Framed · Panoramic
The Answer
Written by the Lift Shop team
Yes. A glass lift for home use can put glass in the shaft, the landing doors and the cabin walls, alone or together. A glass shaft is built to our specifications with laminated safety glass and signed off before we install, so the real choices are light, privacy, sun and how much frame you want to see.
01 · The Shaft
The enclosure around the lift can be glass, inside the house or outside it. Glass shafts are framed in painted premium galvanised stainless steel, and your builder builds them to our specifications.
02 · The Doors
Sliding doors come in framed glass or frameless glass. Swing doors come in aluminium with a glass panel, or as a villa glass door with a polished or brushed stainless steel frame.
03 · The Cabin
You choose each wall of the cabin: full-height glass, full-height mirror, or half mirror or glass.
You can use one, two or all three. Glass inside a solid shaft looks onto the shaft wall, which one Coogee client turned into a feature: a mural painted inside the shaft, visible through the glass cabin door.
Side by Side
Framed glass sets the panels in a painted premium galvanised stainless steel frame, and a panoramic lift (sometimes called a panoramic home elevator) pairs glass cabin walls with a glass shaft so you can see out as you travel.
| Option | The look | Who supplies or builds it | Glass options | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Framed glass shaft | Glass panels in a painted premium galvanised stainless steel frame; outdoors, the frame can be powdercoated in any RAL colour | Your builder builds it to our specifications | One Coogee shaft uses black glass below and fume glass above | Powdercoat protects the steel; glass sheds rain and wipes clean |
| Glass landing doors | Sliding: framed or frameless glass. Swing: aluminium with glass, or the villa glass door | Part of the lift we supply and install | Sliding: transparent, Stop de Sol, frosted or fume. Aluminium swing: clear, frosted, Stop Sol Grigio (mirror), bronze or fume | Glass doors add to the price |
| Glass cabin walls | Full-height glass, full-height mirror, or half mirror or glass, wall by wall | Part of the cabin, chosen when you style the lift | Transparent, Stop de Sol dark or light, frosted or fume; mirrors in clear, bronze or smoked | A transparent panel can display your own artwork behind it |
Safety
Italian glass, 12mm or thicker, impact resistant and complying with Australian codes AS 1735 and the NCC. The finished shaft is checked and signed off against the relevant Australian Standards before we install.
Our shaft specification calls for laminated safety glass wherever a shaft uses glass. Laminated glass is two sheets of glass bonded to a plastic interlayer, made so that if it breaks, the panel holds together. On glass shaft projects we work with architects and glaziers so the glass panels meet safety standards, structural requirements and building codes.
A glass lift carries the same standard safety systems as every Lift Shop lift: door interlocks, so the lift won't move unless every door is closed, full-height safety beams, In Cabin Self Rescue and an integrated flush phone. Our home lift safety guide explains each one.
Design Options
Yes: you choose glass doors and cabin walls when you style your lift, and the styling can be included on the series you choose.
Which door types suit your series and layout is confirmed at design. Sliding doors are fully automatic and open within the shaft, while swing doors need clear space in front of the lift to open; our guide to choosing swing or sliding lift doors compares the two in full. Our frameless glass sliding doors belong to the Ultra Luxe line.
Each floor can have its own look, within one rule: a single lift can't combine swing and sliding doors. One garden lift has a polished stainless steel door below and a panoramic glass door above.
Sliding Door
Stainless steel frame. Transparent, Stop de Sol, frosted or fume
Sliding Door · Ultra Luxe
Transparent, Stop de Sol, frosted or fume
Swing Door
Clear, frosted, Stop Sol Grigio (mirror), bronze or fume
Swing Door
Polished or brushed stainless steel frame
Inside, glass walls can pair with a mirror: one McMahons Point cabin has a full glass wall and a full-size rear mirror.
See every door, wall and mirror option on Style Your Lift, and real installs in our sliding door and swing door galleries.
Glass
Mirror
Light and Space
We can't promise glass will ease a fear of small spaces, because that is personal, but it does change how a cabin feels.
Glass brings daylight in and keeps sightlines open, even in a small lift, and a mirror adds a sense of space and light. Many of our clients love travelling surrounded by glass for exactly that light and visibility.
If You Get Stuck
If the worry is getting stuck, know what the lift does.
Exclusive to Lift Shop: if mains power fails, battery backup takes the lift to the nearest floor and opens the doors, and if it stops between floors after a minor fault or in a power cut, you can use In Cabin Self Rescue to lower it to a floor.
The cabin phone dials our emergency line, so never try to force the doors or climb out.
The surest test is to stand in one. You can try a lift before you buy at our showrooms and see the cabins, doors and glass options in person.
Sun and Weather
Plan a glass lift for home use around the sun and weather its shaft will face, from the first drawings.
Tinted glass is available to reduce heat gain and glare.
On the Sunshine Coast, a full glass shaft sits beneath the home's overhanging rooflines, naturally shielded from harsh sunlight and driving rain.
The weather protection comes from the shaft, not the lift. An external shaft is built and sealed like any other part of your home's envelope.
Powdercoated steel, brushed stainless profiles and glass resist salt spray and wash down easily; an occasional rinse plus the lift's normal service schedule keeps them looking new. For stainless steel doors, we recommend AISI 316 for coastal homes.
Our outdoor home lifts guide covers external glass shafts in more detail.
The Shaft
Our engineering drawings, early, so the structure behind the glass is designed in from the start.
Glass shafts are constructed by qualified builders to our specifications, and we fit the lift within your chosen glass design. Where a traditional load-bearing shaft is impractical, we can supply the Bones Only Shaft, a certified self-supporting steel structure that your builder clads and finishes, including in glass.
Our lift shaft guide sets out what your builder must meet:
Glass shows everything, so plan the details early. In one Bulimba home, involving us early meant the steel support for the glass shaft and the tiled pit floor were built into the construction plan. Your builder prices the shaft from our drawings.
The Proof
These are real Lift Shop installs, and they use more than one series; your Lift Consultant matches the series to your home.
McMahons Point, NSW Glass Prism Read the case study → Gladesville, NSW Luxury glass lift Read the case study → Bulimba, QLD Frameless Black Shaft Read the case study → Albert Park, VIC From Garden to City Views Read the case study → Coogee, NSW Prominent Feature Read the case study → Case Study Just the Place Read the case study → Sunshine Coast, QLD Original or New? Read the case study → Keep Exploring More projects are on our inspiration page. See the inspiration page →
Most clients invest $49,000 to $120,000 for the lift. On a glass lift, glass landing doors add to the price, as do sliding doors and extra openings. A glass shaft built by your builder is priced by your builder from our drawings, and our home lift cost guide explains what moves the price.
Our brochure rates the A and C Series quiet and the E Series silent. The surest way to judge the sound of a glass lift for yourself is to ride one, and our showrooms have working lifts on display. Our guide to how loud a home lift is covers noise, speed and capacity in more detail.
Yes. An external shaft is often the least disruptive way to add a lift, because it is built outside the existing walls and the lift opens into the house at each floor. Our Sunshine Coast retrofit added a full glass shaft to an existing elevated home.
Yes, and glass is the most requested outdoor look. Your builder constructs a sealed external shaft to our engineering drawings, and we install the lift once it is weathertight. Glass itself is weatherproof, and sealing the joints is a detail your builder resolves.
The Showroom
The only way to judge a lift is to stand in one. Our showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with Canberra opening soon, have working lifts and finishes on display, including cabins, doors and glass options.
Book a showroom visit or request a quote, or call 1800 440 714.
Prices move. Your quote will not. Lock it in today and it holds for 12 months.
Or talk it through with a Lift Shop consultant on 1800 440 714
