How To Do An Egress Window
We recently added an egress window to our basement and couldn't be happier with the decision. I did quite a fleck of enquiry and wanted to share what I've learned and why we decided to add this feature to our home!
What is an egress window?
Egress windows arelarge openings that offering a secondary leave in example of an emergency. Here are a few dimensions that are compliant with the IRC (International Residence Lawmaking) that egress windows should comply with.
- The bottom of the window cannot be more than 44 inches from the floor.
- The complete opening of the window must be at to the lowest degree v.seven square feet.
- The opening superlative must be at least 24 inches high.
- The opening width must be at least 20 inches broad.
- To allow the minimum required corporeality of natural lite to come into the room, the window must accept a glass surface area that is equal to at to the lowest degree 8% of the room's floor area.
- To allow the minimum required amount of ventilation, the egress window must have an opening that is equal to at least 4% of the room's flooring surface area.
- Ladders are required on window wells deeper than 44″ and must be permanently attached. Ladder may encroach into well upwardly to 6″.
- Grates or covers shall be removable without special tools.
Why would I want or need an egress window?
For u.s.a., nosotros wanted to add value to our home & we wanted to add natural lite to our basement. I retrieve these are the main 2 reasons that you would want to add an egress window so let'southward swoop into both of these.
Adding Value: Our house was listed as a iv chamber house when we bought it. The addition of this egress window instantly allows united states to marketplace this additional room as a bedroom… adding an additional $21,000 in value (sharing more well-nigh that adding in the cost section). In addition to needing an egress window, here are a few other requirements that you need to legally define a space as a bedchamber.
- Size : a bedroom needs to exist at least 70 square feet with at least 7 feet in any direction. Information technology as well needs ceilings at least seven′ tall.
- Means of Egress : A bedroom needs at to the lowest degree 2 methods of egress to the outside in case of a burn… one of which needs to be an egress window.
- Temperature Control : A room needs to have a heat source installed in a room. A window will suffice equally temperature control for cooling.
Natural light is something that yous cannot put a price tag on and can instantly make a space feel more than inviting. My hubby and I both spend a lot of time in our abode gym so adding a window to let in the morning light was something nosotros really felt very excited about.
How much does information technology cost and what'southward the added value to your home?
The cost for this entire installation was $5,500. This price included pulling permits, all materials, and labor. As noted below, I will have to do interior trim so that would be an additional cost. Your cost might be different in your area, but as I researched, this seemed to be consistent with nationwide averages. $3,000 seemed to be on the depression finish while I saw some installations every bit high equally $8,000.
Subsequently crunching a few numbers and researching the value of this feature, nosotros've added $21,400 to the value of our abode!
I'm sure y'all are all wondering how I came up with this number and then hither's the quick math. Adding a legal basement bedroom will typically translate to 50-lxx% of your above grade equivalent. For our area, the mean price of a home is roughly $122 per foursquare foot. This room is 350 sq ft.
350 sq ft x $61 = $21,350 in added resale value.
With all the research I did, calculation an egress window seems to be a feature that will guarantee a complete return on investment – and in some cases much more. How cool is that?
What to look during the installation.
Permit'south get to the installation and what y'all should expect if yous were to decide on adding an egress window.
Here was this infinite on the day of installation. We take one tiny window that lets a piffling natural light in but I knew a total-size window would become a long way into making this room more brilliant and inviting. I will eventually close this little window off equally the surface area above it will be our outdoor dining area and I would love to have french doors from our dining room that open up upwardly to it.
Twenty-four hour period of installation! We waited about 2 months for our installation date. The company we used was called Physical Cutters if yous are local! I was really happy with the full process – including the extra steps they took to protect our grass by using these large wooden panels.
A lot of people have asked about rain build-upward but they bodacious me the rain volition sink into the ground just like it would at footing level. They put a hefty layer of gravel and rock around the insert for drainage which I failed to get a photo of! You will likewise notice that at that place is not a lot of dust or droppings within. There were lots of steps taken to make this really efficient!
This is what the egress wall looks like – I had the choice of grey or tan. We will exist painting our firm Revere Pewter with grey trim so I chose grayness to get with our new outside.
Ane thing to retrieve about would be if you have whatsoever irrigation lines near your spot. The visitor we used had Diggers Hotline come out beforehand and marking the surface area to make sure there were no surreptitious pipes that would pose a problem.
Before.
Afterward. I may choose to get a fancier cover but I am going to wait and see what the landscaping will be in this area and then that will be a "next season" project.
Close up of gravel and steps.
Permit at that place be lite! I tin can't believe how much calorie-free came through the moment they cut open up this space. Y'all can see they had to cut through ten″ of physical and so this is definitely not a DIY task. They also added the header yous meet here to support the window.
Here is the finished window. The company I used does non include finish piece of work on the interior so this will exist something I tackle in the coming weeks. Note that the sill area is quite a scrap wider than a traditional window.
Hopefully, this information was helpful in deciding if adding an egress window is a skillful investment in your dwelling house. I'll make certain and update you lot every bit I finish off the interior and the rest of our home gym!
Source: https://makingprettyspaces.com/2021/08/11/adding-an-egress-window-in-our-basement-all-the-details-including-cost-value-added/
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