Window Well Drain Installation

AquaGuard Injection & Waterproofing™ is an established Waterproofing Contractor, in and around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), that offers the full range of foundation waterproofing solutions for all foundation types.

Among the numerous waterproofing solutions that we offer is window well drain installation. As window wells should always be installed when a basement window is at or below grade, it is essential that adequate drainage be provided within your window wells. Efficient drainage will prevent water in the window well from entering your basement between the window frame and the foundation, as well as through the window itself. Window well drain installation is a service offered by most waterproofing contractors and is applicable to all foundation types: stone, concrete block or cinder block, and poured concrete. AquaGuard Injection & Waterproofing™ differentiates itself from the majority of its competitors through the intelligent use of available technologies to quickly install excellent window well drains at a lower cost, without the mess associated with typical window well excavations.

A window well drain is, in reality, a simple waterproofing technique, in that a window well drain is essentially the same as the drain in your kitchen sink. Both of these drains are used to drain water that has accumulated within a basin. Both drain applications involve a drain pipe to channel the accumulated basin water to a designated drainage point.

A window well drain is installed in 4 steps as follows: Note: We have omitted certain "tricks of the trade" that we use so as not to educate our competitors.
1. Excavation of the foundation wall down to the footing; or, using our modern technique, augering of a hole in the window well down to the gravel layer on top of the weeping tile;
2. Installation of the drain pipe with a drain cover to prevent debris from entering the pipe;
3. Filling of the window well with gravel; and
4. Testing to ensure that the window well drains efficiently.

This is what a typical window well drain installation looks like:

Note 1: In areas with clay soil, natural drainage is very poor.

Note 2: If you notice water beneath a window in your basement you can test the efficiency of window well drainage simply by running your hose in the window well and observing how quickly the water disperses. If the water drains efficiently, it is likely that you have a leaking crack originating at the window corner.

To learn more about window well drain installation, follow the link to our Window Well Drainage page, in the Resource Center, for information specific to this waterproofing technique.