Should You Install An Egress Window?

If you’re considering expanding the living space in your home, installing basement egress windows is an easy way to do this. There are many benefits when you install an egress window, from increased home value to increased safety to increased square footage. Here in Utah, people love to DIY whatever projects they can. However, if you’ve tried to DIY an egress window, you’ve probably been left frustrated. This is because there’s a lot of complexity to the egress window process that many people either don’t realize or aren’t wholly prepared for. 

There are many parts of a home renovation that you can DIY, but egress windows are best left to the professionals at Peak Windows. You should indeed install an egress window if you want to reap all the benefits that they can provide you. However, should you install an egress window yourself? No, you shouldn’t. Here’s what you need to know about the value egress windows can add to your home and factors in the egress window installation process that make it a professional job. 

How Much Value Do Egress Windows Add?

In answer – a lot! When you have Peak Windows come out and install an egress window, you’re then able to use your basement as a living space. The difference in value between a 2-bedroom house and a 4-bedroom house is significant. When you install an egress window, you’re able to legally transform the space in your basement into bedrooms or living rooms or play rooms or whatever else. They more than pay for the cost of needing a professional to come out and install them in the long run.

How much value an egress window adds depends on where you live. However, you can always count on them to significantly add to the resale value of your home, because you’re adding rooms to your home. Egress windows are one of the few projects that you’ll be able to fully recoup the cost of and make a profit on when you sell. If you’re debating on whether or not you should install an egress window because you’re worried about cost versus value, rest assured that the value egress windows add to your home makes them more than worth it.

Basement Egress Window Installation

The basement egress window installation process is a complicated one. Chances are, if you’ve tried to do egress windows yourself, you are well aware of that fact and wondering if there’s a better way. Window professionals like Peak Windows have the training and expertise to be able to install your egress windows safely and efficiently. Here are some of the factors involved in the basement egress window installation process that many DIYers aren’t prepared or equipped for. 

Egress Window Size

Your egress windows are more than just windows that add light and ventilation to your basement. “Egress” means “to go out of/to leave”, and that’s what the primary purpose of egress windows is: to provide an emergency exit route in the event of a disaster like a house fire or flooding. As such, egress windows have size specifications they must meet in order to be up to code. 

Even if you are aware of the codes for egress windows in your city, actually adhering to them can be challenging when you try to DIY them. You may know that egress windows need to be at least 20 inches wide, at least 24 inches high, at least 5.7 square feet for their opening, and have a sill no more than 44 inches off the ground. However, if you’re cutting into your home’s foundation yourself, actually making sure the opening is sized appropriately for your window to meet those requirements can be incredibly difficult.

Even the most extreme DIYers agree that cutting into your home’s foundation is something you should hire the professionals for, given that it is a very difficult and dangerous task. 

Egress Window Drainage

If you’re planning to install an egress window, it’s important to keep in mind that it will need proper drainage and waterproofing. The last thing you want is for your basement to flood. An essential part of the process when you install an egress window is to ensure there is adequate drainage, something professionals will always do. 

This involves things such as sloping the ground away from the egress window, so water drains away from it rather than towards it. It also involves excavating the ground down to the drainage system, installing a drain, and ensuring debris doesn’t get into your drainage system in the process. It also involves filling the excavation with crushed rock, which allows water to flow down, away from the egress window.

Egress Window Well

If you want to install an egress window below ground level, you’ll need a window well. This is so that people will be able to climb up and out of the window, allowing it to serve its purpose as an escape route. Installing window wells involves digging a hole, excavating, filling with rock, ensuring the window itself is up to code, and ensuring your window well is too.

Window wells need to be at least 36 inches wide and 36 inches long. If it goes down deeper than 44 inches, steps or a ladder must be installed. The area around them must be kept clear. The professionals at Peak Windows will ensure that your window well has proper drainage, is up to code, and is installed properly.

Should You Use An Egress Window Kit?

If you’re looking to install an egress window, you’ve probably come across egress window kits. These kits promise to have everything you need in order to install an egress window at a fraction of the cost hiring someone to install it would be. However, these kits don’t take into account your specific situation, the quality is seldom made to last, and they don’t include other things you need to install an egress window, such as the tools needed to dig, to cut through your foundation, and more. 

It’s not only incredibly difficult to try to install an egress window yourself, it’s also dangerous and easy to go wrong. You should always hire a professional to come out and install an egress window. It’s better to have it done right the first time and last you for years to come than to get it wrong and end up spending a fortune trying to fix where you went wrong and all the problems that result from that. 

Are You Ready To Install Egress Windows?

You should indeed install an egress window if you want to – but not by yourself! Peak Windows offers professional egress window services. Our windows are top of the line, our professionals are expertly trained, and we have high quality equipment for every step of the process. When you work with us to install your egress windows, you don’t need to lift a finger. We’ll do it right the first time, so all you need to do is sit back and relax and then enjoy your new brightly lit basement. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!