OK. In a stupid moment of thinking out loud, (when wifey was listening)
I pondered the idea of replacing a staircase in my kitchen (converted
small barn) into a lift. The staircase is in one corner and takes up
space on 2 walls. There's a good metre square in the corner itself -
maybe a bit more, so the ponderings went along the lines of replacing
it with a square(ish) lift. So wifey is very interested in the idea...
Mostly to reclaim some wall space, but it would be handy to get more
stuff up & down too. Washing machine is up there, etc.

Done a quick search and they're in the £10K range that I can see.

Which is too much...

So.. Anyone DIY'd one? I imagine the saftey elves would have a fit,
but a nice leadscrew in each corner like a car-lift in a garage, chain
driven off a nice low-geared motor, so no possibility of a fall... How
hard can it be?

Anyone done it?

(And yes, there is alternative entry/exit from the upstairs involving
a door that leads to a 5-foot drop...)

Gordon