Window Well Installations and Drainage Solutions

Do you have water leaking into the basement from around and below windows during significant rainfalls? Are there water streaks or staining marks on the interior wall below your windows? Do you have an existing window well encasement that fills up with water and looks like a fish bowl when it rains? Can you see horizontal lines along your window, indicating water accumulation and a problem with the window wells drainage system?

PCS Basement Waterproofing Specialists has the solution to your window well drainage issues.

What is a Window Well?

Many homeowners think the window well is just the gravel and galvanized metal encasement they see around their basement windows, but that is not exactly it.

A window well is a drainage system used to drain surface or standing water down to the weeping tile system running parallel to the footings around every home, when there is a window that has been installed at or below ground level.

If you see water on the basement floor near or below a window that is at or below ground level, then you may need to have a window well drainage system installed in order to resolve the problem.

How is it installed?

A window well installation consists of earth being excavated down to the footing below the window and installing perforated weeping tile. This weeping tile is not connected to the weeping tile drainage system around the home, but rests on top, to avoid causing any issues such as displacement or clogging.

Drainage stone is then added to the base of the installed weeping tile and earth is backfilled to just below ground level.

The metal galvanized window well encasement is then fastened to the foundation wall and filled with drainage stone up to the window sill.

What about a clogged window well?

For homeowners who already have an existing window well but are experiencing problems with water drainage, the system will be inspected, the clogged pipe replaced and the window well reset. If necessary, the entire system may need to be redone.

Note: A window well cover purchased from your local home improvement store is not a solution to drainage problems. The standing water you may see inside your well is actually rising up from below the earth when it has nowhere to drain to. The cover is to prevent debris such as leaves, branches, surrounding landscaping, etc., usually associated with mature neighbourhoods, from covering and clogging the window well. They are also used in cases where a window well maybe located in a high traffic area such as alongside a driveway or pathway to an entrance, whereby it could cause a safety hazard.