If you have a basement...

notreallyirish · May 2014

Does your basement have windows? Is it a walkout, does it have windows you could climb out in an emergency or just small windows for light? Does it matter to you?

Our basement has a playroom and guest room with no windows anywhere. It didn't bother me until recently, but now I'm paranoid about a fire. We will probably be moving/building in a couple years and Im wondering if it would be worth it (mostly for peace of mind) to put in an egress window. It's a few thousand I think. It would add some value in that the guest room would then be a legal bedroom, but we likely wouldn't see all that money back. Thoughts? Experiences? Anyone add basement windows?

MomIn2013 · May 2014

Our basement is not too low underground, and we have windows that are large enough to escape out of no problem. I wouldn't have that much of an issue with no windows if it was just a family room/playroom, but to have anyone sleep down there I'd need them to have that second way out. I don't think you're allowed (here anyway) to include the basement room as a bedroom in a realty listing if there's no second way out.

lala5507 · May 2014

We have a newly built house and it's apparently a law now that you need to have a fire exit in a basement. So we have an egress window and our basement also leads to our garage.

notreallyirish · May 2014

MomIn2013 said:
Our basement is not too low underground, and we have windows that are large enough to escape out of no problem. I wouldn't have that much of an issue with no windows if it was just a family room/playroom, but to have anyone sleep down there I'd need them to have that second way out. I don't think you're allowed (here anyway) to include the basement room as a bedroom in a realty listing if there's no second way out.

You're not allowed to list it as a bedroom here without an exit. It was not listed as a bedroom when we bought. If we did put in the windows they would have to be dug out. Some neighbors had them from the beginning and I've seen others add them, so I know it can be done.

sunnydays99 · May 2014

We have a fully developed walk out basement. There's a large family room and playroom that has sliding glass doors out to the lower patio. The bedroom has very large window at ground level. The bathroom doesn't have any windows. It's a bright open space and I like that the kids can easily go out to play in the back yard.

ToastieSimons · May 2014

We have a full walkout basement. The house is on a hill and the front wall and one side of the basement is underground. The back and other side are completely exposed. We have multiple doors and windows and garage doors to get out of.

Rink08 · May 2014

Ours has windows but they are the kind that you can easily climb out of. In our development, all of the houses have either this type of window or a walk out.

irishgrl317 · May 2014

We have a garden level basement with egress windows that can easily be crawled out of.

caybeh · May 2014

We have a bi-level house, so our basement isn't that far underground. We have four windows downstairs. Two are in the family room, and then one in each bedroom. They are fairly big and a person could easily crawl out of them if needed.

hokies94 · May 2014

We're basically built into a hill so part of our basement is pretty far underground. It's not a walkout and has 3 deep window wells with windows. The windows are large enough for an adult to exit through and the wells have ladders built into the walls to climb out.

This had to be done in order for one of the rooms to qualify as a bedroom. This was done by the builder before we bought it. No clue how much it cost.

joyfullyfound · May 2014

Our basement has doors into our garage and backyard as well as a few windows.

fancefpp · May 2014

Just tiny windows and a door with stairs up to backyard.

brachysira · May 2014

We have an old house. I think a couple owners ago there was a bar in the basement, but it's still not really a finished basement. The windows are like you see in old house basements--a pair of old glass squares that each measure about 1x1 ft with an old metal piece between them. It all looks pretty unsturdy and I often wonder if I could shove DD through (probably) and if I would fit (probably only if I lost some weight). I want to put a playroom down there, but I am afraid of the lack of exits. Now DH sleeps there often because I am pregnant and a pain to share with.

I recall when we were house shopping that I priced out putting in a deep window which would make a legal bedroom I think, or a door. It was more pricey that a couple thousand, I think. Online people advised hiring an engineer, contractor, etc. I would read up before you proceed if you decide to do it.

notreallyirish · May 2014

brachysira said:
We have an old house. I think a couple owners ago there was a bar in the basement, but it's still not really a finished basement. The windows are like you see in old house basements--a pair of old glass squares that each measure about 1x1 ft with an old metal piece between them. It all looks pretty unsturdy and I often wonder if I could shove DD through (probably) and if I would fit (probably only if I lost some weight). I want to put a playroom down there, but I am afraid of the lack of exits. Now DH sleeps there often because I am pregnant and a pain to share with.

I recall when we were house shopping that I priced out putting in a deep window which would make a legal bedroom I think, or a door. It was more pricey that a couple thousand, I think. Online people advised hiring an engineer, contractor, etc. I would read up before you proceed if you decide to do it.

I called a contractor and he is coming out tomorrow to give an estimate. From what I've read the price range is $2000 to $5000. It should only take a few days, too, which is nice since I'm getting even more paranoid now and want it done ASAP. Of course we might have to wait to get approval from the HOA, and I'm wondering if they will need to take down part of my fence to get the equipment in.

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