Chicagoland Window Well Covers

Since so many homes in the Chicagoland area are constructed with below grade basements, there are hundreds of thousands of window wells.  Window wells started being used on homes once basements began to gain in popularity generally in the 1950’s.  During that era of home building, below grade basement became a common upgrade.  In fact, prior to this time if a basement was included in a home it may have not even been poured with a concrete floor.  

As basements gained in popularity in the Chicagoland area it only make sense they should be not indistinguishable from the rest of the home  Therefore, two important factors needed to be considered by home builders.  First, how to make the basement safe in an egress situation and second, how to bring natural light into the basement.   In order for basements to be safe, the basement required a window which the occupants could use as an escape route.  This window had to be of a certain size so an average size person could crawl through it and get out of the home, in say a fire situation.  With the inclusion of such a window there needed to be some way to hold back the grade outside the window and as a result the modern metal window well was born.  

The metal window well attached right to the concrete foundation wall.  In most cases several window wells were installed throughout a below grade basement.   Most homes had 3-4 basement windows installed which meant 3-4 window wells.  In addition to the safety factor, window wells also allowed natural light to flow into the basement.  This made the basement feel less like below grade space and more like just another room in the home.  So, with all of the window wells being installed in homes starting in the 1950’s, Chicagoland window well covers became extremely popular.  Because not what your home had window wells, it was important to protect the well from the elements and from people or animals falling in.  The modern Chicagoland window well cover did not some into existence until several years later when sheet polycarbonate became available.  This material allowed for covers to be build that were nearly indestructible and would not yellow.  Prior versions of a similar Chicagoland window well cover did not hold up to the elements very well.  The modern Chicagoland window well cover which was perfected by WellExpert is warrantied for life against cracking, breaking of yellowing.  It is build on-site for a perfect fit and can support up to 850 lbs.