A safe way out for your basement bedroom. Installed in as little as one day.
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These problems mean your basement isn't safe — or up to code.
If someone sleeps in your basement, they need a way out in an emergency. A small window or no window at all puts them at risk. An egress window solves it. The opening has to be big enough for a person to climb out and for a firefighter to climb in, and that is the whole point of an egress window. Egress windows exist for exactly one reason, and it is not the view.
Old basement windows are often too small to climb through. If they're painted shut or don't open, they can't be used as an exit. A window that will not open is not an exit. Egress windows are built to swing or slide clear every time, and the one we install opens with one hand.
A damaged window well blocks the exit path. Rust, dents, and caving walls make it impossible to climb out safely. A rusted well gets replaced as part of the job. The new well is stepped so you can climb out, and the egress window above it clears the opening every time.
Water pooling in the window well or seeping through the frame means the seal has failed. This leads to moisture, mold, and damage inside the wall. Water around a basement window is a drainage problem. Egress window drainage ties into the system that already moves water away, so the egress window stays dry through the wet season.
Egress window installation gives your basement a full-size, code-compliant exit. We cut a precise opening through your foundation wall, set a new window, and install a complete well and drainage system. When we're done, your basement has natural light, fresh air, and a safe way out. That is what a proper egress window gives you. Light, air, and a legal way out of the basement, all from one opening. Egress windows change how a basement feels, not just how it rates on code.
Every egress window needs a proper well outside. We install heavy-duty window wells with built-in step systems for deep basements. A gravel bed and drain at the bottom keep water from pooling. We top it off with a clear cover to block rain, snow, and debris. Window well replacement is part of most egress window jobs. The well holds back the dirt, the cover keeps the weather out, and the window does the rest.
Many older homes have basement windows that are too small to meet code. We enlarge the opening to meet current egress requirements — a minimum of 5.7 square feet of clear opening. The result is a bigger, brighter window that actually works as an emergency exit. Enlarging an opening is not the same as swapping glass. We cut the opening to code size and set a real egress window in it, not a bigger basement window.
Cutting through a foundation wall means water has a new way in — unless drainage is done right. We seal the window frame, waterproof the opening, and tie the well drain into your home’s existing sump or drainage system. No leaks. No surprises. Egress window waterproofing is the part most crews skip. The well drains to daylight or to the sump, and the egress window sits above the water line where it belongs. Waterproofing the well area is what keeps the basement dry.
Our Process
We visit your home, check the foundation type, measure the basement wall, and look at the exterior. You get a written estimate with the full scope of work — no surprises. The quote covers the egress window, the well, the cover, and the permit. You see the cost of the whole job before anyone starts digging.
We pull the building permit and call 811 to mark underground utilities. Everything is handled before the crew arrives. Egress window installation needs a permit almost everywhere. We pull it, we schedule the inspection, and the egress window is signed off before we leave.
We dig out the exterior, cut a clean opening through the foundation wall, and set the new egress window. Then we install the well, drainage, and cover. The opening gets cut, the egress window gets set and shimmed square, and the well goes in behind it. Shims matter more than people think on an egress window. Bad shims show up as a window that sticks two winters later.
The building inspector signs off on the work. We walk you through the finished window, answer your questions, and clean up the area. We show you how the egress window latches and how the well cover comes off from inside. A basement egress window is only useful if the people sleeping down there know how to use it.
Egress windows aren't a window job. They're a foundation job. You're cutting through a structural wall, digging next to your home, and tying into your drainage system. That takes a team that understands foundations — not a handyman with a saw. We do this work every day. Egress window work is concrete cutting, not carpentry. The wrong crew cracks the concrete and the egress window never sits right.
We handle everything from start to finish. The permit, the excavation, the concrete cutting, the window, the well, the drainage, and the inspection. You don't chase down three different trades. One crew, one point of contact, one company that stands behind the work. One crew handles the cut, the egress window, the well, and the drainage. Nobody points at anybody else when a window leaks.
Every job gets a written warranty. We use precision concrete sawing — not a sledgehammer — so your foundation wall stays structurally sound. The well drains properly because we install it with gravel and a tied-in drain, not just dirt backfill. When the inspector comes, it passes. Backfill is what fails inspections. We pack it in lifts around the well so the ground does not settle and pull the egress window out of square. A settled well is the most common callback there is.
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Yes. Building codes require any room used for sleeping below grade to have an emergency exit window. The window must have a minimum clear opening of 5.7 square feet, be at least 20 inches wide and 24 inches tall, and the sill can't be higher than 44 inches from the floor. Without it, the room doesn't count as a legal bedroom. Code sets the clear window opening, the sill height, and the well size, and an egress window has to hit all three. A window that misses one of them is just a window. Window size and code requirements vary by town, so we check yours before we cut.
Most single-window installations are finished in one to two days. Day one covers excavation and cutting. Day two is window and well installation, backfill, and cleanup. Jobs with deeper basements, block foundations, or utility conflicts may take longer. Most egress window jobs run one day. Rock, a deep basement, or a tight yard can push an egress window into a second day.
Not when it's done right. We use precision concrete sawing to make a clean, controlled cut. The window frame and header reinforce the opening. A sledgehammer or demolition saw is what causes cracks — and we never use those. We score and cut the opening with a track saw so the concrete stays sound and the window drops into a clean edge. A rough cut is what ruins an egress window.
Yes. An egress window turns a basement room into a legal bedroom. That means your home can be listed with an extra bedroom — which directly raises the appraised value. For most homeowners, this is one of the highest-return improvements they can make to a basement. A finished basement with a legal bedroom appraises higher, and the egress window is what makes the bedroom legal. Egress windows pay for themselves faster than most basement upgrades. They are the cheapest way to make a basement area count as living space.
In most areas, yes. Cutting through a foundation wall is a structural modification that requires a building permit. We handle the permit process and schedule the inspection for you. When the job is done, your egress window is fully permitted and code-compliant. Permits are part of the price, not an extra. The egress window costs what we quoted, and the paperwork follows it to closing.
Queen Foundation Repair installs egress windows for homeowners across our full service area. Check below to see if we serve your neighborhood.