Lockport Window Well Covers & Basement Windows
Lockport was the headquarters of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and the 1837 headquarters building still stands as the I&M Canal Museum. The Lockport Historic District has been on the National Register since 1975 — 59 buildings, largely built from locally quarried limestone, the oldest being the 1838 Canal Office.
That core is now a small part of the city. The median Lockport home was built in 1998, and more than half the housing stock went up between 1990 and 2009. About one home in eight predates 1940. Those two groups need almost opposite things from us: the canal-era houses need a well built to fit stone, and the newer subdivisions usually just need a cover that will outlast the next twenty winters.
Off the flood map, still taking water
Lockport studied flooding in the area between the I&M Canal and the Des Plaines River, and in 2021 FEMA approved a Letter of Map Revision that reduced the size of the high-risk flood area on the west side. If that included your address, it is real good news for your insurance premium. It is not the same thing as a dry basement.
On May 17, 2020, Lockport recorded 4.27 inches of rain across 48 hours, with street flooding across Will County. Rainfall like that does not check a map before it fills a window well.
The city's own drainage guidance is unusually specific, and it is worth following: sump pumps must discharge at least 10 feet from property lines and may never connect to the sanitary sewer, and the ground should pitch three to six inches over the first five feet away from the foundation. The city also warns that standing water can take up to 72 hours to clear. A covered, draining window well is the part of that list closest to the glass.
Permits and egress in Lockport
Permits are handled by the Building Department within Community & Economic Development at City Hall, 222 E. Ninth Street.
One caution on the code: Lockport's municipal code chapter on buildings is written against the 2024 International Residential Code, while an older page on the city website still lists a 2000 edition. Those cannot both be current. Confirm with the Building Department before you order materials — we would rather you make one phone call than fail an inspection.
Whichever edition applies, the escape-opening requirements are the ones we build to: 5.7 square feet of net clear opening, 24 inches of height, 20 inches of width, a sill no higher than 44 inches, a well of 9 square feet with 36 inches of projection, a ladder past 44 inches of depth, and a cover that opens from inside with no key, tool or special knowledge.
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Lockport Window Well Covers | Lockport Window Wells | Lockport Egress Window Wells | Lockport Well Covers | Lockport Basement Window Well Covers