[Editor: Note that this article was published in 2009 and code requirements vary between municipalities. Always check with your local code official for egress window requirements that apply to your location.]
Even though I’d been remodeling basements for 25 years, I wasn’t prepared for my first basement egress window installation. After hand-digging the window well, I had to call in a concrete-cutting company to cut the opening, then rent a jackhammer to break up the large slab of concrete left behind. Lifting the broken concrete out of the 5-foot hole and moving it — along with 4 yards of heavy clay — to my pickup in a wheelbarrow wasn’t any fun; neither was wheelbarrowing in a truckload of pea-stone backfill. It was four days before I could even start installing the window.
That was back in 2003. At the time, Michigan had just expanded egress-window code requirements to include all habitable below-grade spaces, not just bedrooms. Anticipating the demand that the code change would create, I began to look into ways to make the job easier. Within a year, I had invested in excavating and concrete-cutting equipment and began specializing in egress window installations.
Today my brother Michael and I can complete a basic egress window well in about eight hours. It’s all we do: We install about three units per week and work year round. While I prefer sunny 60°F days with a light breeze, we also work in February when it’s 10°F out and the ground is frozen. Over the last four years, we’ve installed more than 600 egress windows.
Equipment and Tools
When I show up at a job site, I’m driving a 6-yard dump truck and pulling a 10-ton tag trailer. In the truck, I’m carrying 3 yards of 3/8-inch-diameter pea-stone backfill; on the trailer, I have my Bobcat, a backhoe attachment, a set of forks, and a standard bucket. I’ve also got 32 sheets of 3/4-inch plywood that I use to protect the homeowner’s yard, a 6-foot-wide by 8-foot-long by 2-foot-high steel pan for holding dirt, an escape window and well, and various other materials and tools needed for installation.
To cut the concrete, I bought a Dimas WS 325 track-mounted wall saw (now sold in the U.S. as the Husqvarna WS 325; husqvarnaconstruction.com/us/). It’s fitted with a 28-inch-diameter blade that allows us to make straight and square cuts through a 12-inch-thick poured wall. I go through a couple of these $1,200 diamond blades per year.
Once the track is mounted on the foundation wall, a hand crank advances the saw trolley; compared with a hand-held ring saw, this machine is really easy on the back. It’s powered with a Husqvarna HP 40 hydraulic power pack.
To avoid having to overcut the corners, I’ve also invested in an ICS 853Pro Series concrete-cutting chain saw (icsdiamondtools.com/en/). This water-cooled tool has a 15-inch bar and is also powered by the hydraulic power pack. It has a diamond chain that unfortunately can’t be sharpened; I use about one $650 chain per month. My initial investment in saws, blades, and the power pack was about $25,000. I spent another $100,000 on the used dump truck, a custom trailer, and the Bobcat and attachments.
Escape-Well Options
I install many different types of escape wells, including custom designs built with pressure-treated timbers or landscaping block, and manufactured systems from Bilco (bilco.com) and Boman Kemp (boman-kemp.com). But most of the wells I install are from Wellcraft (wellcraftwells.com). Made from polyethylene, they’re virtually maintenance-free and have a curb appeal that makes them easy to sell when I display them at home shows. I’ve installed more than 500 Wellcraft units without a callback, with models 2062 and 5600 being the most popular.
Each of our installations includes a polycarbonate cover, which allows light to come through while keeping debris, leaves, toads, snakes, and people from falling into the 5-foot-deep well. Wellcraft’s covers come in both flat and dome styles (depending on the well model) and are rated to hold 350 to 500 pounds. For added security, a steel grate and a lattice cover are available for Wellcraft’s 5600 model.
Excavation
Before arriving on site, we always contact Miss Dig, Michigan’s statewide utility marking system. But Miss Dig doesn’t find sprinkler lines, so after removing the sod from the well site by hand, I always dig a 12-inch-deep exploratory trench around the perimeter. If I find any lines, I cut and crimp them (to keep them free of dirt), then reroute them around the well.
While I’m doing this, my brother Michael unloads the Bobcat and lays plywood on the lawn from the road to the window site to protect the grass. When we excavate the hole, we place the dirt in the dirt pan, which also protects the landscaping and makes cleanup easier (see Figure 1, PDF).
Drainage
Of the hundreds of houses where we’ve installed egress windows, only two haven’t had any perimeter drainage. In those cases, the homes were located on sites with sandy soil and no history of basement moisture, so we simply dug a little deeper and wider and used more pea stone — making a dry well, in effect. But usually we tee into the existing drain line. If there are any unforeseen below-grade situations, our standard contract specifies that additional drainage (at an extra charge) may be required.
Before we start sawing, I use pea stone to backfill around the drain pipe and cover the bottom of our hole. That way, we won’t be cutting concrete while standing in mud, even if it starts to rain.
Cutting Concrete
Most of the time, we’re installing the new egress window where there’s already a small window — generally one that’s 32 inches wide by 14 inches high. When we lay out the new opening, we look for obvious obstructions in the basement, like plumbing and utility lines and beam pockets. We avoid putting egress windows too close to driveways (where car tires can roll over them) or under bay windows. Typically we make a three-cut opening, all the way up to the sill plate. By code, the window sill height can’t be more than 44 inches above the floor; most of our windows have a 32-inch clearance, a height that’s better for kids (see illustration).
We lay out the cut on the outside of the wall, usually measuring off the existing window. On a blind layout where clearances are critical, we’ll drill a pilot hole through the wall and use that as a benchmark. If a structural header is required, we temporarily prop up the floor joists with 2x4s as we cut the opening.
While Michael mounts the track and assembles the saw outside (Figure 2), I hang plastic inside the basement to help contain water and overspray (Figure 3). The plastic funnels toward a 5-gallon bucket, which is large enough for most jobs. When there’s carpeting inside, I put down self-stick plastic carpet protector and, over that, a layer of poly for extra insurance.
We make the bottom cut first, then pound a chisel in the opening to keep the piece of concrete wedged in place. Next we make the two side cuts — or, if we happen to be making four cuts, a side cut, the top cut, and then the other side cut. We use our concrete chain saw to finish the corner cuts. For a typical job, setting up and cutting out the opening takes about two hours.
After Michael completes the cuts, I slowly pry the concrete block out into the excavation from inside the basement. It’s heavy: A 32-inch-by-49-inch-by-10-inch block weighs 1,600 pounds. We wrap a chain around it and lift it out with the Bobcat. Afterward, we wash and clean the concrete wall with water and a stiff brush.
Window Wells
When we install an egress window well, we always make sure that the well has a minimum 4-inch clearance above finished grade and that there are at least 4 inches between the bottom of the window and the bottom of the well (Figure 4). I fasten wells to masonry using 3/8-inch-by-3-3/4-inch wedge bolts with 1-1/2-inch fender washers. Most well flanges are predrilled for the fasteners — typically 8 inches on-center — and I make sure to use every hole. To seal the flanges to the foundation wall, I run beads of NPC’s Solar Seal 900 caulking (npcsealants.com) on both the inside and outside of the well.
I backfill the inside of the well with pea stone to within a few inches of the bottom cut, then cut the 4-inch drainpipe riser flush with the stone and attach the drain cover to the pipe.
We backfill the outside of the well with pea stone to within 6 inches of final grade, using the Bobcat to move the stone and placing it slowly and evenly to prevent damage to the well. Rectangular wells (like the Bilco ScapeWel) need to be braced while backfilling to prevent them from deforming. The last 6 inches get backfilled with top soil, with the finished grade sloped away from the house. If we removed any sod before digging, we replace it around the well.
Installing the Window
We build frames with pressure-treated 2-bys and attach the frames to the masonry with 21/2-inch Remington power fasteners (Figure 5). We use Solar Seal 900 to seal the frames to the walls and expanding foam to fill any larger gaps.
If there’s brick veneer and we’ve enlarged the opening, we’ll install a brick lintel and patch in the brick. On wider openings we may need to install a header.
At the sill, we install 1-1/4-inch-by-1-1/4- inch aluminum L-flashing, which covers the concrete and runs up the 2-by framing (Figure 6). Before installing the window, we slip peel-and-stick flashing behind the house’s existing weather-resistive barrier. We caulk the nailing flange before installing the window, and finish it with 3/4-inch-thick by 1-1/2-inch PVC trim. When installed, the face of the trim is inset about 1/2 inch from the outside face of the foundation wall. I usually install an all-vinyl egress window called the Escape Window (Astro Building Supplies, escapewindows.net). It looks like a double-hung and functions as a single-hung, but it’s hinged so the entire frame swings open into the basement (Figure 7). It comes in custom sizes, but for wider openings, Andersen’s vinyl-clad 200 Series sliders (andersenwindows.com) also make good egress windows. We finish up by installing the polycarbonate well cover. Flat covers attach to the back of the well and are hinged to tilt up. Their fronts are held in place with Velcro, which makes them easy to remove from inside. Domed covers — which lift off in one piece — are also attached to the well with Velcro.
Before leaving, we scoop the excavated dirt out of the dirt pan with the Bobcat and load it in the dump truck, along with the block of concrete. We always have people looking for free fill — and a local masonry supply company has a crushed concrete plant, so there’s no charge to drop off the block.
After packing up the plywood, raking the yard, and loading up the truck and trailer with our equipment and tools, we’re ready to head home.
Cost
To install Wellcraft’s 2062 well — the company’s smallest model — with a flat cover and an Astro 28-inch-by-46-inch Escape egress window, we charge about $3,400 (plus a permit fee ranging between $35 and $270). For a 5-foot opening — where we’d use an Andersen 200-series slider and a Wellcraft 2067 well — the cost would be about $4,400.
Custom jobs may cost $7,500 or more, because they usually take two or three days longer and use landscaping blocks and timbers that are more expensive than prefab wells.
Most of our business comes from within a 100-mile radius, or about a two-hour drive. Our Web site generates roughly 60 percent of our customers; the rest come from home shows, yard signs, word of mouth, and referrals from other clients and basement remodeling contractors.