An egress window is a basement window big enough to climb out through, set in a well dug beside the foundation. The building code calls for an emergency way out of every sleeping room, and below ground this window is the usual answer, which makes it the step that lets a finished room downstairs serve as a bedroom.
It suits families making a basement bedroom for a guest, a teenager or a parent, and owners who want a lower-level room to count as a bedroom when they sell. It changes the room as well: the opening is much larger than a standard basement window, so more daylight and fresh air come in.
What an egress window installation includes
- The dig: the ground outside the wall is opened where the well will sit
- The opening: cut into a poured concrete or concrete block foundation
- The window: sized to the Virginia Residential Code
- The well: built outside the window, with drainage at the bottom and a cover over it
- The paperwork: the county permit filed and the finished window inspected
How we install an egress window
Much of the work happens outside, starting with the dig and the cut through the wall. A header goes across the opening, because the wall above the window still carries the weight of the house, and the cut has taken away part of what held it up.
The window goes in next. Outside, the well holds the soil back from the glass and leaves room for a person to stand and climb. Gravel goes in the bottom of the well with a drain, so rain that gets past the cover has a way out instead of standing against the window. The cover sheds rain, snow and leaves, helps keep people and pets from stepping into the well, and opens from inside so it does not stand in the way of someone climbing out. The county inspects the finished work under the permit, and the job usually takes a few days at the house.
Which window and well should you choose?
Choose the window for how much of it opens and the well for how it looks from the yard.
| Choice | Options | What to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Window | Casement or slider | A casement swings open nearly its full width; a slider opens only part of its width, so it needs a wider frame for the same clear opening |
| Well | Galvanized steel, composite or stone | How it looks from the yard and from inside, and what sits beside it, such as a patio or a planting bed |
| Climbing out | Steps or a ladder | Deeper wells need one so a person can reach the yard |
Planning a bedroom downstairs?
Send the form or call, and we will look at the room, the wall and the yard outside it to find where the window can go.
Where We Install Egress Windows
We file the county permit for each egress window in Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties and schedule its inspection. A new well changes the outside of the house, and since Brambleton and South Riding have architectural review boards, as does much of Ashburn, we prepare the drawings, product sheets and samples those boards ask for.
What drives egress window cost?
Mostly the digging and the well. A basement floor set deep below the yard means a deeper dig and a taller well, and a stone well takes more labor to build than the other two kinds. The wall comes next: the size of the opening, whether it is poured concrete or block, and what has to come out of the way inside, such as finished drywall or built-in shelves.
The yard adds its share. A patio, a deck, a walkway or shrubs where the well needs to go mean more work, and buried lines may have to be worked around. The window's size and type, the permit and how many windows you add at once round out the list. Each of these is weighed at the visit, and the result is a firm written price, not a range.
Where can an egress window go?
On an outside wall of the room it serves, where there is open ground for the well. Every basement bedroom needs its own way out, so a window in a hallway or a family room does not cover the bedroom beside it. The yard side matters just as much: a low deck above can leave too little headroom to get out, a driveway or a busy walk leaves no room for the well, and a spot where the lawn slopes toward the house sends water at it. Virginia law calls for buried utility lines to be marked before anyone digs, and a gas or water line where the well would sit can push the window to another spot on the wall.
What should you ask egress window contractors?
Ask who files the permit, what carries the wall over the opening and how the well handles rain, and expect a plain answer to each, like the ones on this page. Because we also finish basements, the window and the room around it can be one project with one price. Questions about the company as a whole, such as the license, the years in business and the warranty, are answered on our why choose us page.
Do you build basement walkouts?
Yes. JK General Contractor builds basement walkouts as well as egress windows, and the details of each one, from the size of the door opening to the stairwell outside it, are settled at the site visit.
What is a basement walkout?
A basement walkout is a door that leads from the basement straight out to the yard. Where the ground beside the house sits higher than the basement floor, as it does on most level lots, the door opens into a stairwell dug down along the foundation, with steps climbing from its floor to the lawn. On a lot that falls away behind the house, the basement wall may already stand at ground level, and the door can open straight onto the yard.
What holds back the soil around the stairwell?
Its walls. The stairwell, often called an areaway, is a pit dug beside the house, and its side walls hold back the soil around it the way a retaining wall does, against the push of the earth behind them.
Where does rain go at the bottom of the steps?
Into a drain. Rain falls straight into an open stairwell and runs down the steps toward the door, so the floor of the stairwell needs a drain to carry the water away before it can pool against the threshold.
What kind of door goes in?
An exterior door made for the opening. A door with glass lets daylight into the basement, and a wide one makes it easier to carry furniture or gym equipment in and out without using the stairs inside.
Does a walkout need a permit?
Yes. A door opening cut into a foundation wall takes away part of the wall that holds up the house, so the county wants a building permit and inspections for the work. In Loudoun County, a finished basement that alters an exterior wall cannot use the county's typical basement details in place of plans; it needs a complete set of plans. A walkout also changes the outside of the house, which is the part an HOA review board looks at.
Egress window or walkout: which fits your basement?
The window fits a basement that needs a legal bedroom, and the walkout fits one that needs a door to the yard. An egress window gives one room a code-sized way out and more daylight with a few days of work, while a walkout takes a bigger dig and a stairwell with walls, and gives the whole lower level its own entrance, which suits a basement that opens onto a patio or a play area. Loudoun and Fairfax counties both accept a door to the outside as a bedroom's emergency way out (in Loudoun's words, an exterior door "approved for emergency egress"), so a bedroom with its own walkout door may not need a window too; the county's review of your plans settles that.
The room behind the window
An egress window is often one part of a larger basement finishing project. A bedroom down there is easier to live with beside a bath, which our bathroom remodeling work covers, and when the extra room belongs on the main floor instead, a home addition or a sunroom may fit better. For a kitchen remodeling project or anything else inside the house, start with our home remodeling page.
