Elevator Hoistway Size Calculator
Shaft dimensions from car size and counterweight.
About this calculator
This calculator sizes an elevator hoistway shaft from car dimensions, door configuration, and speed, following ASME A17.1 clearance conventions. Hoistway Width and Hoistway Depth are computed independently of each other and of most of the other inputs: Hoistway Width comes only from Car Width (plus fixed guide-rail clearances and an estimated counterweight width at 30% of car width), while Hoistway Depth comes only from Car Depth plus a Door Type-dependent mechanism allowance (150mm for center-opening doors, up to 250mm for 3-panel side-opening) and a fixed rear clearance -- neither dimension is affected by the other, nor by Car Height, Number of Floors, or Car Speed. Speed instead governs the vertical numbers: Pit Depth is set by a buffer-stroke calculation that scales with the square of Car Speed (kinetic energy the buffer must absorb), floored at a 1200mm practical minimum, so pit depth barely changes at low speeds but grows quickly at high speeds.
Overhead Clearance combines Car Height with a small speed-dependent run-by allowance and a fixed machine-beam clearance. Total Hoistway Height simply adds Total Travel (from Number of Floors and Floor-to-Floor Height) to the pit and overhead figures.
Inputs
Results
Hoistway width (mm)
2,930
Hoistway depth (mm)
1,900
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Car width (mm), Car depth (mm), and Car height (mm).
- Set Number of floors, Floor-to-floor height (mm), and Door type (1=CO, 2=SO-2, 3=SO-3).
- Adjust Car speed (m/s) as needed.
- Review Hoistway width (mm) and Hoistway depth (mm).
- Use Hoistway area (m²) and Pit depth (mm) to inform your decision.
How the result changes with Car width (mm)
| Car width (mm) | Hoistway width (mm) | Hoistway depth (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,050 | 1,565 | 1,900 |
| 1,575 | 2,248 | 1,900 |
| 3,150 | 4,295 | 1,900 |
| 3,500 | 4,750 | 1,900 |
What each input means
- Car width (mm)
- Inside width of the elevator car platform.
- Car depth (mm)
- Inside depth of the elevator car platform.
- Car height (mm)
- Inside height of the elevator car (floor to ceiling).
- Number of floors
- Total number of floors served.
- Floor-to-floor height (mm)
- Typical floor-to-floor height.
- Door type (1=CO, 2=SO-2, 3=SO-3)
- 1 = Center opening, 2 = Side opening 2-panel, 3 = Side opening 3-panel.
- Car speed (m/s)
- Elevator rated speed, affects pit depth and overhead requirements.
What each result means
- Hoistway width (mm)
- Required inside width of the hoistway shaft.
- Hoistway depth (mm)
- Required inside depth of the hoistway shaft.
- Hoistway area (m²)
- Cross-sectional floor area of the hoistway.
- Pit depth (mm)
- Required pit depth below the lowest landing per ASME A17.1.
- Overhead clearance (mm)
- Required clearance above the highest landing.
- Total hoistway height (mm)
- Full hoistway height from pit floor to machine beam.
- Total travel (mm)
- Vertical distance between lowest and highest landings.
- Counterweight width (mm)
- Estimated counterweight frame width.
- Counterweight depth (mm)
- Estimated counterweight frame depth.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersCar width (mm) = 2100, Car depth (mm) = 1600, Car height (mm) = 2400, Number of floors = 10 = 7 input(s) provided
- Calculate Hoistway widthHoistway width = carWidthMm + 2 * sideGuideClearance + cwWidthMm + cwGap2930 = 2930
- Calculate Hoistway depthHoistway depth = carDepthMm + rearClearance + doorMechDepthMm + sideGuideClearance1900 = 1900
- Calculate Hoistway areaHoistway area = (hoistwayWidthMm / 1000) * (hoistwayDepthMm / 1000)5.57 = 5.57
- Calculate Pit depthPit depth = max(pitMinMm, bufferStrokeMm + pitRunbyMm + 600)1200 = 1200
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Car Depth affect the required Hoistway Width?
No. Hoistway Width is computed from Car Width alone (plus fixed side clearances and an estimated counterweight allowance) -- Car Depth, Car Height, Number of Floors, Floor-to-Floor Height, Door Type, and Car Speed all have zero effect on it. Hoistway Depth is the mirror case: it comes from Car Depth and Door Type only, with no contribution from Car Width.
Why does a faster elevator need a deeper pit?
Pit Depth is built around the buffer stroke needed to safely stop the car, and that stroke scales with the SQUARE of Car Speed (it's a kinetic-energy calculation) -- so pit depth grows slowly at low speeds but accelerates noticeably as speed climbs toward the 10 m/s declared maximum. A 1200mm practical floor keeps low-speed installations from reporting an unrealistically shallow pit.
How do these hoistway dimensions compare to the manufacturer-specific shaft requirements in an actual quote?
This calculator applies generalized ASME A17.1 clearance conventions and a simplified 30%-of-car-width counterweight estimate, but actual elevator manufacturers publish their own shaft-dimension tables that vary by machine-room-less system design, specific hoist mechanism, and code jurisdiction, since EN 81-20 requirements can differ from ASME in meaningful ways. Always confirm final hoistway dimensions against the selected manufacturer's certified shaft drawings before finalizing structural or architectural plans, since this tool is meant for early feasibility sizing, not construction documents.
How does Door Type affect the hoistway dimensions?
Door Type sets the door-mechanism depth allowance behind the wall: 150mm for center-opening (1), 200mm for 2-panel side-opening (2), and 250mm for 3-panel side-opening (3), since a side-opening door's panels need more room to stack behind the jamb. That allowance adds directly to Hoistway Depth -- it has no effect on Hoistway Width, Pit Depth, or Overhead Clearance.
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