Basement Bedroom Window Egress Requirements

However if your basement has habitable finished rooms building codes require it to have egress windows or other means of egress patio door etc.

Basement bedroom window egress requirements.

If the window well is more than 44 deep it needs a ladder. All of these rooms are required to have a means of egress. There are several options that you can use to achieve the egress requirements for a bedroom in a basement. You can arrange the bedroom so that one of the exterior walls has a properly sized egress window or exterior door in it.

Different types of windows can serve as egress windows as long as they meet the minimum requirements for size and clearance. 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. And every basement bedroom whether existing or added is required by code to have an egress window. Clear height of opening.

If you have a basement that has a bedroom recreation room den family room media room office or home gym. 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. Egress window well code requirements. The minimum height for the egress window opening is 24 inches.

Since you re below ground you have to make sure that the window can still fully open without obstruction. 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. Window wells must be at least 3 x 3 and they must allow the window to open fully. The maximum height from the floor to the opening of the egress window is 44 inches.

The bottom of the egress window opening can t exceed 44 from the finished floor. The city of bloomington has a nice handout on egress requirements explaining these requirements. If there s a deck or porch above the basement window well at least 36 of headroom is needed. 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.

Basement egress window requirements. In fact there are some specific basement window requirements that you ll need to follow in order for your new basement space to be considered a proper bedroom. Basement egress windows have special requirements. The minimum opening area of the egress window is 5 7.

Walk out basement walk out basements provide the most flexibility for building a bedroom in the basement.