Basement Egress Window Requirements

Casement egress windows usually have one or more hinges at the side and swing in or out to open like a door.

Basement egress window requirements.

This design can allow for windows to meet the egress requirements while being comparatively small and thus be suitable for basements and areas with limited space. When the sill height of an egress window is located below grade common for egress windows provided for a basement a window well must be provided. Since you re below ground you have to make sure that the window can still fully open without obstruction. These special basement windows meet the current irc code for building a finished basement so you have peace of mind in the event of a fire or accident.

Window wells must be at least 3 x 3 and they must allow the window to open fully. The minimum egress window opening is 20 wide. Make sure the basement window well has enough area to move around in and if the well is especially deep make sure you have a ladder attached to it for an easy getaway. An easy to open window that serves as an emergency exit for below ground living space of any kind.

You can arrange the bedroom so that one of the exterior walls has a properly sized egress window or exterior door in it. The area of a window well shall not be less than 9 square feet with a horizontal length width of no less than 36 inches. The city of bloomington has a nice handout on egress requirements explaining these requirements. Egress requirements whether it is an egress window or an egress door it has to open to the outside and open easily without the use of keys or tools.

However if your basement has habitable finished rooms building codes require it to have egress windows or other means of egress patio door etc. There are several options that you can use to achieve the egress requirements for a bedroom in a basement. The bottom of the egress window opening can t exceed 44 from the finished floor. What s an egress window.

Walk out basement walk out basements provide the most flexibility for building a bedroom in the basement. The minimum opening area of the egress window is 5 7 square feet. This height requirement takes it out of the running for most basement egress situations. The minimum egress window opening height is 24 high.

Basement egress windows have special requirements. This means that to meet egress window height requirements a bedroom window must be nearly 4 ft. If there s a deck or porch above the basement window well at least 36 of headroom is needed. Let s be honest during a fire stairs could be blocked or damaged.

It must also follow code requirements for the. And every basement bedroom whether existing or added is required by code to have an egress window. If the window well is more than 44 deep it needs a ladder. Different types of windows can serve as egress windows as long as they meet the minimum requirements for size and clearance.

Wide and 4 ft. To meet egress requirements these horizontally sliding windows must be at least 4 ft.