Posted: 4/1/2010 4:02:09 PM EDT
I currently have a basement window well that is in need of some TLC. I had never seen or heard of these things before so I honestly have no idea what their purpose is. I do have a few questions though. One of which is, should there be dirt lining the bottom of the window well? I just cleaned about 2' of old and half-decomposed leaves out of the thing  . I left the layer of dirt that is currently there because I have no idea if its supposed to be there or not.
To keep leaves out in the future I am looking at a variety of window well covers. Some appear to just be grates and will still allow water in, while others are either metal or lexan and will stop even water from entering. My problem is that the dimensions of my window well (43.5" across at the widest point and 23.5" out at the widest point) do not appear to match up with an pre-fabricated covers. My window well is half-circle and not rectangular-shaped. Thoughts? Here's a picture of a basement window well (not mine) for reference: 
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I would dig it out and put a new well/cover in. Check these guys out:
Wellcraft |
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Quoted:
it is an egress window and required by code in most places if someone is going to use the room it is located in as a bedroom. Keep it cleaned out and you will be ok. The odd thing is that the window it's connected to is for the furnace room, so no living space. |