# Egress /Ingress windows



## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

My building dept has been anal about egress and ingress windows since the early 70's. Not only in the finished areas but in any unfinished basement and any area of an unfinished basement that looks like it could, would, or should be living space/bedroom space at some time in the future. 

I travel around the country and see basement bedrooms with these little 2x2 or 2x3 steel mulled windows 7 ft off the floor and I know I could never get my butt out that window in a pinch but I also know a firefighter with gear could also not get in or out of that window. 

So I'm curious how many of you guys pay attention to ingress/ egress windows and how many of your building departments do?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Building departments are only a small part of the egress situation.

When you try to count the basement rooms with small windows as a habitable space and try to base a mortgage on that area and number of bedrooms, you find out that how important egress requirements are.

Mortgage companies, insurance companies and home inspectors (not code inspectors) may have a bigger influence than most people realize.

Often, contractors and home sellers are not aware until is too late if the code people do not do their job.

I have seen progressive builder put 6' sliders in a basement with a covered, landscaped well for a family room that had egress steps, so there are economic selling aspects.


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## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

I agree with you Dick however I think the sooner the building depts take control of this the less aggravation for everyone down the way. Also lives may be saved many years after we are gone. 

As I said. My county started strict egress requirements in the early 70's. Since that time the county has had about 120,000 new homes built, (i didn't build all of them), and i would say there are very few egress problems in those homes. Our foundations are about 100% poured concrete and if anyone has ever tried to cut a window into poured concrete they would know why it is better to think the windows out ahead of time and get them in on the initial pour. 

Of course we have houses built before 1970. I do rental props and will not rent a space without proper ingress/egress. That is why my back hurts tonight and i'm on pain killers.


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## georgia dawg (Aug 12, 2005)

We follow IRC here in GA. Egress/Ingress requirements are not complicated and are easy to follow. Any residential builder worth anything should know to check these items before construction. (Can't speak for older homes, though)


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## troubleseeker (Sep 24, 2006)

Our local inspectors are also pretty watchfull on this item. We just recently had to change a bedroom window out, because the opening was 1/2 inch too narrow. We knew we had used these windows before (locally fabricated vinyl units) with no problem, so we called the salesman to verify what we had been shipped, only to find out they had switched to a slightly heavier frame extrusion, which made the difference.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

IRC requires something like 5.7 sq/ft of clear opening window in any occupied/sleeping room, etc. Some localities require more...such as new construction windows will be at least 3/0-5/0's. I generally follow 3/0-4/0's in my spec plans and they do meet code.


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## georgia dawg (Aug 12, 2005)

Most all window manufacturers list which ones meet egress/ingress in their schedules/literature. Its not the same between Vinyl, wood, styles, and manufacturers. Also, check as needed for tempered glazing around tubs,stairways, 2' distances from doors, and close to the floor windows. Don't forget basement ingress/egress, too. It's all in the IRC. As a general rule, always double-check plans. Architects and plan designers may not be "hip" to code requirements.


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## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

I guess the point I was trying to make a didn't is that unfinished basements should be poured with enough egress windows to accomodate any future layout of bedrooms.

What i've seen is that the basement is initially unfinished so windows are not included. Then the homeowner wants to turn it into bedrooms/living and it is too much trouble to cut a window in the concrete wall so the basement bedrooms can end up with no windows or tiny ones. 

Also cutting a window in after can be tricky because if the upper bars get cut the foundation can lose it's tensile strength.

Just one of those things that is easy to do initially. Of course it is difficult to figure how someone might layout a basement in the future but a guy could come close. Kinda like roughing in future bathrooms. you get them close.


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## K2 (Jul 8, 2005)

Looks like the old UBC had stricter requirements than the IRC. I'm pretty sure the UBC required 7 ft. sq.


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## georgia dawg (Aug 12, 2005)

5.7 sq.ft. is inside to inside open measurement. That means you're only measuring the inside dimensions of the half of the double hung that is open. I'd be cautious of any double hung less than (or sometimes equal) to 3046, and I'd double-check with the vendor to be sure.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Don't forget about the proper sill height, especially in basements, where wider windows may be more attractive, but the sill could be too high.

The idea is to make it low enough so children can get out.

Best to check locally, since there can be a minor, but important difference between the current codes.


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