Peelle Modernizes Saks 5th Avenue Elevators

The Peelle Co. was contracted to modernize the elevators at specialty retailer Saks 5th Avenue in Long Island City, New York. The project started in January and lasted six weeks, and involved removing and replacing the existing equipment. Peelle last modernized the building’s auto lift in 1988 and more recently furnished and installed various types of equipment. The modernization project included the following:

• Two hoistway doors with steel-plate construction (13 ft., 6 in. wide and 14 ft. high)
• Two car doors with single-section construction (13 ft., 6 in. wide and 6 ft. high)
• One car enclosure with three rows of hardwood bumpers and 28 light fixtures (14 ft., 5 in. wide and 63 ft., 2 in. deep)

All materials received Peelle’s powder-coat RAL 7010 finish. Freight elevators, similar to passenger elevators, provide a vital service to the building’s vertical-transportation needs. Freight-elevator doors, car doors and car enclosures are more likely to be misused than their passenger-elevator counterparts. Depending on usage, freight-elevator doors and cabs should provide many years of useful service; however, when these materials are replaced, the building owner has many options in improved product design and performance. As important as the elevator lifting equipment is to deliver the platform to the selected floor, the hoistway doors, car doors and car enclosure provide the personality of the elevator experience, since the user does not see the lift equipment.