A basement room can only be a legal bedroom if someone can climb out of it in an emergency. An egress window gives the room that way out, and it brings in daylight and fresh air at the same time.
The building code sets how large the opening must be when the window is open, how high the sill can sit above the floor and how much room the well outside must have. We size the window and the well to the Virginia Residential Code, which all three counties enforce, and the county inspector checks the work.
What the Job Includes
- Excavation: digging outside the wall for the window well
- The opening: cut in a poured concrete or block foundation, with a header to carry the wall above
- The window: usually a casement or a slider sized for the required opening
- The well: galvanized steel, molded composite or stone, with built-in steps or a ladder when the well is deep enough to need one
- Drainage: gravel and a drain at the bottom of the well, then backfill and grading
- The cover: keeps out rain and leaves and still opens from inside
- Interior finishing: around the new window, or as part of a finished basement
Where in the basement can the window go?
Where the room needs it and the outside allows it. Inside, the window belongs in the bedroom it serves. Outside, the well needs open ground: not under a deck too low to climb out beneath, not against a driveway, and not where the yard drains toward the house. We look at both sides of the wall before choosing the spot, and we keep clear of beams, posts and main pipes inside.
Does an egress window add light?
Yes, a lot more than a standard basement window. The opening is much larger, and a well with sloped or stepped sides lets daylight reach deeper into the room. A basement bedroom with one feels far brighter in the daytime than the rest of the lower level.
How Your Egress Window Gets Installed
- Site visit. We look at the basement wall, the grade outside and the drainage, and pick where the window can go.
- Written proposal. You get the window and well sizes, the materials and a firm price in writing.
- Permit. We file the county permit before anything is cut.
- Dig, cut and set. The well area is excavated, the opening is cut and supported, and the window is installed.
- Well, drainage and cleanup. The well and its drain go in, the dig is backfilled and graded, the work is inspected, and we clean up.
