Maintaining a dry basement is critical for the protection and preservation of your home. Providing a protective barrier that is designed to prevent water from entering the basement through a window well can save a home and its belongings from serious destruction. Basements can be kept dry by preventing rain or snow from leaking through basement window wells with a properly fitted, custom basement window well cover. Normal rainfall may not cause much of a problem, but the occasional heavy downpour or snow and ice melt can allow water to enter the basement.
In addition to a homeowner checking gutters, downspouts, grading, and cracks on the walls and floors of a basement, basement window wells left uncovered need to be maintained. The homeowner should check and remove any debris that has collected in the bottom of their window well each spring and fall or more frequently if needed. The window well must be kept clean and free of debris to allow proper drainage. A window well cover that is custom made with a solid protective material and designed to eliminate debris from collecting in the window well will eliminate the constant maintenance homeowners need to perform.
Deep wells, such as egress, can be challenging for homeowners to maintain. Egress wells also create a large exterior hole that small animals and rodents can fall into and become trapped. Injury to children and even adults can occur from a fall into this large well. It is required by law that if the basement room is used for sleeping, an egress well must be installed as another means of escape in case of an emergency. Clear dimensions are stated for the egress through the IRC (International Residential Code).
There are companies that fabricate custom basement covers using thicker grades of plastic making the cover more durable than the thin lightweight covers available in home improvement and hardware stores. Custom fabricated well covers constructed to specifically fit homeowner applications can also include special design options to allow for pipes, concrete application, dryer vents, etc. Covers constructed using polycarbonate material will support weight, ¼” will easily support 300 lbs, allow natural light to pass through, and eliminate constant maintenance of the window well.
You can purchase polycarbonate covers at http://www.customcoversinc.com
This company constructs high quality custom fitted window well covers using green materials so your cover is designed to last, and is also capable of doing custom fabrications for unique applications.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Basement Window Wells - A Simple Solution
Many homes being built today with rooms below ground level will have window wells installed on the exterior of the home to let in light and provide an egress in the case of an emergency. Sometimes, especially in the case of deep window wells, homeowners have problems with safety, drainage and maintenance.
A simple solution to these issues is to outfit your window well with a polycarbonate cover that will help keep the snow, leaves, water, and even animals out. The cover can even help with drainage issues by minimizing the amount of rain water during heavy down pours and by keeping snow from building up in the well during the winter. When the snow melts, unless the well has a specially designed drain, you may have drainage problems and water may be allowed to seep into the foundation and enter the basement.
This article does not suggest that adding a window well cover will eliminate drainage problems, but rather it, along with the addition of a deep layer of stones in the window well can go a long way in dissipating water from out of the well without having it seep into the house through the foundation or window. Purchasing a window well cover is a much cheaper solution than a costly re-grading project, or installation of a French drain around your house.
A deep window well can be hard to keep clean when it fills with leaves, snow, dirt and sometimes even small animals. In some areas of the country it is not uncommon for a deer to become trapped in a large and deep window well. More common are squirrels, mice and other rodents who fall into the well but can't jump out, this will generally cause damage to the window screens by the animals trying to climb out. Again, simply covering your window well with a polycarbonate window well cover will keep debris, rain and snow out of your window well, while still allowing light to filter into the room. Children and small animals will also be kept out of the hole safely.
Window wells brighten dark basements and provide emergency egress. By covering your window well you can eliminate all of the maintenance problems and prevent many drainage problems. The window well cover should fully enclose the well and window. The cover should attach to the well and be held firmly in place and include hardware that will allow for an easy escape in case of an emergency. It is important to measure exactly to ensure the proper fit of the window well cover. A window well cover should be constructed to protect against injury, allow natural light, minimize maintenance to the well and protect against a potential entry point of an intruder into your home.
A window well cover constructed using a polycarbonate material will address the strength needed to support weight from snow or even a person who accidentally falls or steps on the cover. Polycarbonate material can withstand temperature changes and does not become brittle or crack. Polycarbonate can be easily trimmed for a more perfect fit. Purchasing a high quality constructed window well cover utilizing “green” materials like polycarbonate will eliminate the need to continuously replace well covers that have been purchased from a local hardware store. Local hardware stores generally stock limited sizes and the plastic material is thin and will easily break.
You can find polycarbonate covers at http://www.customcoversinc.com
By installing a high quality window well cover, your window wells can be safe and virtually maintenance-free!
A simple solution to these issues is to outfit your window well with a polycarbonate cover that will help keep the snow, leaves, water, and even animals out. The cover can even help with drainage issues by minimizing the amount of rain water during heavy down pours and by keeping snow from building up in the well during the winter. When the snow melts, unless the well has a specially designed drain, you may have drainage problems and water may be allowed to seep into the foundation and enter the basement.
This article does not suggest that adding a window well cover will eliminate drainage problems, but rather it, along with the addition of a deep layer of stones in the window well can go a long way in dissipating water from out of the well without having it seep into the house through the foundation or window. Purchasing a window well cover is a much cheaper solution than a costly re-grading project, or installation of a French drain around your house.
A deep window well can be hard to keep clean when it fills with leaves, snow, dirt and sometimes even small animals. In some areas of the country it is not uncommon for a deer to become trapped in a large and deep window well. More common are squirrels, mice and other rodents who fall into the well but can't jump out, this will generally cause damage to the window screens by the animals trying to climb out. Again, simply covering your window well with a polycarbonate window well cover will keep debris, rain and snow out of your window well, while still allowing light to filter into the room. Children and small animals will also be kept out of the hole safely.
Window wells brighten dark basements and provide emergency egress. By covering your window well you can eliminate all of the maintenance problems and prevent many drainage problems. The window well cover should fully enclose the well and window. The cover should attach to the well and be held firmly in place and include hardware that will allow for an easy escape in case of an emergency. It is important to measure exactly to ensure the proper fit of the window well cover. A window well cover should be constructed to protect against injury, allow natural light, minimize maintenance to the well and protect against a potential entry point of an intruder into your home.
A window well cover constructed using a polycarbonate material will address the strength needed to support weight from snow or even a person who accidentally falls or steps on the cover. Polycarbonate material can withstand temperature changes and does not become brittle or crack. Polycarbonate can be easily trimmed for a more perfect fit. Purchasing a high quality constructed window well cover utilizing “green” materials like polycarbonate will eliminate the need to continuously replace well covers that have been purchased from a local hardware store. Local hardware stores generally stock limited sizes and the plastic material is thin and will easily break.
You can find polycarbonate covers at http://www.customcoversinc.com
By installing a high quality window well cover, your window wells can be safe and virtually maintenance-free!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Things To Consider When Planning A Basement Egress Window
A basement egress window is one of the major considerations you must make when remodeling your basement. Building codes require an egress window in any room used for sleeping. If this includes a newly designed basement room in your home, an egress window is required. A basement window is unique in terms of egress because it also requires an egress window well surrounding it on the outside.
Installing a basement egress window is an involved job that might require professional help if you aren’t sure exactly what you are doing. Among the considerations you must make are the code requirements to meet, dampness issues implicit in the well design, the well itself, available headroom and the type of window you will install. If you opt to do the job yourself, each of these 6 things must be carefully considered before you begin.
Start With A Plan
Installing one or more basement egress windows requires a permit. It also requires that your window meet certain specified requirements so that it provides a safe means of escape. Starting with a plan will not only help you keep the project straight, but it will also let the building inspector know what you are doing. By seeing it, the inspector can better assess the situation.
It is vital that you adhere to the code or else you may have to make costly modifications to the project. An egress window may be no higher than 44 inches from the ground to the sill inside. It must be at least 20 inches wide and 24 inches high, however, those cannot be the dimensions because it must provide at least 5.7 square feet of clear space when open. The minimum dimensions are 20x41 inches or 24x34½ inches.
The egress well must be at least 36 inches long by 36 inches wide. If it is deeper than 44 inches, it must have a fixed ladder or staircase to exit it. You must dig out the ground around the foundation in order to install the wall sides of the well or insert a molded well. The bottom of the well should provide for proper drainage for rain water.
Dampness
On either side of the egress window frame there should be an 8-inch buffer area to prevent water from seeping in the sides. If the ground around the home is in any way sloped towards the house, water runoff might enter the egress well. In this case the ground must be heightened to slope away from the foundation. Downspouts should be relocated if they meet the ground where the window well will go, and gutters should be checked for leaks.
Headroom
Inside the basement, there must be enough headroom to allow for the installation of an egress window. The height of your basement may preclude such an installation, which is another reason why checking with a building inspector is so important.
Window Type
The last consideration to make is the type of window you use. Casement windows provide a good solution, for their total open area is maximized within a smaller frame. Double hung and gliding windows have to be bigger to provide the necessary area which may present a problem during installation.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Teaching Your Family Egress Procedures
Teaching your family, especially children, about the use of egress windows or doors is part of having an escape plan from your home established in the event of an emergency. In homes, the most common types of egress are windows. They are easier and less expensive to install than doors. Every room used for sleeping in a home is required to possess at least one egress window. There are very specific requirements for egress windows in terms of positioning, dimensions and operation. Knowing what to do in the event of an emergency can save lives. Since egress windows are meant for precisely such a scenario, it is imperative that kids know what to do.
Step 1: Ensure Your Home Meets Egress Code
Before you can teach your kids proper egress procedures, you have to be sure the egress windows in your homes are up to code. If you installed them yourself or had them installed, they were likely built according to required specifications. Regardless, check them for safety. In basement egress windows, make sure you and/or your children can safely climb out of the egress well once outside. If not, install a ladder to aid in climbing. Check all of the windows to ensure that they will open without undue force or strength and that anyone can unlatch and open them from the inside.
Step 2: Devise an Escape Route for Upper Level Egress Windows
Egress windows leading out of upper level rooms likely take the occupant to a roof. Be sure you have an escape plan in mind to get your children and other family members down safely to the ground. Buy a rope ladder and find a place to attach it to the home's structure.
Step 3: Make a Whole-House Diagram
Draw a diagram of every floor of your house with each subdivided by room. Resembling a top-down blueprint, use this diagram to create safe escape routes from each room, indicating with a red marker the best, safest way outside from each location. For bedrooms that have egress windows leading to a roof, be sure to mark the location of the emergency exit ladder or where it should be placed. Every bedroom with an egress window needs its own emergency escape route diagrammed. This diagram should be laminated and positioned somewhere very visible in the house. Make photocopies of it and place one in each room.
Step 4: Instruct Your Kids
With the emergency escape diagram in place, spend a little time with your kids showing them not only the diagram but how to properly use their egress window. They should know exactly how to open the window in their room, quickly remove a screen if there is one and be able to clear the window quickly. In basement rooms, show them how to get out of the egress well once they've moved out from the window. On upper levels, walk them through the emergency drill including how to properly attach and unroll the rope ladder.
Your kids need not be tested every week like a regular school fire drill, but you should be confident that they know how to quickly clear the egress window in their room and to safely use any supplemental escape device.
Following these procedures could save a life!
Please visit http://customcoversinc.com
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Basement Window Well Facts & Information
These days basements provide homeowners more living space. They become the perfect addition for home theaters, pool tables and family entertainment areas. Children play, home offices are set up in them and they provide sleeping quarters.
Builders offer homeowners the ability to allow natural daylight into the basement by installing window wells or egress window wells when the home is built. Unfortunately this leaves a large exterior hole that the homeowner is left to deal with.
Indiana code requires that all egress wells be covered for safety. Most builders will cover egress openings using heavy steel grates, fencing or a wooden frame with lattice board. This does adhere to Indiana building code for safety, but leaves the homeowner to deal with constant maintenance issues due to this open style cover.
Open style covers still allow weather elements to reach the window, and in time can allow the basement window to leak and allow water into the basement. Open style well covers allow leaves and debris to collect in the wells creating constant homeowner cleaning to assure the drain remains operable and free of debris. Small animals and rodents can fall thru open style covers and become trapped in the well damaging the window screens trying to find a way back out.
Continued exposure to weather elements will cause rust to steel grates making them aesthetically unappealing. These grates are heavy and remain in place, but could be hard for a child to remove if an emergency occurred. Wooden lattice frames over time with weather exposure deteriorate and provide less support and eventually no safety for this large size opening. Fencing can become cumbersome to climb over again and again in order for the homeowner to maintain the wells.
Hardware and home improvement stores do carry basement well covers. They will generally stock a few different sizes, and if you are lucky enough to find one that fits the width of your well, it will typically not have the correct projection you need to fully enclose the entire opening. These covers will be made out of a thin plastic, will easily break and do not address the following considerations a homeowner should address when purchasing a basement well cover.
Things To Consider When Purchasing A Basement Well Cover
If you own a home with a basement window well or are in the process of building a home that will have basement window wells you should invest in a high quality cover that is constructed using Green Materials built to last. A durable and properly fitting cover may cost a little more up front, but in the long run, will limit the frustration homeowners have of trying to find one that actually fits and the cost involved in the continued replacement of the cheaper plastic covers.
1.) STRENGTH:
The thicker the material being used, the more support the cover will provide.
1/4" polycarbonate material will easily support 300 lbs.
2.) DURABILITY:
Address the material being used to construct the cover. Acrylics and Plexiglas do not provide the strength like Polycarbonate. Polycarbonate will also withstand temperature changes and will not get brittle and break.
3.) FUNCTION & DESIGN:
Will the cover fully enclose your well and window. Some windows extend above the actual well. Also, consider if you prefer the cover to hinge open or prefer it to lift completely off.
4.) AESTHETICS:
Consider how you want your cover to look. A good looking well cover can add value to your property.
5.) SECURITY:
Can the cover be locked from the underneath side to ward off potential burglars, but still allow easy escape in case of emergency.
6.) FIT:
Decide how well you want the cover to fit. Covers that are custom made to fit your well will generally look much more appealing.
7.) VENTILATION:
Proper ventilation reduces condensation and heat buildup.
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