Egress Windows
Code-compliant emergency exit windows that flood your basement with natural light — because life safety and beautiful living space aren't mutually exclusive.
Ready to Transform Your Basement?
An egress window is a code-required emergency exit from any habitable basement room. The International Residential Code (IRC) mandates a minimum 5.7 square foot opening, a maximum 44-inch sill height from the finished floor, and a minimum 24-inch wide by 20-inch tall clear opening — ensuring every occupant can escape in an emergency and every firefighter can enter.
But egress windows aren't just a safety checkbox. A properly installed egress window transforms a dark, underground room into a bright, ventilated living space. BaseScape cuts the foundation opening with surgical precision, installs a structurally engineered header, and finishes the window well exterior so your basement bedroom, office, or family room meets code and feels like a real room.
If your basement has bedrooms without egress windows, they cannot legally be counted as bedrooms — which directly impacts your home's appraised value and your family's safety.
Our Process
Assessment & Code Review
We evaluate your foundation type, basement layout, and existing window openings against current IRC egress requirements. We identify the optimal window placement for both code compliance and natural light.
Engineering & Permits
Structural engineering plans for the foundation cut, window well sizing, and drainage design. We pull all required permits and coordinate utility locates before any work begins.
Foundation Cut & Installation
Precision diamond-blade cutting of the foundation wall, structural header installation, window framing, flashing, and weatherproofing. The window well is set with proper drainage and a code-compliant egress ladder or steps.
Finishing & Inspection
Interior drywall finishing around the new window, exterior backfill, window well cover installation, and final city inspection. We don't leave until you have a signed-off, code-compliant egress window.
Your Questions, Answered
Structural Safety
Cutting into a foundation wall requires a structural header to redistribute the load above the opening. We engineer every header for your home's specific load path — steel lintels or LVL beams sized by a licensed structural engineer. Your foundation is stronger and code-compliant after installation.
Code Compliance
Every egress window we install meets or exceeds IRC Section R310 requirements: 5.7 sq ft minimum opening area, 24-inch minimum width, 20-inch minimum height, and 44-inch maximum sill height. We schedule the city inspection and walk you through the sign-off.
Drainage & Moisture
Window wells are engineered with 12 inches of clean gravel backfill, a perforated drain pipe tied to your foundation drainage system, and a sloped window well cover. Water management is built into the design, not bolted on after the fact.
Dust & Disruption
Foundation cutting generates concrete dust. Our containment protocol uses sealed poly barriers and negative-pressure HEPA filtration to keep dust out of your living space. Most egress window installations complete in 2-3 days with minimal disruption to your daily routine.
Cost & Affordability
Egress window installations typically range from $5,000-$12,000 per window depending on foundation type, window size, and well depth. This investment directly increases your home's legal bedroom count and appraised value — most homeowners see a 2:1 return on resale.
Aesthetics
We offer a range of egress window styles — casement, sliding, and hopper — in vinyl, fiberglass, or aluminum-clad frames. Window wells come in corrugated steel, composite stone, or poured concrete with optional terraced landscaping for a premium finished look.
Timeline
A standard single egress window installation takes 2-3 days from foundation cut to final inspection. Multiple windows on the same project typically add 1-2 days per additional window. We provide an exact timeline during the engineering phase.
What Sets Us Apart
Safety-First Engineering — Every egress window project starts with structural engineering, not a tape measure and a saw. BaseScape's foundation specialists calculate load paths, specify header sizes, and design drainage systems before the first cut is made. General contractors often treat egress windows as a simple carpentry task. We treat them as what they are: structural modifications to your home's foundation that must be engineered correctly for your family's safety and your home's long-term integrity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size does an egress window need to be?
Do I need an egress window in my basement bedroom?
How much does an egress window add to home value?
How long does egress window installation take?
Will there be dust and disruption during installation?
Ready to discuss your egress windows project?