How To Egress Window Installation

What is an egress window? How much does an egress window installation cost? Why do y'all desire a basement escape window? In today's postal service, I'm sharing everything I've learned regarding egress windows.

We've lived in this firm now for but over eight years. There's and then many areas of the firm that still need to exist updated, need to be renovated, demand to be addressed. Y'all can peek in on our domicile tour for more than details of what each infinite looks like today.

A few years ago, I wouldn't accept imagined wanting to put the time and money into our basement simply, every bit Greyson has gotten older, nosotros've seen the value in having a infinite that is dedicated to hanging out with friends. The hubs and I take likewise gotten older and run across the value in a space that is soundproofed to accommodate the younger generation. lol

So, we started talking about what a potential basement renovation would expect like almost two years agone. In talking and dreaming virtually the space, I just kept coming back to the fact that I didn't want to renovate the basement cheaply. I wanted to better the space. I wanted the space to feel as much similar an extension of the upstairs as it could and I wanted it to take as much natural lite equally possible.

I knew from past experience, that enlarging windows in our house was something that we all found to one of the best renovation decisions we've e'er fabricated. And then, in thinking about the basement renovation, getting more natural light was a primal priority.

Unfortunately, our basement has low ceilings. At just over 7′, there was no way we could better the ceiling superlative. Simply, I idea that we could make the basement non feel like a dungeon and to do that, I wanted to bring more natural calorie-free in.

Before: Small Basement Window with Tiny Window Well

During our kitchen remodel, we decided to splurge and upgrade the kitchen window. We went from a window that spanned the kitchen sink (36″ or then) to one that was only over 60″ broad.

Honestly, I think that was one of the best changes that we've made in our business firm to this day. The natural light the new window adds in there is only stunning. So, in thinking about the basement, I just kept coming back to wanting to add big windows; specifically, egress windows (for looks and resale).

What is an Egress Window?

About frequently, egress windows are in a basement. They basically serve as a basement escape window in case of an emergency. Egress window codes differ by location, so yous will definitely desire to check your local codes to decide what exactly counts as an egress window in your location.

Now that I've shared more about the egress window definition, allow me share my definition of what the window would actually be.

Honestly, no one is living in our basement. Information technology did have a chamber down there but nosotros took it out (only have the wiring, supports to add one wall back in after down the line when we sell… more on this in a later post!). To usa, the cost of calculation egress windows just to take windows that can be climbed out of in an emergency doesn't add up because no 1 will be sleeping downward in that location. BUT, when you figure in how happy we are with the larger window in the kitchen and all the sunlight that it lets in, combined with the fact that egress windows will exist good for resale… that's what tipped the scale for us.

Egress Window Kits Or Window Wells

Ok, so allow'south talk virtually what options we had. You tin purchase egress window kits or window wells that are decorative. Menards sells quite a few options. I went in shop to look at the window wells and didn't love them but didn't hate them either. Honestly though, I felt like they looked a tad cheap for our specific lot and neighborhood.

You see a lot of window wells that are steel, but at that place are other options on the market that are prefabricated window wells. Here's a few so yous can see:

Custom Window Well With Stacked Stone

Back to our house… When it comes to renovating, I think y'all absolutely need to take into business relationship what your house and neighborhood looks similar when you are making decisions on finishes. Our k has stacked stone around most of the landscaping beds, trees and driveway. The egress window wells that are pre-made just can't mimic what real stone looks similar. That existence said, if I had a yard that was less landscaped, I might have considered a store-bought window well.

So, pretty fast in my inquiry, I knew that I didn't want an egress window kit and that a DIY egress window was out of the question for this DIYer.

Afterwards researching more than about how the egress window installation goes: cut into our foundation, putting in French drains for drainage and building a wall – all to code. It was just outside of our comfort zone. Similar, way outside our comfort zone.

And so, equally yous tin tell… I'grand not going to give you lot a tutorial for installing an egress window just I will share how the basement window installation really went down with our contractors.

From a Tiny Basement Window to Egress Windows

Installing an Egress Window

Have a company come up out to marker electrical lines
Get let
Use an digging company to dig a trench forth the area where you are having the egress window installed.
Digging visitor will brand sure egress window drainage flows away from the business firm using French drains.
At this time, your foundation will be exposed so check for waterproofing or any other issues.
Cut foundation for windows
Add header for windows
Install windows
Frame out windows on the exteriors
Add stone to bottom of the window well
Install river rock in window well and mortar
Backfill dirt to the window well
Regrade side of the yard for water drainage
Reseed yard
Frame out windows on the interior (nosotros skipped this part because we can DIY and we wanted to salvage money)

Basement window enlarged to be egress window

Basement Egress Cost

Nosotros paid only over $sixteen,000 to have ii basement windows put in and all of the work above washed. Nosotros didn't become with the cheapest bid ($13K) and we didn't become with the nearly expensive bid ($45K). I will say that in our behest process, we were originally thinking about just staying with the width of the original basement windows only going deeper so they could actually work as egress, simply after looking at the cost departure to majorly enlarge the windows… nosotros decided that it would exist silly to non only go as large as we could.

A large portion of the $16k was the excavation and stone work for the size of the window wells. If you went with more of a standard window well kit and size, so you could probably cut this price in half. For reference, the windows that nosotros put in are 60″ x 36″.

Jess from Bright Green Door did a window well unit and some parts of the install were DIY and her cost came to around $x,000. When I was crowd-sourcing on Instagram last year for anyone who had done this project and was willing to share the cost, a few people shared that information technology was around the $5K mark. I knew ours wouldn't be super depression because, again, I wanted the rock ledges and to go every bit big as I could get. But, hopefully, past hearing these numbers, it gives you an idea of what your toll could/should be.

Then, curious to hear your thoughts on egress windows! Or even, just enlarging windows in general. Have you went through a similar process?

ps. See more than basement renovation projects such as: Asbestos Removal and Abatement, Price to Hire Drywall Installation, How to Cut a Rug to Resize Information technology and Depression Ceiling Lighting Options.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no toll to you when you lot make a buy using my link.