How To Enlarge A Basement Window

All Most our egress window installation including enlarging the basement windows, egress window price, stone window wells, etc!

What is an egress window? How much does an egress window installation cost? Why practise you want in a basement escape window? In today'south mail service, I'm sharing everything I've learned regarding our basement egress windows.

We've lived in this house at present for just over 8 years. At that place'southward so many areas of the house that still demand to be updated, need to exist renovated, need to be addressed. You tin can peek in on our dwelling house 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 coin into our basement but, as our son has gotten older, we've seen the value in having a space that is dedicated to hanging out with friends. The hubs and I have also gotten older and encounter the value in a space that is soundproofed to accommodate the younger generation. lol

So, we started talking about what a potential basement renovation would look similar about two years ago. In talking and dreaming about the infinite, I but kept coming back to the fact that I didn't want to renovate the basement cheaply. I wanted to meliorate the space. I wanted the space to feel as much like an extension of the upstairs as information technology could and I wanted it to have as much natural low-cal as possible.

I knew from past experience, that enlarging windows in our house was something we all felt was ane of the best renovation decisions we've e'er made. So, in thinking nearly the basement renovation, getting more than natural light was a priority and that's when I started researching egress windows for basements.

Unfortunately, our basement has low ceilings. At just over 7′, there was no style we could improve the ceiling summit. Only, I thought that we could make the basement not feel like a dungeon by enlarging our basement windows on each side of our space.

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

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

Earlier photo of modest basement window with metallic window well

After Photo of Basement Egress Windows

LVP Flooring | Basement Lighting

I realize that those three photos of our basement are a lilliputian difficult to slice through considering they are taken at different angles and with different room prepare-ups. We did a lot of construction in the basement, so you'll just take to take my give-and-take on how large of a departure the egress windows made.

What is an Egress Window?

Nigh 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 yous volition definitely want to check your local codes to make up one's mind what exactly counts every bit an egress window in your location.

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

Honestly, no i is living in our basement. It did have a bedchamber down there but we took it out (but have the wiring, supports to add one wall back in subsequently down the line when we sell… more on this in a afterwards mail!). To the states, the cost of adding egress windows just to have windows that tin can exist climbed out of in an emergency doesn't add up because no one volition exist sleeping downwards in that location. BUT, when you figure in how happy we are with the larger window in the kitchen and all the sunlight that it lets in, combined with the fact that egress windows volition exist adept for resale… that's what tipped the scale for us.

Egress Window Kits Or Window Wells

Ok, so let's talk well-nigh what options we had. You tin can buy 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 cheap for our specific lot and neighborhood.

You come across a lot of window wells that are steel, but at that place are other options on the market that are prefabricated window wells. Hither'due south a few so you can see:

Custom Window Well With Stacked Rock

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

So, pretty fast in my research, 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.

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

So, as you can tell… I'm non going to requite you a tutorial for installing an egress window but I will share how the basement window installation actually went downwardly with our contractors.

Process of enlarging a basement window to an basement egress window

Installing an Egress Window

• Accept a company come out to mark electrical lines
• Get permit
• Utilise an digging visitor to dig a trench forth the expanse where yous are having the egress window installed
• Excavation company will make sure egress window drainage flows away from the house using French drains
• At this time, your foundation will be exposed so check for waterproofing or whatsoever other issues
• Cut foundation for windows
• Add header for windows
• Install windows
• Frame out windows on the exteriors
• Add stone to bottom of the window well
• Install river rock in window well and mortar
• Backfill clay to the window well
• Regrade side of the grand for water drainage
• Reseed yard
• Frame out windows on the interior (we skipped this part because we can DIY and nosotros wanted to salve money)

LVP Flooring | Basement Lighting

Basement Egress Window Toll

We paid just over $xvi,000 to take two basement windows put in and all of the piece of work above done. Nosotros didn't go with the cheapest bid ($13K) and we didn't become with the most 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 simply going deeper so they could really work as egress, simply later on looking at the cost difference to majorly overstate the windows… we decided that it would be dizzy to not just become as large as we could.

A large portion of the $16k was the excavation and stone piece of 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 cut this toll in half. For reference, the windows that we put in are sixty″ 10 36″.

Jess from Vivid Green Door did a window well unit and some parts of the install were DIY and her toll came to around $ten,000. When I was crowd-sourcing on Instagram terminal year for anyone who had washed this project and was willing to share the cost, a few people shared that it was around the $5K marker. I knew ours wouldn't be super low because, over again, I wanted the rock ledges and to get as big every bit I could go. But, hopefully, past hearing these numbers, it gives you an idea of what your price could/should be.

And so, curious to hear your thoughts on egress windows! Or fifty-fifty, just enlarging windows in general. Take you went through a similar process?

Instructions

1. Have a company come out to marking electric lines
2. Go permit
3. Utilise an digging company to dig a trench along the area where you are having the egress window installed.
4. Earthworks company volition make sure egress window drainage flows away from the firm using French drains.
5. At this time, your foundation will exist exposed then bank check for waterproofing or any other problems.
6. Cut foundation for windows
7. Add together header for basement windows
8. Install egress windows
9. Frame out egress windows on the exteriors
10. Add stone to bottom of the window well
11. Install river rock in window well and mortar
12. Backfill dirt to the window well
13. Regrade side of the yard for water drainage
14. Reseed yard
15. Frame out windows on the interior (we skipped this part considering we tin DIY and nosotros wanted to relieve money)

Notes

BASEMENT EGRESS WINDOW Toll

We paid merely over $16,000 to have two basement windows put in and all of the work above done. We didn't go with the cheapest bid ($13K) and we didn't go with the most expensive bid ($45K). I will 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 equally egress, simply after looking at the price difference to majorly enlarge the windows… we decided that it would be featherbrained to not just go as large as nosotros could.

A big portion of the $16k was the excavation and stone piece of 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 cut this cost in half. For reference, the windows that we put in are 60″ ten 36″.

p.s. Encounter more than basement renovation projects such as: Asbestos Removal and Abatement, Price to Hire Drywall Installation, How to Cut a Carpeting to Resize It and Depression Ceiling Lighting Options.

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Posted by: stewartfralke.blogspot.com

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