Window wells (townhouses, to buy, maintenance)

[phetaroi]

Another home maintenance issue. Like a lot of the townhouses here in COS, mine has several window wells for the finished basement. I'm not used to this back east.

Do you folks who have these recommend the kind of coverings that are gratings but still let the rain and snow fall into the window wells, or do you recommend the ones with a plexiglass covering that keeps the rain and snow out. I've seen both...my house has neither...yet.

Thanks for sharing your experiences here in COS.

[captain_hug99]

We have window wells, AFAIK they are a fire regulation for egress out of a basement, whether it is finished or not. Anyway, I don't have anything on our wells, neither the dog or the kid have tried to go down there. We also haven't any issues with critters going down there either.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

Another home maintenance issue. Like a lot of the townhouses here in COS, mine has several window wells for the finished basement. I'm not used to this back east.

Do you folks who have these recommend the kind of coverings that are gratings but still let the rain and snow fall into the window wells, or do you recommend the ones with a plexiglass covering that keeps the rain and snow out. I've seen both...my house has neither...yet.

Thanks for sharing your experiences here in COS.

Either are okay to have. I prefer ones that are sturdy enough so you can stand on them and not fall in. IMO the uncovered ones are a lawsuit waiting to happen, even if a trespasser falls in one. Uncovered ones make a handy sump for leaves and trash to fall in.

[Marcy1210]

We put the black metal grate type over ours to keep out critters, kids, leaves, meter readers, drunk neighbors, etc. I agree with Mike, no covers is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[vfrpilot]

Something else to ponder is the drainage around your wells. A couple of years ago, during a summer t-storm, a neighbor had a window well fill with water and the window blew out. It created a huge mess.

[Terytee]

That's my concern about the window wells.....flooding. I can see a torrential downpour, not unlike lastnight's, causing a water backup in the well and then eventually, flooding into the basement rooms.

I don't have covers either, but that's why I'm leaning more toward the solid covers; for possible flooding. Mike's right, it can be kind of annoying when leaves and trash collect down there.

[lalahartma]

Horses have also fallen in!

[vfrpilot]

Solid covers will help a bit. The main issue with window wells is the ground and roof runoff in the area surrounding it. A lot of times the water is actually under the surface and coming through the metal retainer. Try to grade the area around the wells to carry water away and prevent any puddling close. If you have a well that is troublesome, you might have to buy a sump pump in case of emergencies.

[phetaroi]

Thanks for getting into the water issue. I was thinking about that aspect, particularly along the lines of a heavy snow storm and subsequent melting.

In this complex of townhomes they seem to have done a great job in terms of grading the area so that it slopes away. One person did have the "window flood" issue, but apparently no one else has, so I guess that was more a fluke.

After this discussion I think I'll go with the solid covers.

[Mike from back east]

We've had frogs in our window wells as well as baby rabbits, but mostly just litter that blows in.