Basement window

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beachlion
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Basement window

Post by beachlion »

With the last heavy rainstorm from Sunday/Monday a lot of water came down. So when I went down to my basement/workshop, an inch of water on the floor greeted me. A nearby window was to blame. It is a small window (16" X 16") and the top is a little below the surface of a small concrete walkway at the side of the house. There were 6 glass "bricks" in the concrete but people before us might have broken them. Somebody put a piece of plywood over it and that was it. Normally there is not much rain at that spot but with the wrong wind it becomes a little stream. So a solutiom has to be found.
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This is the before situation.
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The glass, the corroded steel and some concrete is removed.
At first I had the idea to reconstruct the glass pavement but with the board over the hole, I had no light from that window anyway. So the simple solution is to remove the window, brick up the hole, fill in the pit with old bricks from the back yard and put concrete on top.

300 lb of bricks and 60 lb of mortar is already bought so let the fun start. :(
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Basement window

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Make sure you seal the area where you are going to put the bricks and concrete, so water does not seep in. Allow for a drain if water stands in that area as well.
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Kirbstone
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Re: Basement window

Post by Kirbstone »

Photos make it seem like a culvert where water would course during heavy rain. Like a roof valley it needs serious waterproof sealing and a slope so water will run off.

We also get water pouring down on us from the skies here in Ireland, so the problem is familiar.

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beachlion
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Re: Basement window

Post by beachlion »

The brick outside I will cover with a tar product. I used it for the roof and it is a very sticky goo that you even can apply in rain. The hole will be coverd with waterproof concrete.
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The space is clean and ready for the bricks. I had to support a floorjoist that was resting on the wooden windowframe.
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This is a sort of mold to help me with placing the bricks. I'm not that good as a brick layer. :wink:
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Bricking up. The wall is quite thick so I need two planes with the bricks in normal position and a plane in between with the bricks sideways. It is quite rustique.

There will be some light rain tonight so I will cover up with a tarp.
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beachlion
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Re: Basement window

Post by beachlion »

It is going slow but I like the mortar to cure as much as posible before I put a new plane of bricks in.
P1010329q.jpg
Bricking up is finished at the inside. I don't expect a medal or points for this crappy work. But it holds and it will be covered in the end.
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Outside I'm filling the pit with old bricks and watered down mortar. I'm making a sort of sandwich. After a last layer of bricks I will pour concrete and after that this problem is over.

I'm curious what this old house will have as the next problem. :wink:
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pelmut
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Re: Basement window

Post by pelmut »

beachlion wrote:..I'm curious what this old house will have as the next problem. :wink:
Mushrooms in the basement - due to lack of light because someone blocked off the window...
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Basement window

Post by Fred in Skirts »

pelmut wrote:
beachlion wrote:..I'm curious what this old house will have as the next problem. :wink:
Mushrooms in the basement - due to lack of light because someone blocked off the window...
Now that is a great idea! Set up a few racks and put trays of mushroom soil on them and enjoy the pickings of fresh mushrooms. And you know they are fresh and safe since you grew them. :lol:
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beachlion
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Re: Basement window

Post by beachlion »

My wife hates mushrooms so that is out of the question. And with the machining going on in my workshop with all the lights on, I don't think mushrooms like that. And with baseboard heating in the winter it will not be that humid.

Before this operation, the light was blocked off anyway by the piece of plywood. So nobody will miss the light from outside.
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kingfish
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Re: Basement window

Post by kingfish »

Warning, you might be in trouble regarding building code(s). Building inspectors, fire marshals, and insurance adjusters like to see two paths of egress out of any room, including the basement. And that size window can count as one.
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Re: Basement window

Post by r.m.anderson »

As one door closes another opens (I hope I wish)
So be it as one window is disabled I hope I wish that you have another to open.
The above post by kingfish says it all.
If not up to snuff - I hope that you don't have to undo - redo what you have done.
You may have trouble not now but in the future selling your home.

Good luck on stopping the rains of Ranchipur leave room for the little dyke boy to put his thumb in to stop the flow !
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beachlion
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Re: Basement window

Post by beachlion »

Not even Houdini could use the window as an escape. The window was 16" x 16". The window was fixed in the wooden frame. The window started 5' above the floor. In de concrete walkway were 6 glass tiles fixed in a steel frame. So I think to be reasonable safe in assumong that the window was never meant as an escape. The window is close to the stairs. At the other side is a larger window near the sidewalk in front of the house. If I need an escape, that is the way to go. I have to smash the window and climb over the dryer but that will be easy in case of an emergency.

Thanks for the advise anyway.
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kingfish
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Re: Basement window

Post by kingfish »

Two modes of egress: One up the stairs, the other out the far window. Good to hear!
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beachlion
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Re: Basement window

Post by beachlion »

I worked for a shipyard and sometimes I had a small crew for testing or repairs on board. Especially the young ones did not have much notion of safe working. As a mother hen I had to check everyone to see if they were safe, used tools in a safe way, get ventilation going when they were welding in the hold and check out safe escape routes to the open decks. Those things are still in the background of my pensionado mind and I apply the safety rules without much thinking. 35 years of motorbike riding is also a big help. :wink:
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