Free checklist
Elevator installationElevator installation rough-in inspection checklist
Elevator installation rough-in is the last time the work is fully visible. Once the cover inspection passes and the walls, ceilings and slabs close, every defect left behind becomes a demolition bill. This checklist walks the rough-in in the order the work goes in, with the photo each item needs before it gets buried. Work is commonly verified against ASME A17.1 safety code for elevators and escalators, the applicable building code. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.
The checklist
Every item, and the photo evidence it needs
The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.
Rails and brackets
Rail brackets anchored and rails plumb
Brackets fastened into sound structure at the correct spacing, guide rails checked plumb over their run before the shaft is closed.
Hoistway walls free of projections into the car path
Shaft walls viewed from each landing for ledges, beams, conduit or fireproofing projecting into the running clearance; any ledge treated as the elevator layout shows.
Nothing routed through the hoistway that the layout does not show
No piping, ductwork or conduit crossing the shaft other than what serves the elevator on its drawings; anything foreign reported for rerouting before rails are set.
Pit and overhead
Pit and overhead clearances verified
Pit depth and overhead runby measured against the layout for this car, pit clean and dry with the ladder and stop switch located.
Pit waterproofing holding with no weeping at joints
Pit walls and slab viewed from the lowest landing for damp cold joints, tie holes or penetrations; any seepage reported for repair before the elevator crew sets equipment.
Pit light and receptacle roughed in at the elevator layout location
Pit lighting, its switch and the pit receptacle boxed and wired to the locations shown on the elevator layout, reachable from the pit entrance.
Hoistway top closed in and weathertight before equipment arrives
Roof or slab over the shaft complete with no open penetrations, so rain and debris cannot reach the pit, rails or controller.
Entrances and machine space
Entrance framing and sills set to the landing
Entrance struts and sills plumb and level at each opening, sill line referenced to the finished floor elevation.
Entrance rough openings sized to the layout at every landing
Each landing opening in the shaft wall measured for width, height and location against the elevator layout before frames arrive.
Open landings barricaded at every floor while the shaft is open
Every landing without a hoistway door has a secured barricade and toe board in place, checked floor by floor, not only at the working level.
Machine-room or machine-room-less rough in place
Machine space, controller location, disconnect and hoistway rough observed and photographed before enclosure covers them.
Machine space and handoff
Machine room or control space lockable and kept clear of storage
Door to the machine room or MRL control space fitted with its lock, and no other trades' equipment, materials or trash stored inside.
Emergency phone line brought to the elevator controller
Phone line or monitoring connection for the car's emergency communication routed to the controller location, confirmed with the GC's schedule for activation.
No photoHoistway turned over to the elevator contractor in writing
GC's hoistway readiness turnover signed by the elevator contractor, listing any open items on dimensions, pit, openings or power.
No photo
What usually sends this back
The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work
- Rail brackets fastened to blockouts that were never grouted, discovered when the rails won't hold plumb.
- Pit depth or overhead clearance short because the slab poured to the wrong elevation, found after the shaft is closed.
- Entrance sills set before the finished floor elevation is confirmed, leaving the sill high or low at the landing.
Verified against
Common questions
6 answers
- What does this elevator installation rough-in checklist cover?
- 14 items across 4 sections, covering rails and brackets, pit and overhead, entrances and machine space, machine space and handoff. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
- Who should run this inspection?
- The elevator installer's mechanic leading the rough, with the GC's superintendent documenting hoistway conditions floor by floor.
- When in the schedule should this walk happen?
- As the hoistway is built out, before walls, doors and fascia enclose the shaft and cover the rail brackets and pit.
- Why do these items ask for a photo?
- 12 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 16 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
- What most often fails an elevator installation rough-in inspection?
- Rail brackets fastened to blockouts that were never grouted, discovered when the rails won't hold plumb. Pit depth or overhead clearance short because the slab poured to the wrong elevation, found after the shaft is closed. Entrance sills set before the finished floor elevation is confirmed, leaving the sill high or low at the landing.
- Can I use this checklist in RTI?
- Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.
Related checklists
Run it with the Photo Gate
A checklist nobody can submit half-finished
Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 16 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.
See all 508 checklists · 6741 items and 5984 photo requirements in total.