Water filling up window well

pb2

Hi,

I've been a homeowner for the past 2 years, and twice in the past 2 weeks one of our two basement window wells has filled up with water during heavy downpours and poured into the basement.

I went out there today to take a look at the well and I have to admit - I'm confused about how basement window well drainage is supposed to work. Here's what I found:

- There is a lot of soil, mulch, and rocks in the window well. I used a shovel to try to clear most of this away (trying to leave the rocks, but they're pretty mixed in with everything else)

- There's some sort of a grated drain in the window well. After removing the grate, I stuck a snake down into the drain. It went down the entire length of the snake (which I assume is 25 feet). To show you how little I know, I didn't realize window wells have drains! I also noticed that there was visible pooled water in the drain.

- The other window well is 6 feet away from this window well and it looked pretty dry. This makes me think that doing something with the slope and/or covering the window well won't really help.

- After cleaning the grate up a bit I turned the hose on to see if water drained better. Looked like it was draining a bit, but then it started to pool again.

- I have not noticed an issue with water coming in through this window in the past.

I have no idea what to do or how to deal with this issue. Is there something I can do to fix this issue myself? If I should hire someone to help, what kind of person should I look up?

Thanks,
PB

oh'mike

Typically the is a perimeter footing drain that runs into the sump pump--the window well drains should be connected to that with a T---

Depending on the age of the house--that perimeter drain could be black corrugated tubing or terracotta clay piping.

You have one of the following problems--

Bad connection--no T--just a hole on the lateral line with the vertical one pushed in--to far--

Lateral line clogged

Lateral line collapsed

Lateral line has a belly--low place---

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pb2

We definitely don't have a sump pump and I can't find any place this is draining to.

I shoved a garden hose down there, and probably got a good 15-20 feet in before I hit any resistance. Afterwards I ran water through the hose. It took about 15 seconds to bubble up to the top and within a minute or two it was starting to pool in the window well. After turning the hose off, it took about a minute for it to all flow down the drain.

After I pulled the garden hose out, I noticed that the water level in the drain was just below the grate.

Can I fix something like this myself? If it involves digging deep into the yard, that's probably something that is beyond me....

tony.g

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pb2

Hey, why are spying on me - that's exactly what my basement looks like! :-)

tony.g

Google Earth!

ddawg16

Your complaining about getting rain? I know a lot of people that would love to have your rain........

Oh....your problem.....

Get a longer snake....chances are you have a blockage towards the end.

See if you can find where the drain comes out. My inlaws had a drain for their yard that dumped into the street....it never occured to them to check the grate at the street.

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4just1don

why not buy a cheap plastic window well cover and keep most of the water and DEBRIS out in the first place

LVDIY

Even though it sounds like you might have a clog in your drain since it fills up really fast, don't forget to check your gutters and other sources that could cause excessive amounts of water to run into your well.

oh'mike

You have an underground drainage system---how old is the house?

A plumber with proper equipment might be able to rod out that line---

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epson

have a look at this video. http://ca.search.yahoo.com/search;_y...-t-715-s&rd=r1

Beepster

How does THAT MUCH rain get into the window well to start with. Does it rain into it or run into it? Is it a full egress window well or just the smaller small window window well?

B

matooz

I have the same issue with water filling the window well during heavy rain. I'm not to knowledgeable on window wells etc. If I take the stone etc out is there a visable drain or grate that I can see or axcess to see if its clogged or plugged as someone mentioned about putting a hose down there and flushing it out?

bob22

I have to believe the well is filling up from groundwater, not from the rain. Fix the drain line as mentioned earlier and it won't be able to fill up.

oh'mike

There should be a vertical drain pipe that Ts into the lateral drains that run around the foundation.

Dig out the window well enough to find the pipe--Usually 3"--

It might be filled with gravel-missing cover? If so a vacuum rigged up to a length of 2" plastic pipe might help--or a length of 3/4" conduit with the tip smashed flat and bent--to grab rocks should help?

If all else fails--remove the window well and start digging.

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