I've still been coming on and putting occassional posts on lately but really i've been preoccupied with a problem at Casa Del White. A few weeks ago there was a big rain. The day some tornados touched down in our area( Southwestern Ontario). No tornados for us but lots of rain that our window well drain couldn't handle so it leaked in through the window. A good section of our carpet got soaked. So i cut it and the underpadding out. I got a dehumidifier and had it running with a borrowed fan to try and draw moisture out of the basement. I took the baseboard off to get air at the drywall. Basically all the stuff i could think of to dry the place out. Then i called insurance and they were nice enough to tell me that we didn't have that covered. So i talked to our agent directly. After a week and a half he said to call up the claims department again. So i did and was told on that date we weren't covered. But our agent said to call for the claim, so why would he do that i asked and played back the message he left on our answering machine. So the company adjuster decided to look into it and finally as of today they are making an exception and accepting our claim. I know rookie mistake not to read the insurance policy booklet and the renewal last year, but who does??? Now i know i do, that's who. We were first time homeowners and insurance buyers but really no excuse. So hopefully soon we'll have the work done and everything back to normal. I really still don't know why the drain outside backed up. It was a very very heavy rain, with strong winds and hail that day. Our neighbour beside us had a leak in his new roof develop and he's got serious damage in the house. I'll have to see if i can find window well covers to fit over the opening, maybe that will help. Everything looks fine otherwise. It could have just been too much precipitation too fast. The joys of home ownership. This has made me a lot wiser and i thought i'd share the experience to maybe help others. In the meantime no work done on the car but i've driven it quite a bit. Took it to work every day last week minus one
I don't believe so. The drain is in the window well under a layer of small stones and clay. There's a mesh screen on top of the pipe i'm guessing so the rocks don't get in. I had to dig the rocks to reveal the pipe to show the insurance company. I don't know if the ground around soaked up water somehow or what. No cracks in the foundation, they won't cover anything if that was the case. We could see the water line on the basement window where the water had risen to.
Is it this style of window well ? We had the same thing happen to us several years ago. This window filled up like a fish bowl. soaked the carpet just like you. My wife was crying when it happened and then started to laugh as a frog was swimming in it. Found there was a small gap from the window well and the basement wall that the water was pouring in the well from the side. I tamped soil in any gaps and also used that expanding foam as you can see between the gap . Have not had any leaks in a couple of years. I found that when these window wells fill up with water its not from the falling rain but from the water thats soaked into the ground and pours in from the sides if there is a gap.
Ian thanks for that info. Yes that's the type of window we have and i was thinking about putting some additonal sealer there. It looked ok what was there but extra protection wouldn't hurt. I've already put more caulking around the window just to try and make it a little bit more water resistant. I'll have to look for that expanding foam stuff. I ought to use the gasket forming stuff we used on my wife's car for the oil pan!
Any idea where that drain leads to? Might not hurt to see if the insurance company will pay to have someone shoot a camera down there to ensure there isn't a blockage. It may not be a problem in light rain but you can be sure it will happen again if you get the same type of rainfall.
