Window Well Water Intrusion Solutions for Egress Window

[Kyle Doney]

I have a window well that doesn't have a cover on it and I want to keep water out of the window well. When we had a storm the other week, I had some water seep in because of how fast the rain came down (first time in 3 years since I owned the house). It caused it to pool at the bottom of the window well and seeped in and soak my carpet. I had to replace carpet pad and it was a total hassle. 

The problem with getting a well cover is that the window is taller than the hole, so putting a cover over it wont allow the egress window to open in case of an emergency, thus creating the same type of liability issue with allowing a tenant to sleep in a downstairs room with an egress. 

I could put a statement/ warning in my lease banning using the room as a bedroom, but as a finished basement, tenants will still want to sleep down there as its the largest bedroom in the house and has a bathroom. It could also effect the marketability of the property and rent I get on the house.  Anyone have any solutions to this issue?

[Luc Boiron]

Where is the water coming in from? Did too much water get in the window well from the rain and it flowed over the window sill? This might be because the window well was never properly installed and run into the weeping tile around the footings, or it could be that it have gotten a little clogged over the years with dirt. It's a lot of work to dig that out so definitely not a first choice.

If the ground slopes towards the window well, it's possible that in heavy rain the water flows towards the window well and then gets in to it. If that's the case, you would want to grade the earth around it to make sure the water runs away from it.

One of the main reasons I see for water to get into basements if grading. Make sure the earth slopes away from this area. Also, make sure downspouts run at least 4' away from your house, so the water doesn't sit against the foundation.

There are many types of window wells, and there may be some that work for you. For example, there is the bubble kind:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Shape-Products-42-in-x-...

That might work in your case. Instead of screwing it into the brick where you are blocking off access to the egress, it could be mounted with a hinge at the top so it flips up, or simply lean a brick against it so it can be pushed away easily. This would keep rain out of the window well.

So really, there are many solutions, but they will depend on how the rain is getting in to the house and window well, and how the window and well are set up. Some pictures would help.

Good luck!