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egress well filling with water and coming inside.

egress well filling with water and coming inside.


  #1  
Old 07-26-11, 09:27 AM
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egress well filling with water and coming inside.

Hello,

We recently had an egress window installed so we could finish the basement in our house. Its been done for 2 months and we just had our first big rain. During the storm, the window well filled up with water and found its way into the house. The walls were not wet but there was a large puddle on the floor just under the window. The bottom inch or two of the drywall is wet but the walls are not.

There is a drain in the bottom of the well that goes to a sump pit located inside. The water did not come through the window as the sump kept the water level from rising that far.

Any idea how the water came inside ( since I know it didnt come through the window) ??

There is an expansion gap between the floor and wall.

Thanks in advance.
 
  #2  
Old 07-28-11, 06:41 AM
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The drain in the bottom of the well is supposed to go to a dry well OUTSIDE the house. Who's idea was it to bring rain water inside?

Test the well with a hose. Have someone inside to watch the water.
 
  #3  
Old 07-28-11, 07:20 AM
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Thanks for the reply. The well on the inside has a sump and it was put in a year after the house was built in 1993. It was put in because the small window well used to fill with water and had no place to drain.

The sump was tested before the basement was finished a few months ago and it works. It still works.

We didnt have a problem for 16 years untill the egress guys made the well bigger and had to lower the drainage pipe.

Turns out they didnt caulk it very good on the outside and water is flowing along the pipe and into the house.

I was able to cut a small amount of drywall away and then recreate the problem with a hose. I was able to use a mirror and flashlight to prove this is whats happening.

While in there, I determined the insulation and drywall stayed dry as the water was hugging the wall on the way to the floor. Im thankful our contractor framed the walls with a 3" gap between the studs and foundation.
 
  #4  
Old 07-28-11, 07:23 AM
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I have seen a few times where a basement entrance that was almost at the level of the footing had to have a drain brought inside then pumped out.

crich...if the window well filled up...then apparently the drain that is supposed to lead it to the pit isn't doing its job. W/o knowing specifics of how the well was done...it's going to be pretty tough.

Is the drain underneath all the gravel in the well? Was the well dug all the way down to the footings...or just to the bottom of the window?
 
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Old 07-28-11, 07:33 AM
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Ohhh Now I get a better idea. So they came through the wall, not under the floor (which would have required cutting/patching a trench to the sump) and used PVC or ABS pipe along the concrete wall to take it to the sump? What size is the pipe?

The few I've seen were done by cutting and trenching with 4" drain lines.

I'd have to say....I'd lay odds you are going to have continuing problems with what you have. It was one thing when it was a smaller shallower well. Since it now meets egress codes, I bet it's much larger than before?
 
  #6  
Old 07-28-11, 07:36 AM
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Water's supposed to stay outside the house. I think you're going to have an ongoing battle if it's being brought inside.
 
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Old 07-28-11, 07:50 AM
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gunguy, yes the pipe comes into the house through the wall and not the floor. I believe the pipe is 3 or 4". And yes, the well is much bigger and deeper to meet code. Under the egress there is several feet of gravel (dry well, I guess) and then about 3-4 inches above the gravel is the pvc which leads to the sump. Another 4-5 inces above that is the bottom of the window. The water never reaches that level because it goes inside to the sump.

mitch, we never had a problem with this setup before the guys moved the pvc drainage pipe. It looks like it wasnt caulked good enough on the outside.

Also, not sure if I mentioned this in my OP, but the downspouts 8 feet away on each side of the egress were not working so all the water was sitting up against the foundation on each side. I fixed them during the storm by extending them 5 feet further from the house. And, I did not have a cover over the egress so water was coming into the window well from every direction.
 
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Old 07-28-11, 08:01 AM
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Well, grading, downspouts and a cover should minimize any issues. You might want to install an access panel below the pipe penetration to make for easy inspection.
 
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Old 07-28-11, 08:10 AM
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I agree. All those things plus fixing the hole should do the trick. Thanks for your input.
 
  #10  
Old 07-29-11, 10:14 AM
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The well for your egress is supposed to be tied into your existing drain tile system which routes water from around your house to your normal sump pump.

Where I live this is required by code.

Mine was recently installed in this fashion, just got a 4" 48 hour rainfall last week - bone dry here. I also do not have a cover on mine at the moment. We have also had it in for over a month with numerous rain storms and no issues at all.

I know from my research before putting ours in (and the inspector confirmed this) a LOT of egress windows are being put in, and probably 25% are being put in correctly.
 
 

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