Window Wells and Basement Doors

Looking for advice on the best way to fix and cover my basement window wells. One of them was the source of much flooding during Ida. Are there contractors who specifically deal with cleaning out window well debris, making sure any drains are open, and then installing covers that don't blow off? I have had the light  plastic ones in the past but they are not great. 

Also looking for a solid carpenter experienced in making wooden "Bilco"-style doors to the basement. TIA

You more likely need a drainage system designed and installed to divert water from your roof to the street.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

You more likely need a drainage system designed and installed to divert water from your roof to the street.

Where we had the most window well flooding with Ida did not seem to be from the roof. We are on a hill and water runs down toward the house from two directions. The window wells along the driveway, which also slopes down a little, were the ones affected. I can't reconstruct and regrade the whole driveway, which is why I'm thinking about ways to keep the water out of the wells.

We have a similar situation with our window wells....lowest house on our hill. I have designed a more sturdy substitute for window well covers since the pre-made ones aren't big enough.  Hubster, however, doesn't think my carpentry skills would be good enough. Grrrrrr. 

In another house I had  wooden "bilco' doors that leaked.  They also weighted a ton and thus were dangerous for me to open from the inside. I replaced them with real, metal bilco  ones that kept out rain and any seepage. 

ral said:

Where we had the most window well flooding with Ida did not seem to be from the roof. We are on a hill and water runs down toward the house from two directions. The window wells along the driveway, which also slopes down a little, were the ones affected. I can't reconstruct and regrade the whole driveway, which is why I'm thinking about ways to keep the water out of the wells.

 Maybe sandbags to divert the water. 

Do you have room for foundation planting between the driveway and the window wells?  My driveway is a river right now but the area around the window wells is relatively dry.

joan_crystal said:

Do you have room for foundation planting between the driveway and the window wells?  My driveway is a river right now but the area around the window wells is relatively dry.

 No room for that, but before the rain started today I took a better look at the wells and they need a clean-out before I do anything! This is not something we can physically handle for a variety of reasons. Any suggestions for who might do window well cleanouts, make sure the drains are functioning, and patch any cracks? I also noticed that one of my gutter spouts was perhaps too close to the well that filled up, so more gutter work is in order...

krnl said:

We have a similar situation with our window wells....lowest house on our hill. I have designed a more sturdy substitute for window well covers since the pre-made ones aren't big enough.  Hubster, however, doesn't think my carpentry skills would be good enough. Grrrrrr. 

In another house I had  wooden "bilco' doors that leaked.  They also weighted a ton and thus were dangerous for me to open from the inside. I replaced them with real, metal bilco  ones that kept out rain and any seepage. 

 I guess I should price the  metal doors but that would definitely be a custom job and am worried about the cost. 

ral said:

 No room for that, but before the rain started today I took a better look at the wells and they need a clean-out before I do anything! This is not something we can physically handle for a variety of reasons. Any suggestions for who might do window well cleanouts, make sure the drains are functioning, and patch any cracks? I also noticed that one of my gutter spouts was perhaps too close to the well that filled up, so more gutter work is in order...

 Window well cleanout seems like a handyman job. Try Tomcat. 

Hey, how has this worked out for you?