A leaky basement window can wreak havoc on any basement whether it’s happening in a finished basement or not, problem is sometimes they can be a little tricky to figure out just what is causing the problem.
Whether you have an already finished basement or are looking to do a little remodeling work to your fixer upper, sometimes you’ll find what looks like wear and tear over time that your wall has sprung a leak. Upon a little closer inspection, you see that it’s not necessarily the wall, but a leaky basement window. This can be quite troublesome especially in areas where there is a lot of snow that melts or rain with runoff. Without some good protection in place, that water can seep right on in through the basement window leaving a wall trail all the way to a puddle on the floor. This is something that you’ll definitely want fixed before you do any type of remodeling in the area, but what does it take to correct the problem?
The first thing that you are going to have to tackle to figure out a leaky basement window problem is what exactly is leaking. It could be that the window itself is leaking. Or it might even turn out that the leak is coming from around the window. It may be that the structure itself is not sound and is leaking underneath the window from the wall. It may even be that the leak is starting from something totally unrelated and is just presenting itself around the window area to make it appear as though that is your problem.
Whatever it is, trying to figure out what exactly is leaking can sometimes be difficult by yourself and you need to keep in mind that just because the leak may appear to be small doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a small problem, although some do turn out to be rather minor by typical repair measures. The fact of the matter is that if you’ve got visible water coming into your basement, you’ve simply got to get it fixed before you go any further as it will absolutely ruin your day, not to mention damage the work that you are going to do or have already done.
If you do determine that water is coming in via your window, one solution for a leaky basement repair that sometimes fixes this problem is simply installing a window well cover if you don’t have one. This is something that most anyone can do. Here’s some quick steps to help you along that process using some simple materials like tar and landscaping plastic. Simply dig down around the window on the outside of the wall a little ways and apply some waterproof tar. As you are filling in the dirt, remember only to fill it about half or three-quarters of the way back, we’ve still got to use that plastic. Once you are at the level, lay down the landscaping plastic to provide for another layer of protection. Top it off with the remaining dirt and top soil. This will help as it won’t allow for water seeping through by your window.
If you’re not up to it or don’t feel to confident that this might stop your water issues, sometimes hiring a water mitigation contractor that’s experienced with basement issues can really help. After all, you really don’t want to make any assumptions that you may have found the cause if your not 100% sure. Besides, why waste effort that you are going to put into your remodel without being positive as there really is a plethora of things that could be actually causing your basement to leak and it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion when it comes to fixing leaky basements.
