Basement walk-through checklist

Measure

• Ceiling height at three places, and at the lowest beam, duct and pipe
• Width of the stairs and the number of turns
• The size of every window and the distance from sill to floor
• The distance from the stair to the furnace and the main drain

Photograph

• Each wall, floor to ceiling, with a tape or a coin for scale
• Any stain, white powder, crack, rust or paint that has peeled
• The floor drain and any cleanout, with the cover off if you can
• The furnace, water heater, electrical panel and the shutoff for the main water
• Every pipe and duct crossing the ceiling

Write down

• When the house has taken water, and what the weather was
• Whether the sump or any pump runs, and how often
• Any smell after a rain
• Whether you have a radon test result, and its date
• The age of the furnace, water heater and electrical panel, if you know it
• How you want to use the space, and who will sleep there

Do not

• Move or cover anything that shows a stain; leave it to be seen
• Clean off the white mineral powder on masonry (efflorescence) before it has been photographed
• Start demolition on a wall you have not had looked at
• Break up or scrape old floor tile, pipe wrap or painted trim in an older house; ask about testing first
• Touch outlets or the panel cover near standing water, or wade into sewage: stay out and call for help
• Remove the cover of the electrical panel

Questions

Keep reading

• Basement planner
• The basement process
• Water first

All basement pages