Window well drainage

12 years ago

I wanted to pose a question to get some collective wisdom. My house was finished about 6 months ago, and I have several window wells. One is a 6' deep for egress window, others regular basement windows.

At the time of the build, I had asked the builder about installing drains, but he assured me that he never installs them and it's never a problem because the put down lots of gravel into the base of the well.

With the huge storm we had, one of the window wells filled with water, and started to leak through the window, and into the (finished) basement. I'm not sure how long it was going on, but I think I caught it within a few hours of it starting. Sheetrock feels dry, but I don't know what's behind it, and the carpet by the window is damp (but not soaked). The well had a well cover, though not air tight, I'm not sure why this one window well ended up with a few inches of standing water.

My question to all of you, am I being unreasonable in expecting the builder to fix the wells by adding drainage? I realize this is probably not something that can be done before ground thaws, but nonetheless? The builder has generally been very flexible and good to work with, and has stood up behind his product in other areas. Because he's been so good, I want to be particularly sure I'm not going to be asking for something that would be entirely unreasonable. Also, in a situation like that who is responsible for interior damage? (i.e. carpet and drywall?)

Any ideas of what could be done in the meantime (snow is about to start melting)? I can see digging out the gravel, trying to dig out a few inches of dirt to make the well deeper, and putting the rock back in but leaving a few inches between top of the rock and bottom of the window. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Featured Answer

worthy

12 years ago

he assured me that he never installs them and it's never a problem because the put down lots of gravel into the base of the well.

"No problem!" The eternal answer of construction "pros" who don't know better. Or who are looking to save a few bucks.

Window wells themselves are a problematic detail that you should try to avoid in the first place. But if you are putting them in, the correct method is to provide a drain at the bottom leading to a sump or daylight.

Source: National Research Council of Canada

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Comments (6)

bpath
12 years ago
We put window well covers over ours. Now with all the snow, and it's going warm up to almost freezing this weekend, I'm going to go out and shovel around them so snow doesn't melt under the covers.
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worthy
12 years ago
At this point, the builder is not going to excavate around your foundation to install a perimeter drainage system. Excavating further, adding gravel and installing window well covers may do the trick.
ddr000
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you worthy. There is a perimeter drainage system, so I was particularly buffled when he didn't think a drain pipe was necessary.

I already did have a window well cover, though it's not a perfect fit, so isn't water tight. Some snow must have gotten under the cover and into the well and melted right into my basement.

Would drilling a 2" hole with an auger or similar device in the window well down 3 or so feet to get past the frost line, installing a PVC pipe with a drain lid to let the water drain closer to the perimeter drain system and through frozen top soil be a reasonable option?
chispa
12 years ago
I'm in CA and we were required to do a large window well in the basement for egress. It was designed/built exactly as shown in the diagram posted above by Worthy, with drains and a sump pump. Also remember that that they did all this and we get no snow and not much rain ... you never want any water in your basement.
worthy
12 years ago
Would drilling a 2" hole.....

It's worth a try. But unless there is lots free-flowing fill--and it doesn't sound like there is or you wouldn't have the window well filling with water--it may not drain off enough to avoid a repeat.