Basements and egress window wells share a common enemy: moisture.
But be assured, there are at least 5 people that really don’t want water in your basement: You, ME, and the rest of my crew.
We take aggressive measures to keep water out of your egress window. We don’t want to just depend on a pump to take water away, because pumps and power can fail. We are proactive to prevent water from ever getting inside.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how the Illumicast window well installation process ensures that the moisture around your home stays outside where it belongs.
Rainfall Protection
The first line of defense is simply to keep the rainwater from entering the top of the window well. Our durable and attractive cover acts like an umbrella to keep rainwater out of the window well. It’s strong enough to keep kids and pets from accidentally falling into the window well too.
Properly Sealed Window
Our installation includes kiln-dried, treated lumber and PVC trim, so you’ll never have rot issues. We use vinyl windows by Pella that come with a warranty. Additionally, the egress window is carefully sealed with caulk.
Hydraulic Tamping
After we install the concrete window well, we also hydraulically tamp the backfill. In other words, when we fill in the dirt around the window well, we pack it in tightly to keep water from dropping down along the outside of the window well.
Interior Drainage
Besides rainwater, there’s another variable to consider: the water table. In most areas, this isn’t an issue. But in case water does seep from the surrounding soil into the bottom of the window well, we install a seven-gallon bucket into the rock at the bottom of the window well. This bucket acts like a holding tank for soil moisture. Small holes in the bucket allow water to enter. In the event of a high water table or a prolonged wet season, you can always use a sump pump to pump water out of the bucket. This lets you evacuate the water from the base of the window well before it rises high enough to cause any problems around the egress window itself.
Watch the Video
To see this process for yourself, check out the video on our “Installation” page on our website. And check out the reviews from our happy customers. Having used this process on hundreds of egress window wells, we’re happy to report that it is extremely effective at eliminating all moisture issues!
