Lift Locations

This map shows the locations of the 99 lifts built by Inclined Elevation between 2006 and 2022. Most are in the Muskoka area but we’ve gone as far east as the Eastern Townships, as far north as Sudbury, as far west as Goderich, and as far south as Lake Erie.

• All but 7 lifts have 3 phase motors run by VFDs powered by 220 single phase branch line for a soft start-stop ride.

• all but 4 early lifts were either built with or converted to a PLC controller.

• one lift (www.inclinedelevation.com/portfolio/10) has 2 automatic rotating station gates.

• one other lift (www.inclinedelevation.com/portfolio/24) has 3 automatic sliding station gates.

• many lifts are fitted with station gate interlock mechanisms.

• 13 lifts were built in water access locations.

• 30 lifts were built as residential jobs where we stayed on or near the build site.

• 82 lifts are single pitch, 14 are 2-pitch, 2 are 3-pitch, and 1 is a 4-pitch lift.

• 85 lifts have 2-stations, 12 have 3-stations and 2 have 4-stations.

• 2 lifts (see www.inclinedelevation.com/portfolio/43) are interconnected and share a common “transfer” station.

• First 2-pitch lift built in 2011 - www.inclinedelevation.com/portfolio/41.

Lift 113, 4-Person, 2-Station, 2-Pitch, Spans an ATV Trail

Model: 4-Person, 3-Station, 2-Pitch, 750-pound Capacity
Track: 21'1" @ 15.3°, 9’8" curve, 65 @ 43°
Area: Notre-Dame-du-Laus, PQ
Year: 2023

This is our 2nd lift in the Notre-Dame-du-Laus area, we build inclinedelevation.com/portfolio/16 in 2008. The photos below were taken by the owners and they shared these comments with us.

We have been the proud owners of Lift 113 (Panorama Corbeau) for about a month.  Since John and his excellent crew finished their work we find ourselves gazing out the window at it (so cool!) and finding excuses to ride it up and down the hill. There has been a steady parade of boats going past at snail’s-pace while the occupants rubberneck, and our neighbors half-jokingly offered to purchase a season’s pass.  It’s really quite a novelty for our modest lake.

Our hill is all sand, which posed some specific challenges.  It is vulnerable to erosion if not cared for. There is a narrow track that descends across the face of the hill, which is needed for small earth-moving equipment to maintain the slope. Inclined Elevation’s two-pitch technology allowed enough clearance under the lift for the equipment to pass easily.  We also required that the footings supporting the lift, and the installation technique, disturb the relatively unstable soil as little as possible. John and his team came up with a simple, effective solution and took care to be gentle with the slope. They are creative people who are dedicated to their craft…and the quality of the product really does speak for itself.  

This investment made a major dent in our particular pocketbook, but we have absolutely no regrets. It really amounts to the same thing as an extension to the house – one that brings the lake right up to the patio door! We look forward to hanging out at the beach much more than before. And our property’s value just jumped significantly.   

Bravo John, Jason, Sarah, Ryan, and Nathan! And thank you – our lives are better because of your fine work.

This lift needed to span a tractor roadway used for landscaping and had to be high enough to allow the tractor with a full bucket underneath.

We started with a string-line to define the track to ensure the lift met all design criterion.

Looking down the finished track.

Looking up the track.

The upper station fit really nicely into the space the lift owner built ahead of time.

Getting the tractor under the track was a must.

The build team, Ryan, Jason, and Sarah, with the owners, Sylvie and Tim.

The owners with champagne.

Lift 100, A 4-person Single Pitch Island Lift

Model: 4-Person, 750-pound Capacity
Track: 98’ at 25°
Area: Gravenhurst, ON
Year: 2021

This family wanted their island cottage to be their forever cottage and they needed the lift to make that possible. .

We put the track on this unused side yard and set it so that the removable dock, when installed, would just fill the gap. The upper station is off the side of their full length front deck.

The removable dock section connecting the boathouse to the lift fit perfectly. Th

They can get themselves and their things from the dock all the way to the kitchen without climbing any stairs. What a plus. The car is also big enough that they could use a use a dolly or wagon to roll things all the way to the cottage.

The lower button box is attached directly to the rock so can stay where it is in the winter.

The upper station is off the the side of their full length from deck and doesn’t interfere with their view of the river.

We set the track so the car would centered on the one section of the railing. We mounted the buttons directly into the railing post to further integrate the lift into their space and they had their carpenter replace existing railing with a self-closing self-latching door.

The motor house cover is tucked away around the corner in a little alcove and is hidden from the deck. The lift control panel is tucked away under the deck.

Lift 101, An "Invisible" 4-person Lift

Model: 4-Person, 750-pound Capacity
Track: 90’ at 31°
Area: Minden Hills, ON
Year: 2021

This couple were planning for their retirement and needed the lift to keep enjoying their cottage and waterfront.

They were quite worried about the aesthetics and wanted the lift to be invisible so we worked with them to come up with a low-visibility design for the car. The black pickets tend to disappear against the hillside and we only used wood on the floors and wooden seats, even the top rails are painted flat bar.

Their carpenter did a lovely job extending the existing platform, complete with new railings and a self-closing self-latching gate, to make the upper station platform. The motor house is the same colour as a shed that’s behind and to the left of the camera. The lift control panel sits on the far end of the shed and we dug the teck wires connecting it to the lift into the ground so that part is also almost invisible.

We tried to preserve as much of the garden as we could, I’m looking forward to update this photo with one showing that the vegetation has grown back in.

The lower station is simple and attractive. We kept the car as close to the hill as possible, which involved digging the track into the hill on the left side (looking down). The car floats over the path when in the lower station, it’s easy to step on and off the car. We made the button post as short as possible to further minimize the visual impact of the lift. The PARK button moves the car 10’ up the hill and stops it automatically keep the car clear of the path.

In a effort to keep the intrusion of the lift into the upper garden, we set the track so that there was only about 2’ of “extra” track between the bumpers on the dolly and the “hard stops” on the track.

Lift 99, A 4-Person, 3-Station, 2-pitch Lift, From the Yard to the Dock.

Model: 4-Person, 750-pound Capacity 120’ long, 3-Station 2-Pitch Lift
Track: 85’ at 20° and 35’ at 40°
Area: Port Carling, ON
Year: 2020

This couple was building their retirement home and needed the lift to connect their cottage to their dock. Their General Contractor, Jason McLean, called us in and, with his crew and the owners, we designed this 2-pitch lift to connect their lakeside yard to the dock.

While building the lift, we added a 3rd station to connect via a path to a firepit and, eventually, to the upper floor of the boathouse. The programmable logic controller that runs the lift makes it easy to upgrade the hardware required.

Building the Lift, we kept the top end as close to the ground as possible to keep the upper station as close to the cottage as possible. The height of this station was set by the height of the garage floor. Because the upper pitch was so shallow there was no room to put the lift control panel under the winch drum so it is mounted inside the garage. Two “Teck” cables connect the panel to the lift, one carrying 240V to the brake-motor and a second one carrying all the 24V signal wires used to control the car.

Jason’s crew built a lovely upper station access platform and motor house cover.

Looking up the hill from the middle station.

The curve. The “pipe” track on the outside of the regular track works with the “levelling” rigger on the car to keep the car floor level throughout the ride.

Another look at the lower section. The track changes angle by about 20°, requiring almost 7’ of curved track.

We set the track so that the car is tight against the hill when it’s in the lower station the lower station. This lift has a PARK button that moves the car about 10’ up the track and out of the way.

Jason and 2 of his crew heading down to work on the boathouse. We use industrial quality components so our lifts can be used by construction and maintenance crews. Lift 24 for example, has well over 3,500 round trips and Lift 29 was used to haul 56 metric tons of sand and gravel up a hill to build a septic system at an island cottage.

Lift 98, A 2-Station, 3-Pitch, Island Lift

Model: 4-Person, 750-pound Capacity 90’ long, 3-Pitch Island Lift
Track: 24’ at 19°, 33’ at 29°, and 22’ at 49°
Area: Lake Muskoka, ON
Year: 2020

This island cottage already had a lift that was, in some ways brilliantly designed, but the hoist cable was frayed, it had no emergency brakes and it had become generally old, decrepit and dangerous. They could only use it for cargo and it was time to replace it

The old track was circular and really quite clever. It was a bit sad to take it apart, but our track is an integral part of our emergency braking system there was no way to make this lift safe for people to ride.

The temporary upper station of the new lift. The lift was designed so that, in the future, a level walkway can be built that connects the front porch to a higher upper station shown below. The clearances were really tight so we had to use shallow track for the top pitch and then transition to regular track for the rest of the lift. We’ve never done this before, but it was just another straightforward modification to a proven design.

When the upper station walkway is built the lift will stop at this level.

Detail of the finished temporary upper station. To move the station we only need to relocate the junction box, button box, and proximity switches.

The brake-motor-reducer and winch drum are tucked in as tightly, as cleanly, and as unobtrusively as we could manage. The wooden and metal covers also keep the elements off the machinery and protects curious fingers from harm.

The old lift car floor was about 4’ off the ground and needed a platform and stairs, but this is about 9” and makes loading and unloading people and gear easy. The button box has a PARK button that moves the car 10’ up the track and stops it there.

The lift looks awesome from the water. From a distance it’s hard to see, which is also awesome. The 3-pitch track keeps it close to the ground. This is our second 3-pitch lift but the design is really no different from our 2-pitch lifts, we just need to build it with a second curved section of track.

Take a virtual ride on Lift 98.

Lift 97, From the Cottage to the Lakeshore

Model: 4-Person, 750-pound capacity Lift
Track: 117’ at 37°
Area: Minden, ON
Year: 2020

The owners of this cottage had a 6-1/2 story climb from the lake to the cottage and decided it was time for a lift. We found a line that ran from the rear yard level to a clearing just above lake level and beside their lakeside fire pit. It did not disturb the existing pathway that zig-zagged down the hill so the walking option was still available.

The hill had a high spot about 40’ from the top that pushed the top end up so we had to use the gantry crane to set the first piece of track. The guys spent a full day digging out rock on the right side of the track to get it this low. We could have lowered it bit more by pushing the bottom end further out but we wnted to keep the lower station close to the hill..

We spent a day removing rock to lower the top end. If we’re building a lift to last 100 years, we best build it right.

The height of the top end required a walkway to connect the car to the lower level of the cottage. The are to the left of the lift is an unused part of the yard that will be planted. The walkway ties into the old path running from the main deck of the cottage to the stairs running to the bottom.

Looking down the finished track …

… and up to the top. It used to be a long haul going up, especially loaded down with gear.

The lower station is tucked away to keep it discrete, it lands at the very back end of the space around the lakeside fire pit and a few steps from their dock. The car was about a foot off the bottom when this photo was taken.

Lift 96, The Hollinwood Flyer, A 3-Station Wheelchair Friendly Lift

Model: Wheelchair Friendly, 4-Person, 750-pound capacity, 3-Station Lift
Track: 85’ at 18°
Area: Dorset, ON
Year: 2020

The owner of this 110 year-old family cottage grew up at the cottage during the summers for many years.  In 1988 she sustained a spinal cord injury and now requires a wheelchair for mobility.  The cottage was modified for wheelchair accessibility but for the past 32 years she could not join family and friends at the dock and lake without being carried up and down the long stairway. The lift will change all that.

We started building a 2-Station lift running from the corner of the upper porch, parallel to the top sections of the existing staircase, and to the corner of the dock. As we were building it, however, it became clear to us and the owner that a middle station accessing the lawn level and fire pit made complete sense. So we added that middle station.

We set the track so their friend and carpenter, Guy Forward, could rebuild the corner of the dock and the lower flight of stairs to integrate the dock, stairs, and lift. He also modified the upper station to integrate it into a renovated front porch and built the middle station platform which is also a landing on the stairs and a path from the lift car to the fire pit. It’s always great to work with the owners and their contractors to completely integrate the lift into the cottage.

They call their cottage Hollinwood so the lift became the “Hollinwood Flyer” and the three stations are named Butterfly, Firefly, and Dragonfly.

An overview of the lift from the dock to the cottage. When the foliage on either side of the track that was flattened during construction recovers, the track will be camouflaged from the water. 

Butterfly

Firefly, while the lift was still under construction. There is a fold-up seat at the back of the car for people to sit and room for a cooler tucked away underneath.

Dragonfly

YES!

Lift 94, From the Dock to the Second Level Deck

Model: 4-Person (750-pound capacity)
Track: 114’ at 21°
Area: Eagle Lake, Central Frontenac, ON
Year: 2020

“
Twenty years ago carrying our supplies the110 feet back (and 40 feet up!) from the lake was not such a big deal at our water access cottage. While we are still able to do it, we know that won’t be the case forever. Arriving at the dock and sending coolers (and beer and wine of course) up in the lift is just amazing! After the lift was in, we used it to bring up our new decking - what a godsend! We have no doubt that we will be enjoying our cottage for years to come thanks to the Inclined Elevation team. ”

— Doug & Michele

The Friday before we started this lift we were all loaded up to drive to Port Ryerse to build a 120’ lift when the owner of called us and said that he needed to get permission from his conservation authority and we could not start work on the Monday. We called the clients for this lift, which we had scheduled next, and they were happy to have us head their way so that’s what we did.

We wanted to use the second floor deck as the upper station so, once we determined the ideal track line, we worked with the owner to trim the side of the deck so it would be parallel to the eventual track line.

With the deck edge ready we used our gantry crane to lift the first 20’ long, 400 lbs. section of track about 12’ off the ground so we could fix it in place. This section of track has to be correctly positioned in 3 spatial and 3 anglular dimensions to center the car door on the front deck and to have it land at just the right place at the bottom.

The completed track is pretty discrete even though it’s over 10’ off the ground near the top. Painting it black helps hide it and helps keep ice off the track in the winter.

Looking up the track towards the cottage. The main living area is on the front deck level which makes the lift ideal from getting people and supplies the 4 stories separating the dock and cottage. Because the top end of the track was far off the ground and visible from an interior window we opted to locate the winch down the track. It’s easy to service and protected by a housing attached entirely to the track. The ground under the track was almost entirely unused space.

The owner did a lovely job finishing the upper station railing and gate.

Everybody was ready to ride as soon as all the safety systems were complete and tested.

Maggie’s first ride.

The new lower station is 5 steps up from the dock. If they decide later that the steps are too much we can move the lower limit switches and bring the car closer to the dock.

The lift is not very visible from the water, especially when it’s “parked” up the hill a bit.