Background

The house in this example is a two-story Denver Square near the park, with a basement guest room added by a previous owner. That remodel enlarged the old basement window into an egress window with a deep corrugated metal well on the north side, between the house and the neighbor's driveway. The north side gets almost no winter sun, so snow lingers there.

Through the fall, leaves from a large street tree collected in the well. Nobody cleared them, because the well is out of sight behind a fence. In March, a heavy, wet storm drops a lot of snow, and drifts plus snow shoveled off the side path fill the well nearly to the top.

What happened

Illustrative example. Not a real job or customer.

Two days after the storm, the sun comes out and temperatures climb. The top of the snow in the well melts, but the leaves and ice at the bottom keep the drain sealed. In the late afternoon the owner, working upstairs, hears dripping from the basement and finds water running down the inside of the guest room wall below the egress window and soaking the carpet.

  1. The owner goes outside and digs snow out of the well with a shovel and a bucket, dropping the water level below the sill within about half an hour.
  2. Inside, they move the bed and dresser away from the wet wall and lift the carpet edge to see how far the water reached.
  3. They photograph the full well, the window frame, the wet wall and carpet.
  4. They call a restorer, who measures moisture along the wall and floor and finds water in the pad across about a third of the room and in the bottom of the drywall below the window.
  5. The restorer removes the wet pad, dries the carpet in place, cuts out a strip of drywall below the window, and sets up drying equipment.
  6. Later, a window contractor reseals the window frame and adds gravel and a working drain at the bottom of the well, and the owner installs a clear well cover.

Fast bailing kept the water from spreading across the whole room. The carpet was saved after drying with new pad, and only a narrow strip of drywall had to be replaced. The insurer's response depended on how the policy treated surface water entering through a window, which the owner learned only after the event.

Decision points in this example

  • IfWater is coming through a window from an outside wellBail the well first; drying the room while water keeps entering wastes time.
  • IfThe carpet got clean meltwater and was lifted within a dayDrying the carpet in place with new pad is often possible.
  • IfDrywall below the window reads wet above the floorA flood cut lets the cavity and insulation dry instead of trapping water.
  • IfThe well has no working drainFix the well, not just the window; otherwise the next storm repeats the problem.

Lessons that carry over

  • Check wells that are out of sight, not just the ones you walk past.
  • Never pile shoveled snow next to a window well.
  • Ask your agent now how your policy treats water coming through a window from outside.
  • Keep a bucket and shovel near the back door through the snow season.

General information for Washington Park, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.