The Top Five Window Well Problems and How to Deal With Them

Chances are you’re reading this post because your basement has taken on some water through a basement window that has a window well installed on the outside of it.

You’re wondering how this frustrating problem has occurred and what you need to do in order to properly repair it.

Below we’re going to describe the Top 5 issues we see when we perform house visits to homes that have a leaking window well problem and what we do to eliminate it permanently.

PROBLEM #1 : WINDOW WELL IS CLOGGED WITH LEAVES AND/OR DEBRIS

Every fall in Hamilton we go through a period of time where leaves fall from the trees in our yard and get blown around by the wind.

It’s very common to see a healthy number of these leaves end up in our window wells, thus covering over the gravel layer that sits within.

When rain or snow starts falling and the leaves inside the window well area become compressed and drastically alter the drainage performance of the window well drain pipe.

This condition leads to water accumulation inside the well area which can ultimately cause water to come rushing in through your window.

PROBLEM #2 : WINDOW WELL IS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY

There are many times we see homes where the original builder has slapped on some window wells without paying attention to the details.

Details such as final grade height, proper window well size, how far below the window opening the well needs to be, fastening method (if they even used fasteners).

If a window well is not installed at the proper height using the right fasteners there will eventually come a time when the window experiences a flood type condition.

PROBLEM #3: WINDOW WELL HAS NO DRAIN

Over the past few years our geographic area (Hamilton, Burlington, Milton, Brantford etc.) has been experiencing some significant changes in weather.

We sometimes see a month’s worth of rain fall in one day which has been wreaking havoc on the drainage system that surround your home.

Some homes have window wells that do not have a drain that leads down to the homes weeping tile system.

Chances are the soil type you have around your home allowed for decent water absorption when it was built so the builder negated to install one of these drains.

Now with the rains we are experiencing your window well may not be able to keep up the way it used to and likely requires a new drain be installed.

PROBLEM #4: WINDOW WELL IS TOO CLOSE TO AN IMPROPERLY EXTENDED DOWNSPOUT

While we visit up to 10 homes a day performing inspections we often run into a window well that is located right beside a downspout. Often times the downspout does not have an extension on it and the water ends up flowing right into the window well area.

If your window well is not installed correctly, does not have a positive slope away from it and does not have a drain you will surely find out soon enough why water is entering your basement through the basement window.

By correcting these issues and extending the water flow away from the window well area you will find yourself in much better shape.

PROBLEM #5: THERE IS NO WINDOW WELL INSTALLED (WHEN THERE SHOULD BE)

In some cases we run into a basement window that is close to OR actually a tad below grade height.

If you have a window that is in this state we strongly recommend having a window well installed. In a lot of these cases we see this where there are driveways or interlock/concrete walkways.

Installing a window well in this case could cause a trip hazard which is usually why they are left uninstalled.

Because of this condition we have developed a special drainage solution that keeps the area as flush as possible, looks aesthetically pleasing and comes with excellent drainage characteristics.

COMMON WINDOW WELL SOLUTIONS

No matter which problem you are faced with H&N Basement Worx has a remedy to help you get it repaired properly. Whether it’s removing & installing a new window well or excavating to the footing to install a new drain we have you covered.

If it’s something as simple as cleaning out leaves or debris we typically leave that up to you to deal with but if you need an egress window well installed for a basement bedroom we’d be elated to help you out.

From start to finish we can implement a solution that will keep water from flooding in through your basement window for good. Contact us today.