Basement

Routine Care Task

Check house support beams

If there are gaps between the beams and house girders, then the beam is not carrying the proper load of the house, which can lead to shifting and settling of floors and walls.

Priority

Timing: May (every 5 years)

NOTE: The tasks and timings shown here for your Basement are based on a single-family home located in Massachusetts with a default set of home care goals and priorities.

If you setup your Home-Wizard personal home manager for a different location with different home care goals, your recommended home care program can have different tasks and timings for your {home feature}.

How To

Inspect each support beam to ensure that there are no gaps between beams and the main house girders.

Gaps should be filled by driving in shims (thin pieces of metal or hard wood) as necessary.

Helpful Accessories

Water Detector - Non-cellular

Alarm sounds for up to 72 hours with direct water contact

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Water Detector - Cellular

Water leak monitoring and alarm system accessible in a web browser

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Benefits

The benefits of this task are relatively high. Doing this task can help prevent uneven settling of your home, which can cause cracking in your walls and floors.

Maintaining Value
Avoiding Unscheduled Repairs

Costs

The cost of this task is very low. It is estimated that this task should only take about 30 minutes to complete, and the task is relatively easy to do. Depending on how your basement is finished, you may need a flashlight to do parts of your inspection.