Naperville Window Well Covers & Basement Windows
Naperville is really two housing markets stacked on one map, and window wells are where the difference shows. The Naperville Historic District covers 573 buildings and has been on the National Register since 1977 — those homes were built long before basement bedrooms had escape-window rules. Out past them sit the subdivisions that went up when the city's population tripled through the 1980s and 90s, from 22,794 residents in 1970 to 128,358 by 2000.
The older core usually needs a well replaced or extended before it will pass an egress inspection. The newer subdivisions usually have wells that are the right size but the wrong cover — thin stock plastic that has gone brittle after thirty Chicago winters. We build for both, on site, in your driveway.
Two branches of the DuPage River
The West Branch of the DuPage River runs straight through downtown — it is the river the Riverwalk follows for a mile and three quarters. The East Branch runs through the east side of the city, and the two meet at Knoch Knolls Park at the south end of town. St. Joseph Creek feeds the East Branch. A great many Naperville basements sit within a short walk of moving water.
On July 17 and 18, 1996, Naperville took 14 inches of rain in under 24 hours and more than $30 million in damage. Nearby Aurora recorded 16.91 inches in 24 hours, still a state record. Thirteen Illinois counties were declared state disaster areas. In April 2013, the East Branch crested at a record 25.85 feet at Bolingbrook, and the National Weather Service documented flooding in Naperville near Route 59.
Neither storm needed a river to reach a basement. Water fills an open window well from the top down, and once it rises above the sill it goes through the window, not around it. A well that drains and a cover that sheds are the cheapest insurance against the most common version of that problem.
Permits and egress in Naperville
Naperville reviews residential plans under the 2024 International Residential Code, adopted by ordinance for plans submitted on or after April 1, 2026. Basement remodeling — which is what most egress window work is part of — requires a permit.
Permits are handled by the city's TED Business Group (Transportation, Engineering and Development) at 400 S. Eagle Street; the number is (630) 420-6100, option 2. Confirm your specific scope with them before you start, since the code edition changed recently.
The requirements themselves are the same ones we build to everywhere: an egress well of at least 9 square feet with a 36-inch minimum projection and width, a permanent ladder or steps in anything deeper than 44 inches, and a cover that comes off from inside without a key, a tool or special knowledge.
All our covers:
Naperville Window Well Covers | Naperville Window Wells | Naperville Egress Window Wells | Naperville Well Covers | Naperville Basement Window Well Covers