Downers Grove Window Well Covers & Basement Windows
Downers Grove asks for something most towns do not: a window well cover rated to hold 250 pounds. If you are shopping covers here, that number is the filter, and it rules out most of what is sold at the big-box stores.
The village's housing explains the concern. The median home was built in 1974, about 40% of the stock predates 1970, and the largest single group — 36% — went up between 1970 and 1989. Downers Grove also has a documented collection of more than twenty Sears catalog homes, some dating back to 1911.
A 250-pound cover, and the rest of the local amendments
Downers Grove's code-adoption ordinance has required window wells to be covered by a metal grate or reinforced fiberglass cover capable of supporting 250 pounds, removable from the inside without keys or tools. The same set of amendments requires foundation drainage built around a six-inch minimum perforated pipe on a gravel base plus a sump pit and pump, and clarifies something useful: when you finish an existing basement, an emergency escape window is only required if you are adding a sleeping room.
That language comes from the village's own adopting ordinance. Downers Grove moved to the 2021 International Residential Code with local amendments effective January 2024, so confirm the current wording with Community Development at 630-434-5515 before you order anything.
For what it is worth, our covers are G.E. Lexan rated to 800 pounds. The 250-pound bar is not a difficult one for us to clear — but it is worth knowing that it exists, because a homeowner who buys a bubble cover at a hardware store here has bought something the village would not approve.
Three creeks and a $30 million answer
Lacey Creek runs north of Ogden Avenue, St. Joseph Creek through the middle of the village, and Prentiss Creek south of 63rd Street — about twelve miles of creek, backed by 150 miles of storm sewer and 315 detention facilities.
After the floods of 2006 and 2013, Downers Grove completed more than fifty capital projects worth over $30 million between 2008 and 2015, funded largely by a $25 million bond, and identified another $42 million of work to reach its service targets by 2029.
That investment shows up on residents' bills: the village holds Class 5 in FEMA's Community Rating System, worth a 25% discount on flood insurance premiums. It also regulates Localized Poor Drainage Areas, not just mapped floodplains — an official acknowledgement that most basement water never comes from a river. There is a stormwater cost-share program for homeowners too, first come first served.
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Downers Grove Window Well Covers | Downers Grove Window Wells | Downers Grove Egress Window Wells | Downers Grove Well Covers | Downers Grove Basement Window Well Covers