Basement Upgrade

I’m currently an owner of a brownstone/townhouse that has a basement that looks and feels like a dungeon from a horror movie (completely dirty, pure concrete and stone, staircase entry was a quick, he job at time of closing). I am looking to dig down, organize the plumbing and electrical work, metal beams, fireproof gas boilers, sheet rock walls, ceiling, ceramic tiles, and a staircase entrance/exit in the back of the house, to the basement. There will be an architect there to analyze how this can be done. Do I need a permit to create an outside stairway to the basement? Some contractors say no because it’s within the structure of the house and others have started a permit is needed. There is another house under construction on my block that has a backyard basement entrance. I just want to make sure I can do this work without permit to avoid any headaches when trying to sell.

crtejeda

in About Brooklyn 10 years and 7 months ago

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jockdeboeraia | 10 years and 7 months ago

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Yes, you need a permit. Hopefully you will not have to underpin to do what you want but there are ways around that as well.

carmenf | 10 years and 7 months ago

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you will need a permit and soil borings/TR forms (I believe we needed TR1-4, but it may have just been TR2-4) The soil borings/test pits will determine how deep your neighbors foundation is and what kind of support you’ll need when you dig down the basement. You might also need a structural engineer to approve the plans and underpinnings, but an architect might be able to do that (we already have a structural engineer so he dealt with that part.) FYI, the soil borings/test pits and associated forms were about $5k.

Augustiner | 10 years and 7 months ago

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Yes you need a permit. Any structural work within or outside the building requires a permit. All the other work you describe require permits too, especially the ‘dig down’ part.