Elevator cab renovation · NYC
Your cab is tired. Your lobby isn't.
Scuffed laminates, flickering fluorescents, and 1990s brass tell every passenger a story about your building — before they reach the floor that matters. CNS renovates elevator cab interiors across Brooklyn and New York City. From a focused finish upgrade to a complete elevator cab remodeling project, we rebuild the interior with millwork and metalwork that belongs with the property.
What a renovation covers
Every surface, renewed
Elevator cab renovation can mean replacing selected worn surfaces or redesigning the entire interior. We coordinate wall panels, ceilings, lighting, handrails, trim, flooring, and fixture finishes so every element reads as one system.
- Wall panel replacement & re-skinning
- Ceiling & LED lighting upgrades
- Handrails, bumper rails & trim
- Stone, tile & resilient flooring
- Fixture and COP refinishing
- Fire-rated substrate & weight compliance
3–5 days
Typical field install — 2 days when pushed
Occupied buildings
Scheduled around your tenants
Any cab make
Measured to your equipment
How it works
A renovation process built for occupied buildings
01
Site survey & measurement
We visit your building, measure the cab and sling, photograph existing conditions, and note code constraints and weight limits.
02
Design & material selection
You review panel layouts, veneers, metals, lighting, and handrail profiles. We produce shop drawings for approval before fabrication.
03
Shop fabrication
Panels, ceilings, and trim are built and pre-finished in our Brooklyn shop — so most of the work happens off site, not in your hoistway.
04
Install with minimal downtime
Pre-finished components go in fast. Most cab interiors are installed in three to five days in the field, and we can push a two-day schedule when the car has to come back sooner.
NYC 2027 brake deadline
Renovate the cab while the car is already out of service
Before January 1, 2027, New York City buildings with single-plunger traction brakes have to add a second plunger or an auxiliary rope gripper. That work happens in the machine room, where no resident, tenant, or buyer will ever see it. The car still comes out of service, and the assessment still gets paid.
Pairing an interior renovation with that shutdown is the cheapest time to do it. Our panels, ceilings, lighting, and flooring are built and pre-finished in our Brooklyn shop, so field work runs three to five days — and we can push a two-day installation when the building needs the car back faster.
Your elevator service company
- Double-plunger brake or rope gripper install
- Machine room, motor, hoist ropes and controller
- Car operating panel wiring and fixtures
- DOB mechanical filings and acceptance testing
CNS Elevator Cabs
- Wall panels, ceilings, lighting, handrails and flooring
- Replacement structural shells for corroded pre-war cabs
- Weight and balance estimates for glass, mesh and stone
- Shop drawings and finish samples for board approval
Old shells, new materials, and the 5% weight rule
Many pre-war cabs in New York are a century old, with steel shells that have rusted through behind the panels. If you want to move from heavy wood panels to glass or architectural mesh, the cab's deadweight changes — and city code limits how far it can move before the equipment has to be re-rated. We estimate weight and balance up front, build a lighter shell when the new finishes call for one, and hand our numbers to your engineer and elevator company for sign-off before anything is fabricated.
Get a renovation quote for your cab
Send us a photo of your current cab or book a site visit. We'll measure, specify materials, and price the renovation — usually within a week.