BASE handles end-of-life goods and service lift replacement end-to-end across the UK — survey, shaft works, deconstruction, structural prep, install, commissioning and compliance handover under BS EN 81-31. As an independent specialist we replace lifts where discontinued parts, an outdated safety circuit or a climbing repair bill mean modernisation no longer pencils out.
The replacement programme is sequenced so building disruption is contained, the compliance trail is auditable end-to-end, and every milestone has a written deliverable against it. Same engineering team from survey through handover — no subcontractor handoffs inside the lift package.
A senior engineer attends with the structural engineer where needed. We measure the shaft (plumb, internal dimensions, headroom, pit), audit the existing unit's compliance position against BS EN 81-31 (goods) or BS EN 81-20 / 81-41 (passenger), and document the four replacement-decision factors: age, repair cost trajectory, parts availability and compliance gap.
You receive a written proposal naming the new unit's drive type, controller, doors and cab specification, the structural works (if any), the programme with concrete week-by-week milestones, the lead-time window, the fixed price and the compliance standards the new lift will be declared against. No moving parts other than the lift.
Where the existing shaft is re-used as-is, this step is skipped. Where dimensional or structural works are needed — pit deepening, headroom adjustment, machine-room reconfiguration, door-opening alignment — we coordinate with the building's structural engineer and complete those works inside the lift package, sequenced so the disruption is contained inside the wider programme.
The end-of-life unit is decommissioned, isolated electrically, and stripped from the shaft. Drive, controller, doors, cab and guide rails are removed under a controlled lift-out — we manifest every component for disposal or recycling per WEEE and waste regulations. The shaft is left clean, lit and ready for structural preparation.
Shaft is prepared to the new unit's specification: guide-rail brackets re-fixed or replaced, pit waterproofed and pit ladder fitted, ventilation and lighting brought up to standard, machine-room (where present) cleared and re-floored if required. Power supply and earthing are tested against the new drive's draw before any lift components arrive on site.
Guide rails, drive, controller, doors, cab, signalling, hall-call buttons and safety circuits are installed against the manufactured specification. Travel is set, doors are aligned, the cab is fitted out (flooring, lighting, signage, two-way communication where required) and the controller is configured to the building's floor schedule.
The new lift is commissioned through its full operational envelope: drive parameters, door cycles, safety-circuit functional tests, overload, emergency lowering, two-way communication, fire-recall (where applicable). An independent competent person carries out the Schedule-1 LOLER thorough examination on the new unit, and you receive the handover pack: declaration of conformity, technical file, commissioning records, O&M manual and the first LOLER report. The lift enters its first LOLER cycle from the handover date.
If your goods lift sits in the grey area between repair and replacement, the next step is a written survey. We document the four decision factors, give you a number, and you decide.
Book a replacement surveyEach factor is assessed on every replacement survey. Where three or more high-weight factors trigger, replacement is almost always the right call. Where only one triggers, modernisation or a targeted refurbishment is normally the better answer — see modernisation and compliance upgrades.
On its original drive and controller, a goods or service lift past 25–30 years is typically a replacement candidate rather than a refurbishment one.
When annual unscheduled-repair spend exceeds about 30% of replacement cost across two consecutive years, replacement is the cheaper long-term position.
OEM has discontinued the controller, drive board or a critical safety component and no original-equivalent is feasible — replacement window is open.
Unit was built to a pre-BS EN 81-31 / pre-EN 81-1 standard with no realistic upgrade path to current safety-circuit requirements.
Average unplanned downtime exceeding one day per month indicates the unit is no longer reliable enough to underwrite the building's operational requirement.
A re-usable shaft (plumb, dimensionally adequate, structurally sound) shifts replacement cost down significantly — repair stops being the only option for cost reasons alone.
Building use has changed (warehouse re-zoned, mezzanine added, passenger-carrying capability needed) and the existing unit no longer matches the duty cycle.
The biggest single cost saver on a goods-lift replacement is retaining the existing shaft and structural pit where they meet the new unit's specification. The list on the left is the standard replacement scope. The list on the right is what we look hard at first before deciding the structural work needs adding in.
The full lift assembly inside the shaft. Every safety-critical component is new, declared against current standards, and forms part of the handover technical file.
The structural envelope around the lift. Retained wherever it meets the new unit's dimensional and structural envelope — the alternative is a much larger building-works package coordinated with your structural engineer.
A senior engineer attends, audits the existing unit against the seven decision factors, and gives you a written replacement-or-modernisation recommendation with a fixed price either way. Independent of any manufacturer, sequenced to contain disruption, declared against BS EN 81-31 (goods) or BS EN 81-20 / 81-41 (where carrying passengers) at handover.
Or email enquiries@baselifts.co.uk