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This is the first time I’m trying this, so I hope I do it right.
I’m building a new cape in New England, with a 3 car garage below the first floor. The kitchen will be directly above the garage, and I want to construct a dumb waiter from the garage to the kitchen so my wife won’t have to carry groceries up the stairs.
Has anyone seen plans for the design and mechanical for a dumb waiter?
Thanks
Replies
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I don't know who your waiter is, so I can't comment on whether he's dumb or smart.
Dumb waiters going from an area where organic contaminants are being created going into your kitchen is a bad idea if improperly done.
You will find all kinds of black soot forming on your kitchen shelves and such as a result of the car exhaust making it's way into the kitchen.
You would have to install air seals in the doorways of the dumb waiter and presurize the kitchen to prevent this.
The dumb waiter itself is simple enough to build yourself or use one of the many kits on the market, I think I saw one in the last issue of FH or FW.
It's just that I did a tech. survey on a town house project that had all kinds of soot stains on the walls of the kitchens that were located directly over or beside the enclosed garage parking. The culprit was the car exaust that was coming into the kitchens, so be aware of this before you go ahead with this project and ensure that if you do that proper sealing and ventilation will be of prime importance.
Gabe
*And, you'll have to have self closing fire rated doors on this thing to maintain the required fire separation between the garage and house.
*Maybe the dumb waiter could be located in whatever room/hall is just inside the house from the garage. I seem to remember previous conversations here on dumb waiters so try the search button above.
*Excellent point Ryan,I forgot about that extremely important aspect. This would violate code in just about every jurisdiction that I know.Garages must be divided by a fire rated wall and door. All the dumb waiter assemblies that I'm aware of would fail this requirement.Dumb waiters were generally designed for easing the transfer of food and laundry between basement, kitchen and upper bedrooms.Again, good point,Gabe
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Thanks for your response. It appears I need to re-think this whole idea.
*Thank you both for your replies. This could clearly be a bigger undertaking than I had planned.
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Ron, I have just finished installing a dumbwaiter, between the garage and the kitchen of a new home. Gabe is right on about the air sealing problem. The one that I used was from butler buddy. Steel fire doors with a key lock and sealed . Pricey though.
$2900.00 for a 30x30. try http://www.butlerbuddy.com
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Thanks Pat. I'll check it out.
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How about a chase as in fireplace chase? If it isn't in a conspicuous place, like right out front, you could just throw some studs, plywood and insulation under your choice of siding, and have a fireproof door in the garage that is well sealed against leakage of soot or fumes. You can even seal upstairs to reduce air convection currents. And wouldn't she LOVE it if the door in the kitchen was part of the cabinetry? Shaun
*I've worked in hotels where there were dumbwaiters from the laundry to other floors and from the kitchen to other floors. All with fire rated doors. They exist...somewhere.
*Gabe,Did your survey include any CO measurements? Seems to me if you're getting enough emissions to stain, you're getting lots of CO, too.Bob
*check out the back pages of Old House Journal magazine. I think I've seen several companies which make kits which meet most codes.Good luck. Rich.
*You betcha,In this case, the underground garage was in a condo project and the exhaust fan was located near the bedroom of one the owners. He took the liberty of shutting off the fan at night so that the noise wouldn't bother him.All the units had various exhaust fans of their own, bathroom and kitchens. So when they ran their's, the pressure was less inside the condo than in the garage and the car exhaust would enter the units.Even without the exhaust fans inside a home running, wind can cause a negative air pressure inside a building and draw in contaminants.Gabe
*A friend of mine did a CO Analysis on a house with attached garage which had killed 2 people; turned out the furnace drafting went from positive to major negative when the garage door was opened.I've seen houses where opening and closing exterior doors had had a noticable imnpact on draft readings.Bob
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Pat: I tried the url you suggested, and can't seem to come up with anything using it or just searching for "butler buddy". Are you sure that's the right address?
Thanks
*Well, here's how stupid I am: What's a fireplace chase? The dumb waiter is to be located on the side of the house, so appearance may not be an issue depending on just what a "chase" is. I think the real problem here is the seal and fireproof door. I assume that if the fireproof door is in the garage, I'm ok which would allow a door in the kitchen to match the cabinetry. Would a "chese" permit this?
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This is the first time I'm trying this, so I hope I do it right.
I'm building a new cape in New England, with a 3 car garage below the first floor. The kitchen will be directly above the garage, and I want to construct a dumb waiter from the garage to the kitchen so my wife won't have to carry groceries up the stairs.
Has anyone seen plans for the design and mechanical for a dumb waiter?
Thanks
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Following up on my previous suggestion, I happened on this web page browsing the Old House Journal pages http://www.remodeling.hw.net/frmRestDir/0,1112,'282~287~309~1~All~Dumbwaiters%2C+Elevators+%26+Lifts',00.html
Hope this gives you a few vendors of code-approved hardware. Never had to put one in myself. Good luck. Rich.