When the washer, in the basement discharges or the dishwasher upstairs in the kitchen discharges the toilet in the basement "birps", a big bubble and the water in that toilet rises to the top. I shut off the water at the shut off and flushed it a couple of times and it drained fine. From what I have read it sounds like the vent is partially plugged or there is a blockage somewhere. Should I call a plumber and have him snake the system? I don't know if it matters but I just replaced a faucet (2-handle) in the kitchen sink. The hot water whistled when it was on a while, I turned down the pressure at the shut off and that seemed to solve that part of the problem. Any suggestions. Thanks

The "birps" and the bubbling you describe are usually indicative of a partially clogged drain.

Also, if the water pressure at the kitchen sink was high enough to whistle -- Then you should consider having a pressure reducing valve installed just after the shut-off and an expansion tank installed at the hot water tank location.