Drain Problem

Every time we dig a big hole, it somehow fills up with water. Happened when we dug up the floor for piping. Happened again when we dug out the window well. The last thing you need (aside from a headache) is water seeping through your new window into the basement.

Solution? Invite the water inside and send it exactly where you want it: to the drain! Here's what the local building code said we had to do -- drill a hole through the wall (under the new window), stick a pipe through the hole and angle it so that it collects rain water and carries it to the inside of the basement wall and then spits it out under the concrete floor. A drain system under the floor then carries the water all the way around the perimeter of the house to the sump pump, which pumps all the ground water out to a storm drain under the street.

The whole idea of making a hole so that the water could come inside our new basement seemed crazy at first, but now that the pipes are all in place, it makes perfect sense. It also didn't hurt that we got to use the jack-hammer again :)