The Deer and the Window Well Cover

Deer Thrive in Suburban Environs Late last week I received a call from a customer located in a far northern suburb of Chicago IL – not too far from where Handi-Ramp is based. If you are unfamiliar with the far northern areas, we are famous for Six Flags Great America, and Gurnee Mills Mall, the largest mall in Illinois. The Gurnee area also boasts various parks and nearby lakes, golf courses and some farms, allowing it to be a perfect habitat for the deer and many other animals. In fact, I’ve seen a family of raccoons walk through my back yard with no fear, and probably doesn’t help that my neighbor thinks they are cute and feeds them. Customer with a Deer in the Basement The customer who called recently bought a house that was about five years old and came with a finished basement featuring three window wells that already had plastic covers. The owner figured they were sturdy enough to keep out animals and left them in place, but recently he and his family awoke to a commotion in the basement. Luckily, it occurred on the weekend before anyone had awoken to begin their various daily activities. Upon opening the basement door the customer saw a deer standing prone in the middle of the room with shards of broken plastic beneath. Deer are very large, powerful animals so it was no surprise the weight of the deer would overwhelm the weight capacity of the window well cover. After the initial shock had worn off, they called animal control and several hundred dollars later, Bambi was back in her habitat. Ordering Custom Window Well Covers Not wanting a repeat of having a zoo in the basement, the customer requested our help with fitting a custom window well cover for the various windows. Because builders design window well covers to various dimensions, there will be no ‘universal’ size. Instead, custom sizes are manufactured using a simple two step process – trace the window well cover dimensions onto cardboard piece and ship it back, then we cut the shape using your dimensions. Due to the customers proximity to our warehouse we were able to delivery the custom products (although this is not always the case). Without window well cover With window well cover What Makes Handi-Ramp Window Well Covers Different? Window well covers are made custom at Handi-Ramp with expanded steel construction (plastic window well covers are not designed to withstand the weight of animals and people) allowing a person(s) to stand on and provide a safety barrier against debris and animals. If you have kids like to play outside, the Handi-Ramp window well covers are much safer. To learn more about window well covers call us at 800-876-RAMP (7267) or visit our booth at Handi-Ramp at the National Hardware Show May 7-9, 2013.