When you create an bedroom in a basement or a spare room, you must make sure that the window in that room meet specific egress requirement. Egress requirements exist for egress windows because the window must allow for a person to exit the room quick in the case of an emergency. If the egress window dont have the correct size, then the bedroom will not meet building code and may not be safe for sleeping in.
The size of the egress window is the size of the clear opening that the window make when it is opened as wide as possible. Rough opening, manufactured windows, and clear opening spaces is three different measurement of the size of the egress window. The rough opening is the hole in the wall where the egress window will go.
How to Measure an Emergency Exit Window for a Basement Bedroom
The manufactured window are the egress window that will go into that hole. The clear opening is the amount of space available for a person to climb through the window. Many people often make the mistake of measuring the window frame or the glass pane of the window.
However, the frame and hardware of the window take up some of the space within the window for a person to pass through the window. Therefore, people must measure the clear opening to determine whether or not the egress window will meet the code. Not all window style will allow for the same amount of clear opening space.
For instance, casement windows will swing out on hinges and will allow for a more larger area of clear opening space then double-hung or sliding windows. Double-hung and sliding windows only open partially. Therefore, the egress window will have to be larger to allow the same amount of clear opening space as a casement window.
Awnings and hopper windows will tilt to allow for the egress of a person. The problem with these two window types is that they will require more width for the egress window to account for the hinge hardware for the awning or hopper window. Therefore, people must choose a window style with the proper amount of clear opening space before installing the window.
The location of the egress window will also impact the size of the window required to meet the egress requirements. For instance, windows on upper floor of a building follow different rules than basement windows. Basement windows must also account for the depth and width of the window well.
The window well must be deep enough to allow the sash of the window to swing complete free and the width of the well must be wide enough to allow a person to climb through the window. If the depth of the window well is very deep, a ladder may have to be installed into the window well to allow a person to climb out of the window well. Additionally, security bar or security grilles installed into the egress window must be able to be released from the inside of the window without the use of tool.
There are specific step that must be followed when measuring the size of an egress window. First, you must measure the clear width inside the open sash of the window. Second, you must measure the clear height inside the open sash of the window.
Third, the height of the window sill must be low enough to allow a person to climb through the window. Fourth, you must multiply the clear width and the clear height of the window to find the total square footage of the clear opening of the window. An egress window must have at least 5.7 square feet of clear opening space.
The requirement of 5.7 square feet of clear opening space is because 5.7 square feet is the amount of space that an average adult will need to pass through an opening in an emergency situation. Local building departments may have other requirement for egress windows that differ from the general building code. For instance, the local department may require a deeper or wider window well than the general code require.
Additionally, the local department may require a different height for the window sill. You should call your local permit office to check and see what the local code requires for egress windows. This information can change the requirement for the egress window that is to be installed in the basement.
Therefore, it is better for a builder or homeowner to determine the local code requirements prior to order the egress window for the basement. When determining the egress window for the basement rooms, you should consider the clear opening space of the window rather than the visual appearance of the window. For instance, focusing only on the visual appearance of the window will cause the basement rooms egress window to not meet the code requirements.
An egress window that does not meet the requirements set for basements will cause the construction project to fail inspection. By measuring the clear opening of the window proper, a builder can ensure that the egress window will be safe and meet all building code for the basement in which the window will be installed.
