What is the most important room in your home?

Okay everyone, it’s time for a pop quiz. Don’t worry, it’s only one question (although it might be tougher than you think!):

What is the most important room in a house?

The kitchen? The bathrooms? The living and dining rooms? When I take clients on a showing, those are the rooms they always ask to see. They’re also interested in the view, the landscaping and the age of the roof. But they rarely show interest in the space that is without a doubt the most important part of any home: the basement.

Surprised? You won’t be after reading this blog. I can tell you more about any home by looking at its basement than by touring all the rest of the rooms combined. Inspecting the basement is a lot like a doctor’s physical: it addresses all sorts of things that are not obvious on the surface.

If you have some knowledge of old buildings, looking at the basement can tell you when the home was built and when new additions were added. You can check out the size and spacing of the joists to see if the building was constructed well or whether the builder built to the minimum standard required. You can get a good sense of the age of the electrical system and amperage available. Is the boiler heated by electricity, gas, oil, coal or wood pellets? A glance can tell a knowledgeable basement spelunker whether the system is a hot air furnace or a boiler, which delivers hot water or steam to radiators. Hot water boiler systems can feed baseboard, radiant heat loops, or hydro-air hot water transfer coils as well as radiators. Once you’ve seen a number of old Newport basements, you can identify the telltale signs of flooding, and whether there are critters munching on your beams. It also becomes quickly clear whether the home uses city water and sewer or is dependant on a well and/ or septic system (this last can be a little trickier and can involve checking the yard as well).

And then there is the issue of MOLD (everyone’s favorite, I’m sure)! Mold is everywhere, but if there is lingering dampness in the walls and in the basement, it can create a problem that permeates an entire structure, emitting a distinctive odor and affecting sensitive inhabitants.

Most people have neither the expertise nor the interest to learn all they should know about the most important space in their home. Repairs here can be some of the most expensive you’ll come up against, in your time as a homeowner: they also tend to be much more time-critical. You can’t put off a failed heat system in the winter or a burst pipe any time.

Before you buy, take the time to really inspect the most important space in the house, and keep an eye on it after you’ve signed the purchase agreement. If you aren’t too familiar with basements and their workings – or even if you are – I always recommend taking a reputable home inspector with you.

Some illustrations follow:


 

1. Gas and water meters in an older basement (note the field stone and cement walls).

2. Updated PVC soil pipe leading out to either a city sewer system or septic system replaces what would have originally been lead or cast iron.  Notice the brick dividing wall coming out from the fieldstone foundation; also notice where the soil pipe has been cut off and sealed from what must have been a bath that was directly above or a floor above that.

3. Oversized, closely spaced joists with cross-member bracing speak of a floor designed for a heavy load or large span.

  

4. Long leaf yellow pine (hard pine) flooring over soft pine sub-flooring.  This is typical in many of Newport’s 19th and early 20th century homes, but very rare in newer homes.



5.  125-amp electrical panel with circuit breakers and a sub-panel labeled to indicate that it is running air conditioning.
6. And lastly, what keeps you and your pipes from freezing in the winter: a newer gas fired-hot air furnace, which probably replaced an older coal fired hot air furnace!