Fire Prevention Safety Week: Have 2 Ways Out TAGS: Adding egress windows | Egress windows | emergeny escape | means of egress | safe basement exit

This week is national Fire Prevention Safety Week – and their message couldn’t hit closer to home. Every year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) holds their Fire Prevention Safety Week – with a special message to help people protect themselves and their families from fire. This year, the message is one we feel particularly passionate about: “Have 2 Ways Out.” They write: It is important to have a home fire escape plan that prepares your family to think fast and get out quickly when the smoke alarm sounds. What if your first escape route is blocked by smoke or …Continue reading →

A Valuable Tool for Firefighters TAGS: Egress windows | emergeny escape | means of egress | safe basement exit

If you look it up in a dictionary, a “means of egress” means an exit – but the reason basement escape windows are considered a life-saver by firefighters is actually the opposite: Egress windows allow them to get into a basement during a fire, and rescue those who might be trapped inside. As we wrote about back in May, basements can be a killer when it comes to house fires. One of the reasons a means of egress is now a building code regulation is because of the number of people trapped in basements during a fire. With National Fire …Continue reading →

Don’t Start From Scratch When Installing Basement Windows TAGS: Adding egress windows | building codes | Dial 811 | Egress windows | means of egress

Many older basements don’t have a means of egress installed – but a lot of them do have some kind of window or opening to let light and air in. If you’re not sure where to start with your basement renovation, why not consider using these existing windows to help you install your egress windows? More and more American homeowners are converting their basements into furnished family rooms, spare bedrooms, home offices or rental apartments. In order to meet building code, however, it’s necessary to have a “means of egress” installed. One tip we recommend for homeowners installing basement windows …Continue reading →

Bring a Small Basement Apartment Up to Code with a Space Saving Egress Window TAGS: Adding egress windows | basement egress windows | Egress windows | means of egress

National building code requires that all basement apartments have a means of egress installed – but where space is at a premium, that can be difficult to make happen. One solution is a space-saving egress window well. The 2009 IRC Building Code brought in regulations that made it mandatory to fit some means of egress into basement windows – a vital safety feature to allow basement residents to escape if there’s a fire or other disaster. But for thousands of American homeowners, bringing their basements up to code has not been easy. While it’s always a good investment to finish …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 →

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 →

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 →