Signs of Window Well Drainage Problems

When a window well is not installed, or if the window well drain is clogged, or if the stone in the window well cannot provide adequate drainage, water can pool in the window well as if you had an aquarium outside. This accumulated water can pour straight into your basement between the window frame and the top of wall, or through the window itself! Window well drainage problems can introduce a substantial amount of water into your basement very rapidly, thus creating a need for improved drainage.

Today's construction practices mandate the installation of window wells when basement windows are below or at grade. Generally, the window wells include drains to prevent water build-up in the window wells. A window well drain channels water accumulated in a window well to the weeping tile system installed along the footing which then drains to a sump pump installed in the basement, or to the storm sewer under the street.

In this next picture, in front of the person's foot, you can see an old clay drain pipe that no longer provides adequate drainage.

When the foundation wall is visible from inside you will typically notice soil staining beneath the window frame, proving that water entered the basement through the window or from beneath the window frame. This situation is attributable to poor or inadequate window well drainage. Note that, in this case, window well drainage was not the only problem that was found, there was also a crack at the right hand window corner that was leaking. 

Caution: The symptoms of inadequate window well drainage are often attributed to the window itself, and many homeowners replace their basement windows unnecessarily. Leaking windows are rarely to blame for major basement leaks; in fact, the only time a window leaks is when the caulking around the window frame is missing or has deteriorated to the point that water can penetrate the building envelope between the window frame and the foundation.

In the picture immediately above this text it is clear that what appeared to be a single leak actually involved two separate leaks - a poorly draining window well in addition to a foundation crack at the right hand corner of the window. The image provides an excellent example of the importance of inspecting bare foundation walls, from the inside, to ascertain the cause(s) of water in a basement.

Improving Window Well Drainage

To correct window well drainage problems a, new properly draining, window well drain must be installed. These drains can be installed the old fashioned way (by excavating down to the footing) or (using our leading edge method of augering for the purpose of installing a drain pipe). In both cases, a drain pipe is installed, which drains into the gravel layer and into the weeping tile. The following images provide an overview of the window well drain augering process.

A proper window well drain installation looks like this:

Recommended Window Well Maintenance

A window well drain is very similar to the drain in your kitchen sink, if it is plugged with food, water will not drain away. For good window well drainage, water must be able to penetrate the gravel layer and make its way to the weeping tile via the drain pipe. If leaves and other debris accumulate in the window well, thus preventing rain water from draining through the gravel layer, the water will pool in the window well and the window well drain will be of little value. If the water is allowed to pool it will eventually rise until it pours into your basement right through the windows! Keeping the window well gravel layer free of debris is an absolute must. A window well cover is an effective way of keeping your window well gravel layer clear of debris at all times.