How Much Is A Basement Egress Window

All About our egress window installation including enlarging the basement windows, egress window toll, stone window wells, etc!

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

Nosotros've lived in this house now for simply over eight years. In that location'due south so many areas of the house that still need to be updated, need to be renovated, need to exist addressed. You can peek in on our home bout for more details of what each space looks like today.

A few years ago, I wouldn't have imagined wanting to put the fourth dimension and money into our basement just, every bit our son has gotten older, nosotros've seen the value in having a infinite that is defended to hanging out with friends. The hubs and I have also gotten older and see the value in a infinite that is soundproofed to accommodate the younger generation. lol

So, nosotros started talking about what a potential basement renovation would look like near ii years ago. In talking and dreaming about the space, I but kept coming back to the fact that I didn't want to renovate the basement cheaply. I wanted to improve the space. I wanted the space to feel as much like an extension of the upstairs as it could and I wanted it to accept every bit much natural light as possible.

I knew from past experience, that enlarging windows in our firm was something nosotros all felt was 1 of the all-time renovation decisions we've ever made. So, in thinking nigh the basement renovation, getting more natural calorie-free was a priority and that's when I started researching egress windows for basements.

Unfortunately, our basement has low ceilings. At just over 7′, in that location was no fashion we could improve the ceiling height. But, I thought that we could brand the basement not experience similar a dungeon past enlarging our basement windows on each side of our space.

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

Honestly, I call up that was one of the best changes that we've made in our house to this day. The natural lite that the new window adds in there is just stunning. So, in thinking nigh the basement, I just kept coming back to wanting to add large windows; specifically, egress windows (for looks and resale).

Before photo of modest basement window with metallic window well

After Photo of Basement Egress Windows

LVP Floor | Basement Lighting

I realize that those 3 photos of our basement are a little hard to piece through because they are taken at different angles and with different room set-ups. Nosotros did a lot of construction in the basement, and then you'll simply have to have my word on how big of a deviation the egress windows made.

What is an Egress Window?

Near ofttimes, 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 you will definitely want to check your local codes to determine what exactly counts as an egress window in your location.

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

Honestly, no one is living in our basement. It did have a chamber down at that place but we took it out (but have the wiring, supports to add ane wall dorsum in after down the line when nosotros sell… more than on this in a after post!). To united states of america, the price of adding egress windows just to have windows that can be climbed out of in an emergency doesn't add upwards considering no one volition be sleeping down there. Just, when you figure in how happy nosotros are with the larger window in the kitchen and all the sunlight that it lets in, combined with the fact that egress windows will be good for resale… that's what tipped the scale for us.

Egress Window Kits Or Window Wells

Ok, so let's talk nigh what options we had. You tin can purchase egress window kits or window wells that are decorative. Menards sells quite a few options. I went in store to await at the window wells and didn't dear them but didn't hate them either. Honestly, I felt like they looked a tad inexpensive for our specific lot and neighborhood.

You see a lot of window wells that are steel, but there are other options on the marketplace that are prefabricated window wells. Here's a few so you tin run into:

Custom Window Well With Stacked Stone

Dorsum to our business firm… When information technology comes to renovating, I think you absolutely need to take into business relationship what your house and neighborhood looks similar when you are making decisions on finishes. Our yard has stacked stone around virtually of the landscaping beds, trees and driveway. The egress window wells that are pre-made just tin can't mimic what real rock looks like. That being said, if I had a yard that was less landscaped, I might take considered a shop-bought window well.

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

Subsequently researching more about how the egress window installation goes: cutting into our foundation, putting in French drains for drainage and building a wall – all to lawmaking. It was but exterior of our comfort zone. Like, way outside our comfort zone.

And then, as you can tell… I'm not going to give you a tutorial for installing an egress window but I will share how the basement window installation actually went downwards with our contractors.

Process of enlarging a basement window to an basement egress window

Installing an Egress Window

• Have a visitor come up out to marker electrical lines
• Get permit
• Apply an excavation company to dig a trench forth the area where you lot are having the egress window installed
• Excavation visitor volition brand sure egress window drainage flows away from the house using French drains
• At this time, your foundation will exist exposed so cheque for waterproofing or any other bug
• Cut foundation for windows
• Add header for windows
• Install windows
• Frame out windows on the exteriors
• Add rock to bottom of the window well
• Install river rock in window well and mortar
• Backfill clay to the window well
• Regrade side of the yard for water drainage
• Reseed one thousand
• Frame out windows on the interior (we skipped this role because we tin DIY and nosotros wanted to save money)

LVP Flooring | Basement Lighting

Basement Egress Window Cost

We paid just over $xvi,000 to take two basement windows put in and all of the work higher up done. We didn't become with the cheapest bid ($13K) and we didn't become with the most expensive bid ($45K). I will say that in our bidding process, nosotros were originally thinking about just staying with the width of the original basement windows but going deeper so they could actually work as egress, merely subsequently looking at the cost difference to majorly enlarge the windows… we decided that it would be featherbrained to not just get every bit large equally nosotros could.

A big 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, then you could probably cutting this cost in half. For reference, the windows that we 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 price came to effectually $x,000. When I was oversupply-sourcing on Instagram last year for anyone who had done this projection and was willing to share the cost, a few people shared that it was around the $5K mark. I knew ours wouldn't exist super low because, again, I wanted the rock ledges and to go equally big as I could go. But, hopefully, by hearing these numbers, it gives you an idea of what your price could/should be.

So, curious to hear your thoughts on egress windows! Or even, just enlarging windows in general. Accept you went through a like process?

Instructions

1. Accept a visitor come out to mark electric lines
2. Get permit
3. Apply an digging company to dig a trench along the area where you are having the egress window installed.
4. Excavation company will make sure egress window drainage flows away from the firm using French drains.
5. At this time, your foundation will be exposed and so check for waterproofing or whatsoever other problems.
6. Cut foundation for windows
7. Add header for basement windows
8. Install egress windows
9. Frame out egress windows on the exteriors
10. Add together stone to lesser of the window well
11. Install river stone in window well and mortar
12. Backfill dirt to the window well
13. Regrade side of the yard for h2o drainage
14. Reseed yard
15. Frame out windows on the interior (we skipped this office because nosotros tin can DIY and we wanted to save coin)

Notes

BASEMENT EGRESS WINDOW COST

We paid just over $16,000 to accept two basement windows put in and all of the work above done. We didn't go with the cheapest bid ($13K) and nosotros didn't become with the near expensive bid ($45K). I volition say that in our bidding process, we were originally thinking about just staying with the width of the original basement windows but going deeper so they could actually work every bit egress, but afterward looking at the cost divergence to majorly overstate the windows… we decided that information technology would be empty-headed to non simply go as large as we could.

A big portion of the $16k was the excavation and rock work for the size of the window wells. If yous went with more of a standard window well kit and size, then you lot could probably cut this cost in half. For reference, the windows that nosotros put in are lx″ x 36″.

p.s. Run across more basement renovation projects such as: Asbestos Removal and Abatement, Price to Hire Drywall Installation, How to Cut a Rug to Resize Information technology and Low Ceiling Lighting Options.

Disclosure: This postal service may contain chapter links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you lot when y'all brand a purchase using my link.

Source: https://biggerthanthethreeofus.com/basement-egress-window/

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