Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 07, 1999 07:51pm | #1

   *
   I don't believe its overkill but I'd take pains to make sure it doesn't plug up. Lay the drains at the footing in a bed of crushed stone and cover with same. Cover the crushed stone with Typar or Tyvek to eliminate/reduce sand infiltration. I would not do any of this till your first floor is done ......backfilling puts considerable loads on the foundation.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 08, 1999 05:44am | #2

   *I caught a little flack in a previous thread for suggesting a green house cover for window wells. I continue to believe that the best way to manage rain water in window wells is with a transparent cover. There was concern that if the window was an egress the cover would defeat this. Any cover should be easily opened from below for egress or for ventilation. An inground drain, as described, should also be provided.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 08, 1999 06:51am | #3

   *To add a bit to what jcallahan said, I feel septic paper is also a good filter membrane to prevent particles from migrating and filling in the gravel and drain tile. It is also quite inexpensive.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 08, 1999 06:58am | #4

   *JimIf you have the option (grade permitting) to drain the window well i to daylightinstead of into your weepers it would be a better way to go, this way it can always be monitored for clogs etc, and you won't risk an expensive excavation of your foundation perimeter drainage.Perforated plastic weeping tile, known here as Big O, comes with an optional fabric sleeve for use in very sandy conditions, use it in conjuction with 3/4"limestone, or whatever is used in your locale.-pm

2. 
   jimg_ | Sep 08, 1999 06:27pm | #5

   *
   Thanks for the input. For clarification:

   The windows are not for egress. I'm building a basement under my house so the walls get tied into the floor joists as I build them. The soil is so sandy, I was considering not putting the drain tile in at all, but for the cost, I stuck it in. I used a 3" tile with a sleeve, just put in the sand, no gravel. I seriously doubt it will ever see any water. I'm just going to put a tee in it under my windows, run a pipe straight up and cap it off with some sort of grate. I'll keep the grate above the soil 2"-3" (but still under a coarse gravel) so there will have to be an acumulation of water before it gets into the pipe. Everything will still be below the bottom of the window. Daylighting the pipe is not an option.

   What is septic paper?

3. 
   Guest_ | Sep 09, 1999 03:59am | #6

   *
   If you used the pipe with the sleeve, you don't need the septic paper, but, just for the record, it's used in septic fields, and looks and feels kinda like white tissue paper except that it is hard to tear - I think it may have fiberglass in it. It comes in rolls between 12" and 48" wide (that I have seen) and costs about $.07 thru $.15 a linear foot.

4. 
   Tedfrd | Sep 09, 1999 06:11am | #7

   *
   Matt, Isn't that just another form of TYVEK?

   I've always used filter paper.

5. 
   jimg_ | Sep 10, 1999 03:37am | #8

   *
   Here's the situation: I'm building a surface bonded block basement in very sandy soil. I'm considering running a drain pipe vertically from the bottom of the window wells down into the drain tile at the footing that will then run into a sump. This may be overkill, but now that everything is open, now's the time to do it. Does anybody see any problems with doing this? Maybe debris (over time) clogging the drain tile?

6. 
   Guest_ | Sep 10, 1999 03:37am | #9

   *
   No, septic paper and Tyvek are very different.

   When you say filter paper, and I say septic paper, we may be talking about the same thing.