Product Reviews for Basement Window Installation – Husqvarna Saws TAGS: Adding egress windows | Egress windows | Installing an Egress Window

As more and more enterprising homeowners take charge of their own basement remodel, we thought we’d offer some tips and tricks straight from the contractors. Here are our thoughts on three of the most popular saws used for cutting windows in concrete walls. A basement window installation for egress is kind of like installing a swimming pool – it involves a lot more than just digging a big hole! One challenge, for example, is cutting the gaps for basement windows right through the existing walls of your home. Here are three popular products from Husqvarna you can use for cutting …Continue reading →

Basement Escape Window – Not Just for Fire TAGS: Egress windows | emergeny escape | means of egress | safe basement exit

A means of egress is an essential in any basement apartment – both legally, and practically. But it’s not only fire than makes installing a basement escape window an important idea; as one Pennsylvania woman recently discovered. When Rosalyn Willis, 59, journeyed into the basement of her Berks county home, she had no idea that she wouldn’t remerge for three whole days. She was checking on a power outage in her Douglass Township home, likely caused by water than had flooded her basement. After clambering down the stairs, however, the rickety wooden steps collapsed behind her – trapping her downstairs. …Continue reading →

Fiberglass Window Wells for a Tight Space TAGS: Adding egress windows | Egress windows

When space is at a premium, our fiberglass window wells might be the answer. Recently, we received a question from a homeowner in Baltimore; who was refurbishing their basement, but was facing trouble fitting a code-compliant basement window. “I live in an old 1950s townhouse,” wrote David Cearn, “and we don’t have a yard, so much as an alleyway.” When David asked a couple of contractors about installing a means of egress in his basement, he got the same reply from both of them: “There’s not enough room.” That’s because egress window wells are normally installed with crushed stone or …Continue reading →

Complying with Basement Egress Code Affordably TAGS: building codes | Egress windows | means of egress

We helped one homeowner find an affordable solution to comply with the basement egress code for his rental apartment. “When I rented out my basement, I hoped I’d be earning money from it,” writes Jeff Kotzer, from Sitzer, Wisconsin. “But after the township found out, I ended up facing a big bill instead.” Jeff was facing a situation similar to that of hundreds of thousands of American homeowners – those whose finished basements don’t meet national building code. Townships and regulators nationwide have stepped up inspections and enforcements and – as a result – people like Jeff are on the …Continue reading →

Stay EPA Compliant When Installing Egress Windows TAGS: Adding egress windows | basement egress windows | building codes | Egress windows | finishing a basement | means of egress

We’ve found a great product contractors will love; which helps them stick to new Environmental Protection Agency regulations when installing egress windows in the basement. Installing egress windows is a straightforward job – but it’s also a messy one. Contractors and homeowners looking to cut through brick, stone, masonry and wood to install their windows are going to churn out a lot of dust, grit and sawdust when they do so. Unfortunately, dealing with this debris isn’t as simple as throwing a tarp down. Because paint chips, sanding, grinding and cutting can throw up a lot of dangerous materials (including lead, …Continue reading →

Illegal Basement Apartments Beware: More Cities are Checking Code TAGS: building codes | Egress windows | means of egress

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners are renting out basement apartments – but many of them aren’t up to code and therefore illegal. In addition to being dangerous, failure to install safety features like escape windows could lead to hefty fines and penalties if they’re discovered. There are a lot of reasons why people turn their basements into apartments: Sometimes it’s parents looking to give older kids a little independence. Other times it’s low income families looking for a little additional income. Whatever the reason, however, townships and cities are cracking down on these illegal residencies; and it can cost homeowners …Continue reading →

Window Boxes to Brighten Up Your Basement TAGS: basement egress windows | building codes | Egress windows | fixing smelly basements | means of egress

Britney made her basement blossom with window boxes added to her egress well. Philadelphia resident Britney Clark is loving living on her own for the first time – and hasn’t let any of the stereotypes about nightmarish “first apartments” come true. “My parents thought I was crazy when I said I was going to move out and into a basement apartment near my new job,” she admits. “They thought it would be dark and dank – just some smelly basement.” But Britney lucked out – the husband and wife who rented the apartment, and lived upstairs, had recently renovated it …Continue reading →

Window Well Pictures – Before and After TAGS: basement egress windows | Basement Windows | Egress windows | Photos

Before and after pictures of Elite window wells by RockWell installed for a newly constructed home’s finished basement. Tweet

Basement Apartment Fire in Trenton Demonstrates Importance of Egress Code TAGS: Adding egress windows | building codes | Egress windows | emergeny escape | means of egress | safe basement exit

National building code requires all basement apartments to have a safe means of egress – but many are rented out without this vital safety feature. Doing so, however risks deadly consequences. In Trenton, New Jersey, firefighters were recently called to a blaze in a busy residential neighborhood – in which two houses were engulfed in flames. Read about it at NJ.com. It’s believed the fire began on the porch of one of the Franklin Street homes, caused by a cigarette butt or stick of smoldering incense left in the trash by the occupant of the basement apartment. The upstairs tenant …Continue reading →

Making a Mother Daughter Apartment Safe and Legal TAGS: Adding egress windows | building codes | Egress windows | fixing smelly basements | natural light

When newly single Jess needed to move back in with her mother, she had some ideas to help keep her sense of independence. “You know, I never imagined I’d be married and divorced, all before I hit thirty,” admits customer Jess Mally, from New Hampshire. “It’s a big blow to the ego to have to move back in with a parent – especially when all your friends are buying houses and having babies.” But fortunately, Jess’s story has a happy ending. “When my husband and I decided to get divorced, I thought it was the end of the world. We’d …Continue reading →