Basement Construction

By Roger Frost

A basement is an area below the first floor with a minimum height of 6 feet 8 inches. Basements may be unfinished or finished, and used to store personal belongings, house mechanical systems such as the HVAC system, electrical panel, and main plumbing controls. Many basements provide added living space, including bedrooms, bath, recreation rooms.

Basements are typically the area of a structure most at risk for water damage because they are located below grade and surrounded by soil. Soil releases water it has absorbed during rain or when snow melts, and the water can end up in the basement through leaks or cracks.

The roof on your home can collect over 600 gallons per 1000 square feet after 1 inch of rain has fallen. Install and maintain gutters and downspouts so that they route all rainwater and snow melt far enough away from the foundation of the building to ensure that pooling does not occur near the walls of the structure. At least 10 feet from the building is best, and at the point where water leaves the downspout, it should be able to flow freely away from the foundation instead of back toward it, and should not be collecting in pools.

One of the most important parts of your homes defense system is the weeping tile and sump pump combination. Weeping tile pipe is placed against and level to the bottom of the foundation footing. Once the weeping tile pipe is completely installed, coarse gravel is placed on top and level with the top of the footing. Any water build up is captured by the weeping tile and carried to the sump pit where it is pumped away from your home.

Newer homes basements are typically protected using a black dimpled product which is attached to perimeter of basement walls. Most home owners think this is a water proofing barrier designed to keep water away from their foundation. The wrap is actually designed to allow water to quickly drain down void, created by the dimples, and enter weeping tile. This prevents any hydraulic water build up against concrete prevent water intrusion.

Sump pumps are usually electric and battery backups are common in homes which have high water tables. The two most common types of sump pump are the standup type and submersible sump pump. A sump pump is a pump placed in the basement of a home used to pump water from the basement to the outside or drain into the home's drainage system. Sump pumps usually work in conjunction with a sump pit, which is a hole dug in the basement of a house which collects water during a rainstorm. The pump then pumps the water out of that sump pit.. A sump pump is usually necessary either in cases where the home's basement is below the water table level, and or when the home is located in a place where flooding is common.

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Learn more about Foundation Defects in Barrie ON. Information on the Home Inspection Process in Barrie ON by the Barrie Home Inspector.

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How To Build Your Basement

By Brent Rowe

Remember, when you're adding a bedroom to your home or basement, you have to keep certain requirements in mind: Minimum width of opening: 20 in., Minimum height of opening: 24 in., Minimum net clear opening: 5.7 sq. ft. (5.0 sq. ft. for ground floor). Maximum sill height above floor: 44 in.

Basement egress windows have special requirements. Since you're below ground, you have to make sure that the window can still fully open without obstruction. Make sure the basement window well has enough area to move around in and if the well is especially deep, make sure you have a ladder attached to it for an easy getaway. Also, if the well is under a deck, make sure there is enough space between the deck and the window. In other words, give yourself enough room to escape. These specialty windows don't do anybody any good if there are other exterior obstacles that may end up trapping you.

In British English the word "basement" is used for underground floors of, for example, department stores but is used for a space below the ground floor of a house only when it is habitable, with windows and (usually) its own access. The word cellar is used to apply to any such large underground room. Subcellar is a cellar that lies further underneath.

If the walkout is not covered and is open to rainfall or water penetration, then a drain provision is needed at the bottom of the walkout stairway. Sometimes, there is a drainage grate or track in front of the tread of the door. Rainfall and snow can fill up an open walkout that has drainage problems. Overflowing gutters may also deposit a lot of water into an open walkout.

Many walkouts do not have covers. Some have one or two manufactured hinged doors. While performing the exterior inspection, check the cover or doors. If it's locked, you'll have to delay your inspection until you can get into the basement to unlock it. Check for damage, rust, rot, hinge condition, the surface condition of the cover or door, and how well it operates. Once open, a manufactured door over a bulkhead walkout should stay and remain open by itself. Check to see if this safety feature is present. If it is not, you may report it as a concern.

This first unfinished design, found principally in spaces larger than the traditional cellar, is common in residences throughout America and Canada. One usually finds within it a water heater, various pipes running along the ceiling and downwards to the floor, and sometimes a workbench, a freezer or refrigerator, or a washer/dryer set. Boxes of various materials, and objects unneeded in the rest of the house, are also often stored there; in this regard, the unfinished basement takes the place both of the cellar and of the attic. Home workshops are often located in the basement, since sawdust, metal chips, and other mess or noise are less of a nuisance there. The basement can contain all of these objects and still be considered to be "unfinished," as they are either mostly or entirely functional in purpose.

Finished basements are always suspect for water and moisture problems which can sometimes be hidden from view. The Barrie Home Inspector uses moisture meters and thermal imaging cameras to detect otherwise hidden moisture issues.

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Learn more about The Barrie Home Inspector. Stop by the Barrie Real Estate Inspectors site where you can find out all about Barrie Real Estate Agents and what they can do for you.

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Which Are The Main Sources Of A Moist Basement

By Vernon M. Baldanis

In case your cellar is generally wet, and you would like to turn it into a dry, welcoming room to utilize for several functions, first you must remove the origin of the dampness. This can be complicated, it might not be simple and easy to notice, if perhaps you don't know where you should look. So, here are several ideas.

Breaches in the support of the house. Especially if the house is really old, or even in a new household, breaches may take place at the foundation level. Clearly, moisture could eventually infiltrate through those breaches. Even worse, the breaks can stretch if the water inside them freezes, and may even lead to other complications.

Leaky roofing. In the event that your gutter are inadequately fitted, water will spill over the sides, creating small puddles in the vicinity of the house. That water can imbed into your basement and it is a pretty good chance which is your wet basement trouble.

Leaking pipe joints. Specially if the flooring of your cellar is waterproof, water leaking from particular piping might accumulate on the ground. You could end up with a massive amount water in the basement because of this. The very best remedy in this case is to mend or change that pipe.

Condensation. This can be quite a popular situation that leads to a moist basement, with a musty smell. When heated air comes in contact with the cold wall structure and flooring of the basement, moisture build-up or condensation happens. Fortunately, a problem similar to this is rather simple to take care of. Get yourself a dehumidifier. Also, you may install a ventilation system, or keep the present ventilation of the cellar at its highest possible.

Mice, rats, moles etc. Different small mammals or insects may dig holes within the support, or the house walls. Or, they could build their burrows in the vicinity of your house, creating a net of channels which could favor the water in finding its route into your cellar. In this case, pest elimination may be one of several options which you must fit on your check-list.

Draining. Clearly, a drainage set-up is supposed to take away water from a certain enclosure. Nevertheless in the event that your cellar is actually gifted with a down, or horizontal drain, water may also come in through there. So, you may want to have your drainage system examined before proceeding with the hydro-isolation of the basement.

Water streams and rivers. In the event that there's a body of water in close proximity to your home, when it flows over the structure of the soil may alter and moisture can be redirected towards your household. Altering the course of a river, directing it away from the home, might not be an awful choice in this case. Also, underground water streams might find one way towards your cellar. Due to this, you will almost certainly have to drill down a number of channels in the vicinity of the household to reroute the water.

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A good alternative to keep water from infiltrating into your basement is waterproofing. Find out more, here: basement waterproofing.

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