Window wells filling from below

[Anonymous]

We were in our basement during the very heavy rain this afternoon and noticed that two of our window wells, both of which go 2-3 feet underground, were filling up from underneath. We know the water is coming from below, because the inside walls of the wells were bone dry. Luckily we caught it before it became a problem and got the water out with a bucket. I know this is a problem, but am lost on what to do next. Our house is about 70 years old and the window wells don't have drains, nor is there a sump pump that we could drain them to if we wanted. Any ideas on how to address this?

[Anonymous]

Are you sure there’s no drain? I think they have to have drains.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the grading around your home is in order. Your downspouts should be extended far from your foundation. You probably need a sump pump too. The water table is rising a lot from.your description....too much water near your foundation. It has no where to go but rise.

[Anonymous]

You can get a submersible sump pump to put in the window wells for the immediate temporary fix. Then you need to work on some sort of drainage solution.

[Anonymous]

First and cheapest —extend the downspouts!! That may fix it. BTDT.

[Anonymous]

You can buy small sump pumps to go inside the window well. We've noticed that half of the homes in our neighborhood have one window well which wasn't dug properly (each home has two window wells), and having the mini sump pump in that window well prevents any leaks. Going on 10 years in this house and the only time we had an issue was that one time when we removed the sump pump. Promptly replaced it when we saw a leak and no issues sincw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in our basement during the very heavy rain this afternoon and noticed that two of our window wells, both of which go 2-3 feet underground, were filling up from underneath. We know the water is coming from below, because the inside walls of the wells were bone dry. Luckily we caught it before it became a problem and got the water out with a bucket. I know this is a problem, but am lost on what to do next. Our house is about 70 years old and the window wells don't have drains, nor is there a sump pump that we could drain them to if we wanted. Any ideas on how to address this?

We have the same issue - have downspouts adjusted etc, it just happens sometimes with clay soil being overcome with water some time. What we have done that seems to work for us is take a small plastic washtub (the kind you could put in your kitchen sink) and drill some holes in it. Place a submersible sump pump in that wash tub, and put the washtub "dug in" a little bit so that the top of it is level with the ground in your window well (for example, we have ours down about 4" and rock/stone all around it.) The auto- sump pump will kick on as the ground water comes up through the wash tub and pump it out immediately. We have ours plugged in at all times, and since we have done this we have had NO issues with rain water in the basement or window wells.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure there’s no drain? I think they have to have drains.

We had some that had so many years of rotting leaves etc in them that they looked like they had no drains. It was a mess digging them out, but there were drains down there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were in our basement during the very heavy rain this afternoon and noticed that two of our window wells, both of which go 2-3 feet underground, were filling up from underneath. We know the water is coming from below, because the inside walls of the wells were bone dry. Luckily we caught it before it became a problem and got the water out with a bucket. I know this is a problem, but am lost on what to do next. Our house is about 70 years old and the window wells don't have drains, nor is there a sump pump that we could drain them to if we wanted. Any ideas on how to address this?

We have the same issue - have downspouts adjusted etc, it just happens sometimes with clay soil being overcome with water some time. What we have done that seems to work for us is take a small plastic washtub (the kind you could put in your kitchen sink) and drill some holes in it. Place a submersible sump pump in that wash tub, and put the washtub "dug in" a little bit so that the top of it is level with the ground in your window well (for example, we have ours down about 4" and rock/stone all around it.) The auto- sump pump will kick on as the ground water comes up through the wash tub and pump it out immediately. We have ours plugged in at all times, and since we have done this we have had NO issues with rain water in the basement or window wells.

Where is it plugged into?

[Anonymous]

You need the wells dug out and new drains installed along with fresh washed drainage stone replaced. The drains should drain through the wall and tied to an internal drain with a sump pump. If you want to do it right. Outdoor sump pumps are a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure there’s no drain? I think they have to have drains.

We had some that had so many years of rotting leaves etc in them that they looked like they had no drains. It was a mess digging them out, but there were drains down there.

First and most important step: Find and clean out the drains. Don’t trust drainage companies that want to install a whole new system for you. Most of the time existing drains can be cleared out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure there’s no drain? I think they have to have drains.

We had some that had so many years of rotting leaves etc in them that they looked like they had no drains. It was a mess digging them out, but there were drains down there.

First and most important step: Find and clean out the drains. Don’t trust drainage companies that want to install a whole new system for you. Most of the time existing drains can be cleared out.

Most of the time, existing drains go to the existing drain tile footer drains that are also clogged. They can't be snaked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure there’s no drain? I think they have to have drains.

Not for a 70YO home....