A basement window well is a hole in your yard. Left open it collects snow, leaves, gravel and rain, and sooner or later somebody puts a foot in it. A cover solves all of that while still letting daylight down to the window.
We build covers in galvanized steel and aluminum at our Calgary plant, in 42 sizes matched to the wells we roll, and ship them anywhere in Canada.
What a cover actually does for a basement window
- Keeps the well clear. No raking leaves out of a pit every autumn, no shovelling it out in February.
- Stops water reaching the frame. With a polycarbonate sheet, rain and melt stay out of the well entirely.
- Stops somebody stepping in. A covered well is not a trip hazard for children, guests or delivery drivers.
- Keeps animals out. An open well traps rabbits, cats and skunks, and an animal in a window well is a problem at both ends.
- Passes light. Mesh loses little daylight; polycarbonate over it loses almost none.
Measuring for a basement cover
Two numbers, not three. A cover is sized by width along the foundation and projection out from it, because it lies flat across the top of the well. Height does not enter into it.
Measure the well itself at the top edge, not the window. If you are covering a well somebody else installed, measure what is actually there rather than assuming it is a standard size, because a great many older wells are not.
If the basement room is a bedroom
This is the part people get wrong. A bedroom below grade needs an egress window, and a cover over an egress well must open from inside the well without tools and without special knowledge. Hinged or simply liftable is fine. Screwed down is not.
If that describes your situation, start from our egress-ready wells and choose a cover that lifts clear.
Steel or aluminum for a basement well
Most basement installations take galvanized steel: stronger, cheaper, in stock, and it handles snow load better. Aluminum earns its price where the cover comes off often or the span is wide enough that weight becomes the deciding factor.
Common questions
What size cover do I need for my basement window well?
Match the width and projection of the well at its top edge. Those are the only two dimensions a cover uses.
Will a cover make the basement darker?
Barely. Expanded mesh passes most available light, and a clear polycarbonate sheet fitted over it passes nearly all of it while keeping rain out.
Can I put a cover on a bedroom window well?
Yes, provided it can be opened from inside the well without tools. That is a code requirement for egress, not a preference.
Do covers stop water getting into the well?
Mesh alone does not. Mesh with a polycarbonate sheet does, which is the combination to choose if standing water has been the problem.
What if my well is an odd size?
We manufacture, so a custom cover is a quote rather than a refusal. Send the width and projection and we will price it.
Egress guidance here is general. Your municipal building department sets what applies to your property.