When Tony Frentz and a business partner purchased the HECO building in downtown Mankato with plans for renovation, they knew they’d have to do some upgrades to the two elevators.

But changes in state elevator codes will require more costly upgrades — something thousands of building owners face.

“They’ll each cost well over $100,000,” said Frentz of Frentz Construction.

“You have to upgrade them and it’s really expensive. But what are you going to do? You have to do it.”

The code changes are affecting several thousand building owners — and many are still unaware of the costly requirements.

Darren DeJoy, an elevator inspector and engineer with rural Mankato-based Minnesota Elevator Inc., said no one is sure exactly how many elevators exist in the state, but the best estimate is about 30,000.

“I would guess three quarters of those will need (renovation). There’s a lot of them out there and there’s a lot of people that don’t know they need to do this work,” said DeJoy, a former state inspector who has been in the elevator business for 30 years.

The upgrades to elevators are required by 2012.

The code changes affect both freight and passenger elevators in any public or private building. There are some exceptions for churches.

The cost of renovating a typical elevator to meet code can range from $80,000 to $150,000, according to industry officials.

The two code changes affecting most elevators are the requirement for fall protectors and fire service.

Many elevators have a large single cylinder that is installed in an underground pit beneath the elevator. If the cylinder fails, the elevator can free fall if it doesn’t have a fall protector.

The fire service requirement is for modifications that allow firefighters or ambulance crews to take over control of an elevator if they need to evacuate people in an emergency. The fire service requirement is for elevators that travel more than 25 feet above the designated landing where firefighters would enter a building.

MEI, one of the largest elevator installation and repair companies in the state, has been busy doing renovations. DeJoy expects their crews will be booked full as the 2012 deadline approaches. “It’s going to be crazy the next couple of years.”

He said they’re encouraging clients who don’t have the money on hand to schedule the work. MEI accepts 10 percent down and sets a guaranteed price and a date for the work to be done. The needed renovation work generally takes four to five weeks to complete, DeJoy said.

“With hard economic times, people are holding off and I can understand why.” He said elevators in public buildings are being upgraded at a faster pace than in the private sector. “With the public facilities, like MSU, they’re well aware of the codes and budget for it and schedule the work. It’s the mom-and-pop shops that will be hurting.”  

Elevator owners who don’t get inspections and make repairs by Jan. 29, 2012, face having their elevators rendered inoperable by state inspectors.

Bill Reinke of the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry, which inspects elevators, said the state doesn’t have the staff to regularly inspect all elevators and isn’t sure how many elevators are out there. (Part of the code changes passed by the Legislature instituted a fee that is to be used to hire more inspectors.)

“We’re finding a lot of elevators that aren’t even on record, especially older elevators,” Reinke said.

While an elevator owner is required to get annual safety inspections, many do not.

Reinke said the annual inspections are important, particularly to test the safety of the hydraulic cylinders underneath. One of the safety checks is to apply pressure in those cylinders to see if they are leaking oil, which could make them fail.

“You want to find out if they’re leaking during a test, not when there are people on them.”

He said the cylinders on many older elevators have suffered corrosion and deterioration. “A lot of these cylinders have been underground for 40 years.”

Reinke said the new codes had been discussed for several years and were finally included in code changes approved by the Legislature in 2007.

“The feeling was that (the codes) had been delayed enough.”

The legislation provided for five years to come into compliance to allow elevator owners to budget for it.