Basement egress window requirements.
Basement bedroom window egress requirements.
The maximum height from the floor to the opening of the egress window is 44 inches.
Window wells must be at least 3 x 3 and they must allow the window to open fully.
All of these rooms are required to have a means of egress.
You can arrange the bedroom so that one of the exterior walls has a properly sized egress window or exterior door in it.
The minimum opening area of the egress window is 5 7.
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.
If you have a basement that has a bedroom recreation room den family room media room office or home gym.
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.
You need an egress window all residential building code requirements across the united states state that any habitable space must have at least one egress window.
Walk out basement walk out basements provide the most flexibility for building a bedroom in the basement.
Clear height of opening.
If you plan to add a bedroom in your basement in the future you will need to meet the requirements noted above along with a few others.
The minimum height for the egress window opening is 24 inches.
And every basement bedroom whether existing or added is required by code to have an egress window.
Egress window well code requirements.
Since you re below ground you have to make sure that the window can still fully open without obstruction.
If the window well is more than 44 deep it needs a ladder.
The city of bloomington has a nice handout on egress requirements explaining these requirements.
Basement egress windows have special requirements.
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.
Different types of windows can serve as egress windows as long as they meet the minimum requirements for size and clearance.
Casement egress windows usually have one or more hinges at the side and swing in or out to open like a door.
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.