Water pooling in window tracks even after cleaning weep holes
Water pools in window tracks during heavy rain and leaks inside because drainage is blocked or overwhelmed. This inner leakage causes window frames and surrounding drywall to crack, even when the exterior weep holes are clear.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 23.7× more often in r/homeowners than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1cleaning exterior weep holesDid this help you?
- 2Digging out the dirt and filling the wells with crushed stone or gravelDid this help you?
- 3Installing custom or standard window well coversDid this help you?
- 4Tying the window wells into exterior drain tile or french drain systemsDid this help you?
- 5Regrading the surrounding yard and extending downspoutsDid this help you?
- 6Applying concrete sealants like DryLok to the foundationDid this help you?
- 7Checking the wall with a hygrometer to measure moistureDid this help you?
- 8Inspecting exterior window caulking for holes or gapsDid this help you?
- 9Checking for missing drip caps or improperly angled sillsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When it rains heavily, we've seen water start to pool in these window wells.”source ↗
“Right now, they're just dirt (which is mostly clay) with a cosmetic layer of gravel/rock on top.”source ↗
“when we first moved in, we couldn't find any well cover that fit. Do you know where we could get some non-standard shaped covers?”source ↗
“I think I have this same issue and I asked the guy who installed my sump pump and he said to dig deeper and stuff more rock in there so the water has further to drain.”source ↗
“Clay does not drain well, which is why you're seeing the pooling effect when it rains.”source ↗
“Has anyone experienced this type of staining due to condensation? I’m leaning more towards a leak but have had multiple people say it is from condensation. It is on every south facing window.”source ↗
“This happened to me. It was a hole in the outside caulking. Unfortunately, already ordered a new window before the hole was found.”source ↗
“Water keeps pooling in this spot and soaks through to the inside of the house causing a crack on one of the windows.”source ↗
“I have cleaned the bottom exterior weep holes but it is still an issue.”source ↗
“Can someone guide me on how water gets in and more importantly how to get water out of this track please.”source ↗