.
We service them anyway. Our list of elevator brands we service covers most makes. A modernization can replace the control system and door equipment without replacing the car, which keeps your finishes.
The maintenance program includes a test of battery lowering, which matters during outages. Parts of southern Orange County have seen utility shutoffs during high-wind fire weather, so we want that system proven before it is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put an elevator in my two-story Mission Viejo home?
In most cases, yes. We look for stacked closets for a hoistway or use a shaftless lift. The free estimate answers it.
Should I get an elevator or a stairlift?
A stairlift costs far less and suits one rider on a straight or curved stair. An elevator carries more and helps a walker or wheelchair. We quote both after a free measure.
Do I need HOA approval?
Check your association. Interior work often passes with little review, but exterior changes may need approval. We provide drawings for your committee.
Which Mission Viejo neighborhoods do you cover?
All of them, including the lake area, Nellie Gail Ranch and the surrounding villages.
My older elevator is acting up. Should I replace it?
Usually not. Controllers, drives and door equipment can be replaced or upgraded one at a time. We tell you plainly when replacement makes sense.
Related Pages
- Orange County home elevator company
- Home elevator installation in Orange County
- Elevator repair in Orange County
- Elevator maintenance in Orange County
- Elevator modernization in Orange County
- Stairlifts in Orange County
- Wheelchair lifts in Orange County
- Home elevators in Laguna Niguel
- Home elevators in Coto De Caza
- Home elevator models and options
Stay in the home you love
Free estimates for Mission Viejo homes. (714) 905-5092.
