Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 24th, 2012

This is what Manhattan is built on…..the picture above shows chunks of granite that were blasted out of the basement of a townhouse being renovated and shows just how intensely solid the foundation of a good chunk of Manhattan is.

It is also a message about how digging a basement in New York is not an easy (or cheap) endeavour. Most New York townhouses that are renovated these days create more usable space out of their basements by digging deeper to create better ceiling heights. In London, the super-high-end houses are digging SUPER deep installing significant ‘below-grade’ living space that is very usable. Do-able, but not cheap, quick or easy……