Lift Size and Dimensions Guide

Quick answer: At Carrymax Lifts, every size decision starts with rated load. Indian passenger lifts are rated from 272 kg (4 persons) to 1,360 kg (20 persons), and each rating needs a car, a shaft, a pit below the lowest floor and an overhead above the top floor. The shaft is the one part you cannot change later, so confirm every dimension on a drawing before civil work begins.

A lift shaft that is 100 mm too narrow cannot be fixed by choosing a better lift. The wall has to be opened and recast, which costs time and money long after the lift itself has been paid for. It happens often because civil contractors build the shaft months before the lift arrives.

This guide covers the dimensions that architects, builders and homeowners should settle first: car size, shaft size, pit depth and overhead height for passenger, home, hospital, goods and car lifts. Use it as a briefing sheet for your architect. The figures come from IS 14665 Part 1, the Bureau of Indian Standards guideline for outline dimensions of lifts, and from common practice for home lifts. Final sizes always come from the manufacturer's General Arrangement (GA) drawing for the exact model.

The Four Dimensions Every Lift Plan Needs

Every lift, whatever its type, is described by four numbers. The car inside size is the usable floor width and depth, measured one meter above the floor from panel to panel. The shaft, also called the lift well, is the space the car and counterweight travel in. The pit is the recess below the lowest landing that houses the buffers. The overhead is the clear height above the top landing that lets the car overrun safely.

The standard treats shaft sizes as minimum clear plumb dimensions. That means the finished size after plastering, straight from pit to top, not the size on the structural drawing. Architects should add tolerance for it, especially in tall buildings, because a shaft that leans eats into the clearances.

When two or more lifts share one shaft, the standard asks for an extra 100 mm in width for each separating beam. Buildings with several lifts also need to think about how they work together, which is where an integrated serial and parallel controller comes in.

Passenger Lift Capacity and Size Chart

Passenger lifts are rated in persons and kilograms together. Indian practice works out to roughly 68 kg per person, so a 6-person lift carries 408 kg and an 8-person lift carries 544 kg. The kilogram figure is the legal limit. Persons is only a guide to how many people fit.

Car and shaft sizes grow with each step in this table. Entrance widths also grow, from around 700 mm for the smallest lifts to 1,000 mm for the 20-person size. The exact car width and depth depend on the door type and the manufacturer's design, so ask for the GA drawing rather than copying a generic number.

Pit depth and overhead by speed

Speed is the second driver of shaft height. Faster lifts need a deeper pit and a taller overhead because the car needs more room to stop safely. IS 14665 Part 1 recommends these values for passenger lifts, based on a 2.3 m car height.

These tables assume a travel of up to 30 m, which is about ten floors. Above that, the manufacturer must be consulted. Individual designs can differ from the table, as long as they meet the standard's bottom and top clearance rules.

The drive you choose also affects the shaft plan. A gearless machine generally suits higher speeds and taller buildings, while a geared machine is common in low and mid-rise buildings. A machine room less (MRL) lift moves the drive into the shaft, so you do not need a separate machine room on the roof. The pit and overhead still need to be planned.

Home Lift Dimensions for Villas and Independent Floors

A home lift is a small passenger lift, usually rated for 2 to 6 persons. Car sizes for the same rating vary from one design to another, so compare drawings, not just capacity. As a working rule, a compact home car needs a shaft roughly 150 to 250 mm larger than the cabin in both width and depth.

The most important sizing decision is accessibility. A cabin of about 1,100 x 1,400 mm with a 900 mm door is the size commonly used as the minimum for a wheelchair and one attendant. Smaller 2 or 3-person cars look sensible on a plan, but they will not take a wheelchair. If anyone in the family may need one in the next 10 or 15 years, plan the larger car now, because the shaft cannot be widened later.

Shallow-pit designs help in houses where deep excavation is difficult. Hydraulic lifts for low-rise use typically need a pit of only 150 to 300 mm, and compact home lifts often work with an overhead of 2,600 to 3,000 mm. These are typical ranges, and each make has its own figures, so always check the specific model. Homeowners with a double-height lobby or a stair void may also like a glass capsule lift, which needs its own shaft planning.

Cost follows size, so decide on the car and shaft together. Our home lift price in India 2026 guide shows how size and type change the total, and the home elevator cost in India 2026 price guide covers budget planning. If you are still choosing between drive types, read best residential lift options for multi-story homes.

Hospital and Stretcher Lift Dimensions

The standard defines a hospital lift as one that carries a bed or stretcher along its depth, with space for at least three attendants around it. That is why hospital and stretcher lifts have long, narrow cars instead of the squarer cars of passenger lifts. The entrance is also wider, so a bed can turn in and out without being tilted.

The 15-person size is not a regular rating in the standard. It is included to cover smaller hospitals and clinics. Before you finalize a clinic floor plan, read our hospital and clinic stretcher lifts buying guide for details on door types, leveling and backup power.

Freight and Goods Lift Dimensions

Goods lifts are sized by the load and the largest item they have to carry, not by the number of people. Freight and goods lifts have wider cars and heavier-duty doors than passenger lifts. IS 14665 Part 1 gives the following recommended sizes, based on vertical biparting landing doors and a 2.2 m car height.

If you choose collapsible doors instead of vertical biparting ones, the clear entrance shrinks by 200 mm. Measure your widest pallet or trolley against the reduced figure before you commit.

Service lifts, also called dumbwaiters, are a separate class. The standard limits them to 250 kg, a net floor area of 1 square meter and a car height of 1.25 m, and they must never carry people. They suit restaurants, hotels and homes that need to move food or files between floors. For low-rise goods movement, a hydraulic goods lift can be a practical alternative to a full traction lift.

Capsule Lifts and Car Lifts

Capsule lifts follow the same rated-load rules as other passenger lifts, but the glass cabin and its curved or panoramic shape change the structure around it. The shaft needs room for the glass framing and a viewing side. Our article on capsule lifts vs passenger lifts explains where each type fits, and the GA drawing settles the final shaft size.

Car lifts are sized around the vehicle. The platform has to fit the longest and widest car the household or building will ever park, with room to open the doors and walk out, and the rated load has to cover the heaviest vehicle, including SUVs. Check the kerb weight in the vehicle manual before you choose the capacity.

How to Choose the Right Lift Size

A sizing decision is easier when you work through the same sequence every time.

1. Count the daily users and the peak hour. Size for the busiest day, not an ordinary one, because guests, deliveries and festivals push the load.
2. Decide who must be able to use the lift. If wheelchairs, stretchers or luggage trolleys are possible, that sets the minimum car and door size.
3. Measure the clear space you can give to the shaft, after plaster, and note the floor-to-floor heights and the top-floor ceiling height.
4. Check how deep you can excavate for the pit and how high the overhead can go. These limits decide the type of drive and the speed.
5. Pick the drive type: gearless, geared, MRL or hydraulic. Each one changes the overhead, pit or machine room needs.
6. Get the manufacturer's GA drawing and give it to your structural engineer before the shaft is cast.

Tall buildings add a layer of fire and safety rules. Buildings above about 15 meters are generally treated as high-rise under fire norms, which brings extra requirements for lifts. Read our guide on safe elevator suppliers in Delhi for tall buildings to see what to check before you shortlist a supplier.

Common Lift Sizing Mistakes

Most sizing problems come from decisions made before a lift supplier is involved. These are the ones we see most often:

• Casting the shaft from a generic size, then discovering that the chosen model needs a different width or depth.
• Measuring rough concrete openings instead of clear plumb dimensions after plaster.
• Forgetting the pit, or making it shallower than the lift speed requires.
• Choosing a 2 or 3-person home lift and later needing to carry a wheelchair or a stretcher.
• Ignoring the door width, so a sofa, a trolley or a pallet will not fit through the entrance.
• Leaving the top-floor height unchecked, which forces a lower speed or a different drive type.

How Carrymax Lifts Plans Size for Your Building

Carrymax Lifts designs and manufactures lifts at its own facility in Faridabad, and the about us page explains how the team works. Sizes, designs, colors and materials can be customized, so an unusual shaft can be discussed at the design stage instead of after the concrete is poured.

The process is simple. Share your plan, floor-to-floor heights and the people or loads you need to carry. The team confirms the lift type, car size, shaft, pit and overhead, then issues a GA drawing your architect can use. The same team handles installation and maintenance afterward.

We work across Delhi NCR and Haryana, with offices in Faridabad, Karnal and Mohali. If you are planning a project, see our pages for lift manufacturers in Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal and Chandigarh.

Get a Size Recommendation From Carrymax Lifts

A lift is sized once and lives with that decision for decades. The best moment to settle the car, shaft, pit and overhead is before the architect locks the plan, because every later change costs more. Whatever the building, start with the people and loads the lift must carry, then work back to the shaft.

The next step is simple: send your floor plan and floor-to-floor heights, and get a size recommendation and GA drawing before you cast the shaft.

Planning a lift? Send us your floor plan. Get the right car size, shaft dimensions and a GA drawing from the Carrymax Lifts team. Consult now or download the brochure.