Chicago elevator modernization - legacy of decisions

In the Chicago area we have elevator equipment that stays in buildings a long time.  When a building chooses to do a elevator modernization some buildings make the decision solely on price, some make it on brand name, some look at body of work, some look at relationships.  Whatever way you make your decision on who to use for a modernization remember this elevator is depended on and can go great or not so great.  This is blog is for the lasting effects of the choice of elevator contractor to install or modernize your equipment and what happens afterwards.

Negative legacy - Over the last few months we have seen a glut of buildings that have elevator equipment that was replaced in the last 10-15 years but was installed so poorly it needs to be addressed again.  For many of these buildings they have a significant pill to swallow and a large scope of work to do which will be expensive.

[Elevator #1 - This modernization was most likely done quickly and at a appealing price]

[This is elevator #2 at the same building]

Elevator maintenance – The buildings that inherit a bad modernization from the general contractor can hire a different company to work with them to address the outstanding issues.  We ran into a building that did this but I believe they should have chosen a different company.  In either case the elevator maintenance company should be maintaining the equipment so it stays a good runner or make the replacement/maintenance recommendations to make it as good as it can be.

[This should be addressed]

[This is a big item that will cost the building owner a few dollars to replace, the building didn't know about this]

What do I do if my elevator is a mess? – Call reliable elevator contractors and have them put together a list of what you should do.  In most cases you can get some more time out of the elevators but you may have to invest in pre maintenance to resolve some of the lingering issues.  This takes time on the building owners side as well as the contractors side, choose someone you trust and get a time line for what needs to be done.  If you are so far down the rabbit hole with existing issues you may need to find one elevator company you trust to get to the bottom of all your issues.  This will cost money.  Interview the elevator company, get references, make sure you are comfortable with them complete the work you need to do.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, if you have significant elevator issues they will not be resolved in a day.  If the elevator install was so bad it is causing you too many headaches[this is all relative to the building’s tolerance for a broken elevator], you may have to replace the elevator system again.

Positive legacy – Legacies are not all bad; we do a church in Western Springs, IL where we the elevator had a cylinder leak and they had always wanted to extend the elevator up another floor.  They had a price from a nonunion company which was lower, we worked with them on the price coming down to where we could and we completed the project.  New cylinder, new controller, fixtures, door operator & door frame, etc. Twice a year this building has a rummage sale and the elevator is used almost 18 hours a day for 2 weeks.  Since our installation in 2008 we have had less than 14 events that brought us to the building besides maintenance 6 are CAT 1 testing, 1 battery replacement, 3 phone issues[phone line dead], 1 fire service light replacement, one blown fuse[power issue], and one shutdown which we could not recreate, and the last was for State of Illinois mandate work.  I only know about the rummage sale use of this elevator because my parents started attending this church.  I am proud we have such a good runner and am reminded every 6 months when I drop off donations for the rummage sale.

If you have any questions or would like information from Colley Elevator you can go to www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.