To put in a temporary elevator like the ones used by construction companies would cost at least $35,000, he said. Installing a second permanent elevator would be about $200,000.

A townhouse elevator in Manhattan. Photo via Sotheby’s International Coburn usually places an elevator right in the middle of a townhouse, or next to the staircase landing. “It’s not great because it ...

If the elevator is crowded, everybody stands still and stares at the ceiling, the floor or the button panel as if they've never seen it before. If two strangers ride together in the elevator, they ...