Basement Egress Windows - Why do I have to install a basement egress window?

Basement living areas require and must have an emergency escape and rescue openings, it's the law. Homeowners may come up with all sorts of reasons why they don’t think they need an egress. But, if you have a sleeping area in the basement for family, friends, or a basement rental apartment or room; it is imperative you have a means of escape in case there was ever a fire or other emergency in the home. The small size of many basement windows does not allow for escape and can easily create a death trap in the basement. Many basements traditionally have only one means of escape inside, to climb up a set of wooden stairs to end up on the main floor, and if there is a fire on the main floor such as in the kitchen you would be trapped in the basement, and there would be no means to get to you by emergency services such as the fire department. If the fire started in the furnace or mechanical room you would easily be blocked off and trapped again from escaping to safety.

The peace of mind for your loved ones, not to mention your liability if someone did get hurt or lost their life in a fire, well justifies investing in a basement egress window and doing it right. If you have a granny suite or maybe rent out a room in the basement it is your responsibility as the homeowner to insure a safe means of escape from a fire, you are liable and responsible to insure that means of escape is there and meets local building code requirements for a basement egress window.

Installing a basement egress window may sound easy, but there is a lot more to it than just cutting a hole and installing the new egress window. There are structural concerns, especially when increasing the windows width, and the wall and header must be addressed to meet building code requirements for a egress window. There is also drainage concerns, the egress window area has to be excavated all the way down to the base of the homes foundation or footing to tie into your homes existing drainage system, then a drainage tile from the egress window well area is installed into the existing drainage system to prevent the window well from flooding into the basement or holding water that might freeze the window shut in the winter. There will also have to a good amount of gravel used after excavation, again to aid in the drainage of the egress window well system.

Egress Basement Windows - It's About Keeping Our Family Safe

It’s not just about you squeezing your way out of a small basement window. It’s about the firefighter or rescue worker carrying gear and wearing an oxygen backpack who has to get through that opening to drag you or your loved ones out in case you are unconscious from a fire or other emergency.

Common Code Requirements For Basement Egress Window Installation

• The base of basement Egress Window should be no more than *36" to *44"" from the floor
• The Basement Egress Window opening must be a minimum of *3.8 (24" x 24") to *5.7 (24" x 36") square feet. Not the window itself, but the opening when fully opened. Egress window type plays a big role here, a 32" X 40" slider window may seem to be large enough, but when you subtract the window frame, sash frames, screen frames and the fact that a slider window will slide open less than half the overall width it would be too small to meet egress window code requirements.
• The Egress Window opening must be minimally *15 inches to 20 inches at the smallest width or height.
• Egress windows must be easy to open from the inside without any advanced brainpower or strength-training. It must be the natural operation of the window and not a tilt in for cleaning opening sizes such as in a tilt in slider that requires additional window usage understanding that may not be know or easy to operate for some individuals.
• The Egress Window should not be a hopper type that opens to the inside from the top down, you don't want to have to crawl over a glass sash to get out of the egress window.
• You must have a large Egress Window Well. Minimum 36" wide from the glass of the opened egress window to the side of the area well. At least 9 square feet of clear space in the area egress window well.
• Egress Window Wells installed more than *36 inches to 44 inches deep should have steps or ladder to climb out.
• The Egress Window Well should extend at least *4 inches on all sides of the window to prevent water damage and wood rot around the window, and it is better to use a vinyl window installed to the foundation without wood exposed to the exterior on the frame.
• The must be at least one basement egress window on the basement level, some municipalities allow for a common basement egress window and other municipalities require a basement egress window in each bedroom. Where there are more than one apartment in a basement area there will always have to be a basement egress window in each apartment.
• There MUST be proper egress window well drainage including excavating down to the base or footing of the foundation and tying into the existing drainage system around the home. There also needs to be gravel and other drainage criteria met to insure that the window well will not fill with water and leak into the home.
• There is also homeowner responsibility to keep the egress window well area unobstructed and operational for the opening egress basement window, keep the egress window well area clear of snow and debris at all times.

Drainage And Window Wells For A Basement Window Egress Installation