Some thoughts on drilling holes in the ground:
Some of our competitors will tell you that drilling holes in the ground to accept screw jacks or hydraulic pistons is the worst thing you could possibly do to your performance space, as if evil spirits were going to escape from the holes.
Think about this for a minute. Is your building completely above grade? If not, the foundation is nothing but a huge hole in the ground. Does your building contain one or more elevators? If so, they are probably operated by pistons, sunk into a hole in the ground.
The state of today's construction technology, particularly the use of plastics, makes waterproofing holes in the ground a fairly simple matter. In fact, most modern orchestra pits are more likely to flood from a source inside the building than outside. In this event, screw jacks or hydraulic pistons can sometimes incur less damage than some newer "hole-less" systems. Given these facts, we prefer to stick with lifting methods which have been proven over many years of field use. Many theatres contain lifts dating back to the days of Vaudeville, which are operated by screws or hydraulics, and which are still in operation. This cannot be said of any "hole-less" lifting system. Today's systems are even more sophisticated, and with proper maintenance should be expected to last as long as the building in which they are installed.
That is, if evil spirits don't interfere.
