Is it a new home OP? Is it possible a subpar neighbor with a subpar house sabotaged a drain? There is a well known case in Langley about this.

Anonymous wrote:Also have the drain snaked. A roof over the stairwell would reduce the rain that ends up down there.

+1 for the roof over the stair well. Not sure when your house was built, but for older homes with these basement exterior stairs, I'd be very surprised that the drain actually even goes anywhere or is probably totally clogged with years of debris.

It really helped my water issues to put a wood plank (or other type of barrier) at the top of the steps to block water from my yard/driveway.

Anonymous wrote:was your drain clogged internally or just the outside grate?

Just outside. Once I cleared the debris, it drained faster than a bathtub.

We have the same kind of basement entry and drain.

I bought this drain cover and it's been an absolute lifesaver! The tiny little drain used to get covered with leaves, but this has really fixed that situation.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ICXKN4/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If the drain itself can't handle the volume of water when it rains so much, I guess that that's another story. But we haven't had any water since we put the drain cover there.


I also put some of these alarms near the door, at the suggestion of the plumber who replaced our sump pump. They seem very effective.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Q8GRPG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also have the drain snaked. A roof over the stairwell would reduce the rain that ends up down there.

was your drain clogged internally or just the outside grate?

We have this too. The old owners told us that putting a rubber tire mat over the drain was a lifesaver. Something like this:

http://thematking.com/business_industry/industrial/rubbermats/tire-link/tire_link_mats.htm

We get water in our basement from other sources now but not from this drain. You still have to keep it clear of leaves and debris, but this prevents the drain from getting clogged.

Anonymous wrote:FYI - That's call a walk-up basement. A walk-up is where the exterior entrance is via a stairwell. A walk-out basement is at-grade at the exterior entrance.

Me again. When we had a stairwell like that, we'd throw a milk crate over the drain when we were expecting heavy rain. Not a perfect solution, but it will do in a pinch.

Anonymous wrote:FYI - That's call a walk-up basement. A walk-up is where the exterior entrance is via a stairwell. A walk-out basement is at-grade at the exterior entrance.

Thank you! That would probably improve my Google results.

FYI - That's call a walk-up basement. A walk-up is where the exterior entrance is via a stairwell. A walk-out basement is at-grade at the exterior entrance.

I have exactly the same issue and am looking at one of those domed filters that someone shared on another post yesterday. Other than that I keep a broom handy!

In addition to real remediation, you might consider an electronic alarm that detects when water leaks into the house and sends you an alert (email or something).

We have a walk-out basement with the submerged stairway. Like this (complete with algae-covered walls): http://inspectapedia.com/exterior/Basement_Walkout_Door_202_DJFs.jpg

We do our best to keep debris out of the stairwell, but after a storm like yesterday's, our drain, which clears just fine, was totally clogged up. There were probably 4"of water when I got home, and lapping up over the threshold of the door. I wasn't at home during the day to check on it, so consequently we had water seeping in through the doorway when I got home. Fortunately, there was only water on the hard surface flooring, and it hadn't reached the carpet yet. The giant towel I threw down, just in case, before I left for work was a joke.

DH and our handyman want to cover the stairwell with something like a roof, but I'm not sure what the best approach is. I would like it to limit the leaves, debris and water that accumulate, though, especially since we can have weather problems when we're not at home to address. Any other solutions I haven't considered?