A neighborhood built on curves
Unlike the street grid around much of Washington Park, Bonnie Brae was laid out with curving streets and irregular lots. Development continued over several decades, so a single block may include a 1920s or 1930s brick cottage with steep rooflines, a Tudor-style house, and a postwar brick ranch, some of them since enlarged or replaced.
Curving streets and irregular lots mean that the slope of each yard is less predictable. Some houses sit slightly below the street or below a neighbor's yard, so surface water from storms and snowmelt drains toward them rather than away. Steep cottage roofs shed water and snow quickly into gutters that may be small for the volume, and those gutters sit under the same mature trees that shade the neighborhood.
Basements in the older cottages are often smaller and lower than in larger houses, sometimes partial basements with a crawlspace under the rest of the house. Postwar ranches tend to have full basements that were later finished. Both are likely to be served by older sewer laterals.
How risks differ by house type in Bonnie Brae
- House type
- 1920s and 1930s brick cottage or Tudor
- Common water entry points
- Low basement windows, brick foundation, floor drain
- What to watch
- Seepage on the uphill side; low headroom makes finishes close to the floor
- House type
- Partial basement with crawlspace
- Common water entry points
- Crawlspace openings and plumbing runs
- What to watch
- Hidden leaks under floors; damp crawlspace soil
- House type
- Postwar brick ranch
- Common water entry points
- Full basement windows and wells, floor drain, laundry
- What to watch
- Finished basements over older plumbing and laterals
- House type
- Rebuilt or expanded home
- Common water entry points
- Deeper basement, sump pit, roof seams
- What to watch
- Sump discharge direction; additions meeting old roofs
Matching what you see to what to check
- IfWater enters along the wall facing the street or a higher neighbor's yardCheck the grade on that side and where surface water flows during a storm.
- IfThe house has a crawlspaceLook in it after heavy rain and after any plumbing leak; water there can go unnoticed for a long time.
- IfGutters overflow on a steep cottage roofAsk about larger gutters or downspouts, and clean them more often under big trees.
- IfA floor drain backup happensScope the lateral; older Bonnie Brae homes are likely to have older sewer pipe.
Common questions
Is a crawlspace a water problem by itself?
Not necessarily. Many crawlspaces stay dry for decades. They become a problem when water from grading, a plumbing leak or a backup sits there unseen, raising humidity under the house. A periodic look with a flashlight is the simplest check.
General information for Washington Park, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.