How To Build Your Basement
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.
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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