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What is an Egress Window? For determining egress window sizes and placement, the International Building Code advises that every bedroom must contain at least one egress window. It must be at least 5.7 square feet, 20 inches wide by 24 inches high, with an opening no higher than 44 inches from the floor.
What defines an egress window?
Egress windows are large openings that offer a secondary exit in case of an emergency. They can also add more natural light and make your basement feel more inviting. Basement bedrooms and living spaces are required to have egress windows. This mandate also involves unfinished basements.
What is the difference between an egress window and a regular window?
An egress window is a window that is required in a specific location of your home to provide a means of escape during an emergency. Instead, they are standard double hung, casement, or sliding windows, they simply must meet the minimum size requirement to be considered egress windows.
Do double hung windows meet egress?
Double-Hung Windows They can be used as egress windows, but even when they’re fully open, more than half of their overall area is blocked by glass. That said, their overall height must be close to four feet nine inches to meet the requirements.
What type of window is an egress window?
A typical egress window installed in a basement is a casement window or sliding window. The double hung window is generally impractical as a basement egress window because of the construction constraints in most basement spaces. A casement window works well as a basement egress window because it is hinged.
What is the smallest egress window allowed?
Basement Egress Window Requirements The bottom of the egress window opening can’t exceed 44″ from the finished floor. The minimum opening area of the egress window is 5.7 square feet. The minimum egress window opening height is 24″ high. The minimum egress window opening is 20″ wide.
How are egress windows measured?
Multiply the opening of your window (its width with its height), then convert the result to square feet. Example: You have a window 15 “wide by 36.2” high (or vice versa). Multiply 15 “x 36.2”, giving 543 “, which equals 3.77 ft2, the minimum area to meet.
Do egress windows need to be tempered?
(2) 2nd and 3rd floor windows must have a clear opening area of at least 5.7 sq. ft. (3) Glass within 36” of the walking surface of a stair as well as glass 3′ horizontally from the top of the stair and 5′ from the bottom of the stair must be tempered.
Are egress windows mandatory?
Egress windows are required in every room used for sleeping purposes (bedrooms) on any floor and in basements with habitable space. If you are constructing a new home, the code requires that you put an egress window in each bedroom.
Do egress windows open in or out?
What are In-swing Egress Windows? As the name implies they are windows that open into the room rather than out into an egress well. In-swing Egress Windows are legal to use by code in residential settings as an emergency escape because all residential doors also open in to your house.
Can a casement window be used for egress?
Casement Egress Windows 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.
Can a sliding window be egress?
Sliding Window Sliding windows are a very popular window type used for egress where the panes of glass slide along a track at the top and bottom of the window frame. Strengths: Since sliding windows are not hinged, you do not need to worry about maintaining any clearance for a swinging sash.
What is the best egress window?
In terms of strength and durability, concrete window wells are absolutely the best choice. If you’re doing a DIY installation and you don’t have any power equipment to maneuver heavy slabs of concrete, you might choose a plastic or metal window well.
What is a non egress window?
A non-grade egress window is a opening located such that the sill height of the opening is more than 44-inches above or below the finished ground level adjacent to the house. Egress windows are required in every room used for sleeping purposes (bedrooms) on any floor and in basements and attics with habitable space.
Does every bedroom need a fire escape window?
Every habitable room must have a fire egress window, unless there is other means of escape. ie: by direct access to another room with means of escape.
How hard is it to install an egress window?
It’s much more difficult and more expensive to install an egress window in a masonry wall, especially if it’s a basement wall. For starters, you’ll need to excavate outside the basement wall in the window location and create a deep window well that will provide full access to the window.
Do bedroom windows need to be tempered?
Any fixed or movable window that is bigger than 9 square feet should be made of tempered glass. This applies if the bottom edge of the glass is less than 18 inches above the floor and the top edge is over 36 inches from the floor.
How close can windows be to the floor?
According to the 2018 IRC, all windows that are more than 6 feet above the grade outside the window must have a bottom opening a minimum of 24 inches above the room’s interior floor.
When did egress windows become law?
According to Jerry McCarthy, a former building code/construction consultant, the requirement that basement bedrooms have egress windows became part of the International Residential Code in 1997.
