The Window That Turns a Basement Into a Bedroom
A basement bedroom without an egress window is not really a bedroom. The building code says every sleeping room below grade needs an emergency escape opening — a window a person can climb through. The model-code minimums are clear: at least 5.7 square feet of clear opening (5.0 at a grade-level floor), at least 20 inches of clear width, at least 24 inches of clear height, and a sill no more than 44 inches above the floor. Confirm the exact numbers with your Baltimore City or Baltimore County permit office, and we will size your window to pass inspection.
Most Baltimore basements do not have this window. The old rowhouses have tiny cellar windows. The post-war cape cods have small awning windows set high in the wall. None of them come close to 5.7 square feet. Our job is to put the right window in the right wall — cut clean, set straight, sealed tight.
What the Job Actually Involves
An egress install is concrete work, not just window work. First we mark the opening inside and out, sized to the code minimums plus the frame. Then we cut the foundation wall with concrete saws — poured concrete cuts differently than block, and we work with both every week. The cut-out section comes out in pieces, and we haul every chunk away.
Then we set the window: framed, leveled, flashed, and sealed against water. Outside, we dig and build the window well — at least 9 square feet of horizontal area and 36 inches out from the wall, per the model code — and tie in drainage so the well never becomes a pond. If the well is deeper than 44 inches, we add the ladder the code requires. Last, we fit a cover and walk the whole job with you.
Poured Concrete vs. Block Walls
Baltimore has both. Poured concrete walls — common in ranches and newer colonials — cut clean and hold the opening well. Block walls — common in cape cods and older homes — need the opening framed to carry the load above, since you are removing block that was doing structural work. We handle both, and the free visit tells us which one you have and what the opening needs.
Why Not Just Enlarge the Window That's There?
Sometimes that is exactly the right move — see our window enlargement page. But most existing basement windows sit too high in the wall, and lowering a sill means cutting down, which is often as much work as a fresh opening in a better spot. During the free visit we compare both options and quote the one that makes sense for your wall, your grade, and your budget.
How It Works: Our Process
Step 1 — Free visit. You call or send the form. We measure the room, check the wall inside and out, look at grade and drainage.
Step 2 — Written estimate. Itemized: window, well, drainage, cover, labor. Most single-window jobs land between $2,500 and $6,000.
Step 3 — Install day. We protect your floors, cut the opening, set the window, build the well, and tie in drainage. Most jobs take one to two days.
Step 4 — Walkthrough. We show you how the window opens, how the cover lifts, and where the water goes. Then we haul the debris and clean up.
What the Inspector Checks
When the job needs a permit — and in Baltimore City and County, cutting a foundation opening usually does — an inspector will come out and look at the work. Knowing what they check takes the mystery out of it.
First, the opening size. The inspector carries a tape measure and checks the clear opening against the code minimums: 5.7 square feet of clear area, 20 inches of clear width, 24 inches of clear height, and a sill no more than 44 inches off the floor. This is the number-one thing inspectors verify, and it is why we measure every window before the inspector ever arrives.
Second, the well. They check the horizontal area, the 36-inch projection from the wall, and the ladder in wells deeper than 44 inches. Third, the operation: the window must open from the inside without tools or keys. The inspector will open it themselves.
We build every job to pass the first time. If an inspector ever flags something on our work, we come back and make it right — that is part of the job, not an extra.
Call (301) 679-9193 or send the form below for your free written estimate.