I recently purchased a house in rural Ontario, and I noticed that the window wells are filled with concrete. I didn't take on any home projects last summer since I was busy with a new baby, but now I'm looking into what to do about this situation. With the heavy snowfall we've been getting, I've just been shoveling snow away from the windows for now.
My dad suggested using a jackhammer to break up the concrete, remove it, and replace it with gravel. But is there any risk in doing that? I'm also curious if there's a reason someone would fill the window wells with concrete up to the base of the window—especially since we live on a river and deal with a lot of rain and snow. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Do you know if there were any drains installed in that concrete? They could be blocked. If not, it seems like the previous owners just poured concrete with no real plan, which is definitely odd. You'll want to address that soon, especially with all that snow and rain impacting your home.
Have you thought about using window well covers? There are clear options available that can act like a greenhouse and even let you grow some plants inside! Just be cautious about the potential for algae and mold if they’re not well-ventilated. But with all the water you’re dealing with, removing that concrete is probably a smart move for better drainage!
Thanks for the suggestion! I do want to find a permanent solution for the drainage issues first before adding anything else.
No visible drains at all! It was a mystery for me too—just concrete all the way down. I’ll need to get to the bottom of this.