When the rain came down and the flood came up earlier this summer, we stayed nearly dry and we are so grateful. Greta’s room was the only room that had some water damage so we moved her room up on our list. We fixed some drywall under her window, replaced carpet pad and recently tackled the source of the problem–her window well.
There were a couple things wrong here that caused the flooding. First, layers of blackout fabric, leaves and large rocks are not ideal (not even close!) for draining. Especially when they are at and above the window itself. Why anybody would put blackout fabric at the bottom of a window well is beyond me.
For September’s Ace Hardware project they asked us to go out of our comfort zone and there’s nothing comfortable about crawling into a 5 foot spider-infested window well–so, challenge accepted. … and precaution taken:
I laughed for a solid 6 minutes when Chris walked out of the garage like this, but I don’t blame him one bit. It is hobo spider season here. We sprayed the window well for spiders 24 hours in advance and 6 giant ones immediately tried to crawl for dear life.
So after spider spraying and a prayer, Chris removed all the large rocks, debris and blackout fabric and then began digging down. We didn’t have to dig far–maybe 3 inches? Just far enough so that our new rocks would sit below the window.
While he was down there, a little cleaning was in order, too. He wiped off all the old cobwebs (while I shuddered next to him) and cleaned the windows, too.
Even though our window well has a cover, it still had a lot of hard water stains  from the sprinkler system. Regular glass cleaner wasn’t cutting it, so we picked up a spray bottle and white vinegar while we were getting our other supplies at Ace. 1 part white vinegar + 1 part warm water did the trick. Spray it on and wipe with a wet cloth and follow up with a dry one.
Sealing the window with caulk+silicone was another defense we took against the elements. During the process, we noticed a lot of our windows’ caulking had weathered away, so we were due.
The last step was laying new rocks. We went for “white marble chips” we found at our local Ace store (around $5 a bag) and picked up 4 bags.
I really love how they brighten up a normally very dark space and bounce a lot of light into Greta’s room, too.
Not the most exciting before and after, but definitely needed! Do you have window wells? How often do you maintain them? This was our first time since we moved in and we’re putting it on our Fall to-dos from here on out.
Ps. $100 Ace Hardware giveaway happening on our Instagram today! (@chrislovesjulia) See you there.
We’re really excited to be collaborating with Ace Hardware as a part of their Ace Blogger Panel this year. Ace has provided us with compensation and $100 gift card to get the materials necessary to complete this project–we found the shovel, white rocks, silicone, spray bottle, white vinegar, and even the spider spray at our local store! All opinions and duct taped ankles are our own.Â
I have 2 egress wells that need to be cleaned and painted. Approximately how much would that cost?
You’ll have to get quotes from local companies (or check Angi.com)—-we can’t provide a range!
My parents dug out and terraced a window well that shrouded a basement bedroom. They used stone to line it, but I think it’s by far the best long term solution if you can sacrifice a few feet of your yard.
Something like this:
http://www.familyhandyman.com/basement/how-to-install-a-terraced-window-well-in-your-basement/view-all
This post is great. I’ve honestly been wondering for years how I would go about cleaning ours. We have two super deep ones. Ours are an odd size, so covers aren’t cheap. Spending $300 on custom cut covers is something I’ve been putting off since we moved in 6 years ago. Every year at least one animal gets itself trapped down there. Usually a mouse or a frog, but this year I scared a bunny with the lawnmower and down it went. They climb back out with the help of a 2×4 or encouragement into a bucket tied to a rope. I’ve never been brave enough to actually go in there and clean it out and my husband freaks out at the thought of a spider, so no way he’s going in. I may just have to try out the pants + duct tape pants. The bug spray is also a great idea.
I love your Sunday School song reference. It made me giggle.
;)
Would you ever consider painting the metal in the well a color like White? Just thinking out loud. Everything is looking great.
That was my original thought, too! I was worried about the white paint showing a lot of dirt, but I haven’t tossed the idea out completely.