Egress Window Drainage
April 30, 2009
Do you have an Egress Window that looks more like a fish bowl than a window? All to often I have found contractors who will install an Egress Window were the yard slopes toward the foundation, there are no gutters, and they didn’t even bother to slope the inside of the well away from the window and fill it with rock. This is a recipe for disaster. Take a look at the following picture of poorly installed Egress Window.
In the first picture the yard was slopped toward the house, the dirt in the bottom of the well was level, and there was no rock for drainage. To compound the problem their was a large block patio surrounding the Egress Window. The homeowner’s have already had water come through the window and block since they had there basement finished. Not only will water destroy the wood and drywall around the window, but the carpet and pad is very difficult to dry. Additionally, there is often a problem with mold in the fiberglass insulation and drywall if you just try to dry the material out.
Since the house had 4 inch drain tile empting into a sump well with a sump pump, the most economically sound way to prevent water from entering the basement through the Egress Window was to install a drain in the bottom of the well that ties in to the house’s existing interior perimeter drain tile. In order to do this, approximately 5 feet of soil needs to be removed from the well, or 2 foot below the footing. Then, a 4 inch tee is tied into the existing drain tile, and a 10 foot section of solid 4 inch drain tile is installed. The soil is replaced and a square drain is attached to the end of 10 foot section of drain tile. The soil is sloped away from the window and toward the drain. A sheet of 4 to 6 mil poly is laid at the bottom of the well. Finally, rock is placed in the bottom of well and the system is checked with a hose to insure proper installation.
Comments
5 Responses to “Egress Window Drainage”
Got something to say?
Great article. Very explicit and the pictures were very helpful.
I have wanted to add a bedroom to my basement for a long time but was concerned about putting an egress window in because of the increased potential for water in the basement. There is virtually no information about this on the web so I was very pleased to find your website.
Very informative, relevant content! Thanks for sharing!
this says nothing about having an older house that doesn’t have a sump pump. so where should i drain the water to? the middle of the yard? i can’t be the only one without a drain tile. thanks for any help you can give.
Steve,
This post is primarily addressing Egress Windows that were installed incorrectly. In the case of this window if it the house did not have drain tile I would have recommended to install it or remove the Egress Window. You can’t have your yard sloping toward your foundation, whether you have an Egress Window or not. If you have an older house with an Egress Window, no drain tile, and are having water problems there are several steps you can take. First, remove a foot of soil below the window sill, and two feet of soil on the well side away from the foundation, so the water migrates away from the foundation. Secondly, Raise the well just below the siding if possible and slope the soil against the well and away from the foundation. Thirdly, Install a French Drain around the side of the house with the water migration issue.