window well breaking off

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qmqmqm

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Hi everyone

It appears that my window well is breaking away from the house. Please see picture.


Should this be fixed? How should I fix it?


What if I just leave it?


Thanks in advance!

Paul


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Last edited:
No harm in just leaving it as is.
Assuming it was attached. Could have been just set in place and then backfilled.
If you want to fix it, you will have to excavate the dirt around it so that you can reattach it.
Best approach would be sleeve-less anchors with caulk to keep water from seeping into the holes. Backfill the dirt around the repair and then fill in the gap that will appear in front of the window sill when it gets moved closer to the foundation.
 
I can think of several reasons for doing something about it:

1. The pictures show water intrusion (wet aggregate, moisture stains in foundation at window), meaning it's more likely that doing nothing will result in water coming into the basement at the window during a heavy storm event.

2. Come time to sell the property, a buyer's nit-picky home inspector will point it out as a defect, enabling the buyer to deduct the cost of repairs from a previously-negotiated selling price.

A fix would be relatively simple for most DIYers, involving a shovel, a farmer's jack, hammer drill and whatever else is needed for installing new wall anchors.
 
The water problem at the bottom of the window, should be addressed, but that has nothing to do with corigated steel bolted to house. That problem was caused by stucco installed up against the steel and allowing water to get behind the stucco. Cutting the stucco back and installing a trim that would allow a path for water to get around and down would be the fix. There should be a safety grill over the open hole when done.
 
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