Basement Egress Window Requirements

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.

Basement egress window requirements.

Wide and 4 ft. Since you re below ground you have to make sure that the window can still fully open without obstruction. All of these rooms are required to have a means of egress. Window wells must be at least 3 x 3 and they must allow the window to open fully.

The minimum opening area of the egress window is 5 7 square feet. What s an egress window. There are several options that you can use to achieve the egress requirements for a bedroom in a basement. To meet egress requirements these horizontally sliding windows must be at least 4 ft.

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. Basement egress windows have special requirements. And every basement bedroom whether existing or added is required by code to have an egress window. Let s be honest during a fire stairs could be blocked or damaged.

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. An easy to open window that serves as an emergency exit for below ground living space of any kind. The bottom of the egress window opening can t exceed 44 from the finished floor. The minimum egress window opening is 20 wide.

It must also follow code requirements for the. 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. However if your basement has habitable finished rooms building codes require it to have egress windows or other means of egress patio door etc. 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.

The minimum egress window opening height is 24 high. If there s a deck or porch above the basement window well at least 36 of headroom is needed. If the window well is more than 44 deep it needs a ladder. This means that to meet egress window height requirements a bedroom window must be nearly 4 ft.

Egress window well code requirements. You can arrange the bedroom so that one of the exterior walls has a properly sized egress window or exterior door in it. Basement egress window requirements. Walk out basement walk out basements provide the most flexibility for building a bedroom in the basement.

The city of bloomington has a nice handout on egress requirements explaining these requirements. Casement egress windows usually have one or more hinges at the side and swing in or out to open like a door.