Basement window level with the ground water leak prevention
When a basement window sits even with the ground, contractors offer completely conflicting recommendations for keeping water out. This leaves homeowners guessing at the right fix while waiting for an inevitable leak to happen.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Ensuring the ground around the window is graded appropriately
- 2Sealing the window
- 3Installing a window well
- 4Closing up the window completely
- 5Grinding or removing the rust, filling holes with epoxy, and resealing the existing steel buck
- 6Cutting out the existing steel buck and installing a slightly larger window
- 7Removing the existing steel buck and replacing it with an aluminum frame system
- 8digging the window well deeper
- 9replacing stones with a metal well surrounding
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’ve had three basement/window contractors look at it, and I’m getting three completely different recommendations:”source ↗
“My question for anyone who has dealt with this: What would you do?”source ↗
“I have a basement window that’s bottom is essentially even with the ground. I have had not any issues yet with water entry but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 22Water keeps getting in the house during heavy rain
- 9How to stop water pooling against the house from sinking concrete
- 2Can you use fiberglass insulation in a basement after flooding?
- 6How to temporarily waterproof a damaged roof until replacement
- 3How to regrade a yard after basement waterproofing
- 10HVAC lineset leaking through the roof