Remember when you re adding a bedroom to your home or basement you have to keep certain requirements in mind.
Egress window well size requirements.
In order to meet irc requirements it must provide 9 square feet of floor area ladder.
In order to exit your home from a basement window or to accommodate rescue personnel your egress window well needs to be large enough to admit a person of any size.
Window wells greater than 44 inches in depth requires a permanently fixed ladder or steps to provide access.
Minimum net clear opening.
This height requirement takes it out of the running for most basement egress situations.
Minimum width of opening.
The sill must be no higher than 44 inches from the ground.
The ladder must be at lease 12 inches wide and project no less than 3 inches from the window well.
An egress ladder or step may encroach into well up to 6.
R310 2 3 1 ladder and steps.
Minimum height of opening.
The distance from the egress window to the back of the egress well must be at least 36 the minimum area of the egress well must be 9 square feet.
For ground floor maximum sill height above floor.
A permanent ladder or stairwell must be present if the window well is 44 inches or more below ground.
The minimum horizontal area of the window well shall be 9 square feet 0 9 m2 with a minimum horizontal projection and width of 36 inches 914 mm.
Wide and 4 ft.
The area of the window well shall allow the emergency escape and rescue opening to be fully opened.
This means that to meet egress window height requirements a bedroom window must be nearly 4 ft.
To ensure you install the right egress for your basement we ll break down the residential window well code requirements you ll need to abide by.
Egress ladders and or steps are required on window wells deeper than 44 and must be permanently attached.
To meet egress requirements these horizontally sliding windows must be at least 4 ft.
The area of the window well shall allow the emergency escape and rescue opening to be fully opened.
The ladder or steps required by section r310 2 3 1 shall be permitted to encroach not more than 6 inches 152 mm into the required dimensions of the window well.
Window wells serving an egress window shall not be less than 9 square feet in area with a horizontal length width of no less than 36 inches.
Width x projection egress ladders and or steps.
The egress well must not interfere with the egress window fully opening.