Home Elevator Cost in New Hampshire

What you pay depends heavily on which kind of lift you pick. The ranges below come from published pricing and include installation.

Across the country, an elevator for a two-story home runs $30,000 to $60,000 installed, based on figures from HomeGuide.

Going past two floors costs extra, usually $9,000 to $15,000 per floor. If a shaft has to be built inside an existing house, add $5,000 to $25,000, since framing means opening up walls and floors.

New Hampshire does not collect a sales tax on goods, so your lift is not taxed.

Ask for a written quote that spells out the lift, installation work, and any work your house needs.

That depends on what you are having installed. New Hampshire's elevator law, RSA 157-B, exempts stair chairlifts and wheelchair lifts in private residences from its elevator requirements. A lift that serves a single unit is treated the same way, even when the building is a multi-family rental.

A genuine home elevator does not get that exclusion. But the law's definition of an owner does not include someone whose elevator serves their own home, so requirements like yearly certificates do not clearly fall on you. The law isn't clear on whether a new elevator in a private home needs plan approval, so check with the New Hampshire Department of Labor before work starts.

When the law does cover a unit, here is what applies:

• Full plans need the labor commissioner's sign-off before any construction begins.
• The plan review fee works out to $4 for each $1,000 the unit is worth, and it cannot be less than $200.
• After the unit passes inspection, each certificate costs the owner $75, and it stays valid through an inspection every year.

New elevators and accessibility lifts covered by New Hampshire law must meet the most recent ASME safety code. The editions in use appear on the exam list kept by the Department of Labor.

Elevator mechanics need a licence in New Hampshire, and the state also has a separate category for accessibility lift mechanics, who handle chairlifts and wheelchair lifts. To get licensed, a mechanic either passes a state exam after at least two years of documented work under a licensed New Hampshire mechanic, or qualifies through a licence from another state. The first exam costs $50, and renewing every two years costs $35.

Chairlift work in a home sits outside this law. For an elevator, check that any installer you talk to holds a New Hampshire licence before signing anything.

A few state programs might lower what you pay:

• Property tax exemption: RSA 72:37-a lets a homeowner who lives in the house subtract the value of improvements made for a resident with a disability from the assessed value each year. A permanent application goes to your town's selectmen or assessors, and it must be filed by April 15.
• Medicaid waiver through Choices for Independence: Adults who need nursing-home level care can get environmental accessibility adaptations covered, but only as far as the waiver allows. When a project runs above $5,000, you will need to gather bids from a couple of different providers first.
• State assistive technology program: ATinNH serves New Hampshire in this role and is run by the UNH Institute on Disability.

Every house is different, and a range only gets you part of the way. Call us today to go over your home, the lift that suits it, and a written price you can plan around.