Part of our Window Well Replacement in Colorado Springs guide.
A window well cover is a small piece of a house that does a large job. It keeps leaves, hail, pets, and people out of the hole in front of a basement window, and it keeps a lot of rain from landing on the glass. Affordable Services Inc. fits covers on new and existing wells in Colorado Springs. This guide is the short version of how we choose one. The full service is on our window well covers and replacement page.
What a cover is supposed to do
Start with the problem, not the product. If the well fills with cottonwood leaves every October, you need something that blocks debris. If people walk along that side of the house, you need something they will not slide off. If the basement is a room you use, you still want light. One cover is rarely perfect at all three. We pick the compromise that matches the well.
A cover is not a drain. If the well already holds water because the drain is silted shut, a cover on top will not empty it. Fix the drain first, then cover the opening. Our flooding guide covers that order.
Clear polycarbonate covers
A clear cover is a solid sheet, usually a dome or a flat panel, that lets daylight through. Basements stay brighter, and rain sheets off instead of pouring in. Leaves sit on top, where you can brush them off, instead of rotting in the gravel.
The tradeoff is the surface. Smooth plastic is slippery when it is wet or icy, so it is a poor choice on a path kids use to get to the backyard. Hail can pit it over the years. It also seals the well, which is what you want for debris, and it means any water that does get under the rim still has to leave through the drain.
We use clear covers most often on wells that are there for light and to hold soil back, not as a place anyone should stand.
Metal grate covers
A grate is an open grid. Water and some light pass through. The bars give you a firmer step than a plastic dome, which matters along a walkway or under a hose bib you use all summer.
The openings are the downside. A wide grate still lets needles, seeds, and small leaves through. You will clean the well less often than with no cover, and more often than with a solid lid. Grates are a good fit when foot traffic matters more than a perfect seal.
Custom-cut covers
A lot of wells in older Colorado Springs houses are not a catalog half-circle. They wrap a corner, stop short of a step, or were built wide because the window is wide. A stock cover either gaps at the edge or overhangs into the lawn.
We measure the opening and cut the cover to it. The material can still be a clear panel or a grate. The difference is the shape. If you have looked at covers online and none of them match the well, that is the situation we see on the estimate. We do not need you to name a brand.
How to decide
- Wells under a bedroom window that you want bright: lean toward a clear cover, and make sure the drain works.
- Wells beside a walk or a gate: lean toward a grate so the surface can be stepped on.
- Wells that are an odd shape: plan on a custom cut, whichever material you pick.
- Wells that already flood: do the drain and the grade before you spend the visit on a lid. See drainage in Colorado Springs if the whole side of the house sheds water the wrong way.
If the metal itself is rusted through, a cover on a failing well only hides the problem. Replacement comes first. We look at both on the same visit.
What we need from you
A photo of each well helps us see the shape before we drive out. We still measure in person. Tell us whether anyone walks there, whether the basement room is used, and whether you have seen water on the glass after a storm. That is enough to recommend a cover.
Call 719-572-1768 or request a quote. The estimate is free. If the rock and soil around the well need to be put back neatly, we can tie that to landscaping services in Colorado Springs so the foundation beds are finished when we leave.
