Window Well Drainage Issues... please help?
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Window Well Drainage Issues... please help?
I purchased a house in Aug of 2008 that was built in 2007. I was the first owner of this house. It has 1 window well in the basement. Before signing on the line I asked the contractor how the window well was supposed to drain, you see it was dirt inside the well. He assured me that it would not be a problem and that water would drain naturally. Trusting him (fool) I signed the line and the house became mine. Oh, I must also note that until about 2009 SD was in a drought.
From Aug 2008 till about March 2010 all was well, the window well was dry, sump pump worked, all we well and the basement was dry. Then we had a whole lot of rain. I had the window well covered and didn't think anything about the rain, I figured as long as it was covered I was ok. I was wrong. My son went to the basement and told me the floor was all wet. I went down and the window well was full of water up and past the bottom of the window and water was coming in around the bottom of the window. I quickly ran to the store and bought a pump and pumped it out. Over the next couple days WITH NO RAIN, the well would continually fill up, and continues to fill up FROM THE GROUND UP to this day. It is a constant battle with the water.
I called the contractor and he told me to dig out all the dirt and backfill it with gravel. I told him I wanted him to do it and he said ok, but it would cost me cause my Home Owners Warranty was expired.
So... I figured I would ask here... What is the best way to fix this issue? Im pretty sure there is a drain tile around the house cause I have a sump pump and it kicks water out atleast once a week. Obviously there is no drainage from the well connected to the drain til of the house. Do I need to dig down till I find the drain tile and connect a pipe to drain the well or....? Please help, Im getting tired of pumping water every couple days and would like to have this fixed before it gets to late.
Thanks!
Todd
From Aug 2008 till about March 2010 all was well, the window well was dry, sump pump worked, all we well and the basement was dry. Then we had a whole lot of rain. I had the window well covered and didn't think anything about the rain, I figured as long as it was covered I was ok. I was wrong. My son went to the basement and told me the floor was all wet. I went down and the window well was full of water up and past the bottom of the window and water was coming in around the bottom of the window. I quickly ran to the store and bought a pump and pumped it out. Over the next couple days WITH NO RAIN, the well would continually fill up, and continues to fill up FROM THE GROUND UP to this day. It is a constant battle with the water.
I called the contractor and he told me to dig out all the dirt and backfill it with gravel. I told him I wanted him to do it and he said ok, but it would cost me cause my Home Owners Warranty was expired.
So... I figured I would ask here... What is the best way to fix this issue? Im pretty sure there is a drain tile around the house cause I have a sump pump and it kicks water out atleast once a week. Obviously there is no drainage from the well connected to the drain til of the house. Do I need to dig down till I find the drain tile and connect a pipe to drain the well or....? Please help, Im getting tired of pumping water every couple days and would like to have this fixed before it gets to late.
Thanks!
Todd
#3
If it filled up with water with it covered up then you must have a really low spot nearby that all the rain is draining to. Then it seeps over to the window well and builds up. Find that low spot and fill it in so the water runs off away from the window well.
Make sure your sump pump is draining well away from the home also. At least 10 feet from the wall. I have seen where the sump dumped it's water right against the outside wall within 3 feet of the window well at other places!!
Make sure your sump pump is draining well away from the home also. At least 10 feet from the wall. I have seen where the sump dumped it's water right against the outside wall within 3 feet of the window well at other places!!
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All you have to do is dig about a foot inside the well & 3 feet outside the well. Put a surface collector, which is nothing more than a drain, inside the well with a pipe leading outside to a dry well.
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If it filled up with water with it covered up then you must have a really low spot nearby that all the rain is draining to. Then it seeps over to the window well and builds up. Find that low spot and fill it in so the water runs off away from the window well.
Make sure your sump pump is draining well away from the home also. At least 10 feet from the wall. I have seen where the sump dumped it's water right against the outside wall within 3 feet of the window well at other places!!
Make sure your sump pump is draining well away from the home also. At least 10 feet from the wall. I have seen where the sump dumped it's water right against the outside wall within 3 feet of the window well at other places!!
The Window well fills up from under ground. I pumped all the water out and then stood there and watched water fill up from the ground at the bottom of the window well.
#6
Then dig down a few inches inside the window well and run a pipe from there over to the drain from the sump pump and tie them together. Put a floor drain and some course gravel over the pipe end, inside the window well.
What I was trying to say before was that the low spot could be taking on enough water to cause it to seep underground into the window well.
What I was trying to say before was that the low spot could be taking on enough water to cause it to seep underground into the window well.