Enjoy that 30% premium for a 2022 remodel! I'm sure you'll look back on it positively.
Also, my bush advice from earlier is solid. That's how we hid our egress windows - although not nearly as high as yours.
New Egress Window is an Eye Sore - Advice Needed
- Thread starter FlickShagwell
- Start date
Enjoy that 30% premium for a 2022 remodel! I'm sure you'll look back on it positively.
Also, my bush advice from earlier is solid. That's how we hid our egress windows - although not nearly as high as yours.
Bright side, head start on your WW3 fallout shelter.
It makes zero sense to have any of the structure above ground. The entire purpose of the structure is as a retaining wall to hold back the soil so you have an egress. I don’t care what his reputation is, making a mistake on something this simple would make me question everything he has done.
Yikes. After looking at that, I'm going back to the track girl thread.
I keep coming to this thread just to look at OP's picture.
Unless the contractor thinks you have horses … no, that does not look right. Ours are buried and only a small portion is above ground.
I think I used the same guy for my new infinity pool.
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Put in matching brick around it squared off to the height of the exposed metal then plant bushes to finish it off.
When you get the window well cut down but still want to hide it (or if you can’t get it cut down) you might check out Karl Foerster feather reed grass.
Quick growing and very pretty ornamental grass that requires little water so you’re not having to add water next to your foundation. They grow about 3 feet tall and 18 in wide, and they hold their shape and ornamental shoots through the winter.
Five or six of those will hide that window well all year except for 6-7 weeks beginning in April when you cut them back to the ground.
Quick growing and very pretty ornamental grass that requires little water so you’re not having to add water next to your foundation. They grow about 3 feet tall and 18 in wide, and they hold their shape and ornamental shoots through the winter.
Five or six of those will hide that window well all year except for 6-7 weeks beginning in April when you cut them back to the ground.
The bottom of the egress should be roughly level with the bottom of the window in your basement. The corrugated structure in your pic is pretty standard so unless you have a unique window size I’m not sure why it’s that high off the ground.
I have three egresses in my basement with the same corrugated metal structures, but after putting landscape rock around my foundation to the top of the metal they’re not visible. They should only stick up out of the ground about 4-5” max.
I have three egresses in my basement with the same corrugated metal structures, but after putting landscape rock around my foundation to the top of the metal they’re not visible. They should only stick up out of the ground about 4-5” max.
If the wall sits on the bottom of the egress pit then tell the contractor to cut it off flush with the ground.
I'd be demanding changes. We've dealt with some contractors lately, and they can be such a pain in the ass.
I have 3 of these in my basement but never knew what they were called. Now I am so much smarter. And they look more like pics 1 and 2.
There are plenty of pics of these but most are totally buried
egress window metal - Google Search
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anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r
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Exactly this, that is the opposite of an egress window….what are they thinking?
This is exactly why I do as much as I can myself than usually act as the general for the stuff I cant…a lot of these people have no idea what they are doing
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I have these around my A/C.When you get the window well cut down but still want to hide it (or if you can’t get it cut down) you might check out Karl Foerster feather reed grass.
Quick growing and very pretty ornamental grass that requires little water so you’re not having to add water next to your foundation. They grow about 3 feet tall and 18 in wide, and they hold their shape and ornamental shoots through the winter.
Five or six of those will hide that window well all year except for 6-7 weeks beginning in April when you cut them back to the ground.
Also, when I saw the thread title I had intentions of posting “Well just don’t look at it” like a smartass. But that thing is impossible to ignore.
Pretty sure it's required for any downstairs bedroom/living space. Contractors are required to put them in. I have seen them and the ones that are buried into the ground aren't bad because you can't see them until you are close to them. I'd be wary of the wood framing style though, unless you want to replace it every 10-20 years as it will start to look like crap and become overgrown.Putting an addition on the house. Contractor has been awesome so far. He’s had great ideas we love. He recommended an egress window for the new room in our basement. I googled it and came up with a bunch of pics like this:
And this:
So I was all about it. Those look great. They installed it today and I came home to this:
I called the guy and was like, “so you’re gonna push that down into the ground so all that steel isn’t exposed, right?” And he said that no, I wouldn’t be able to open my window if we did that. I don’t even get what he means by that, but aside from that, this is ugly. It looks like a horse tank leaned up against that brand new brick they just put in yesterday. He said obviously once we resodded the yard some of it would be concealed, but what’s that gonna hide, six inches?
For you home improvement types, what are my options here? No way is this gonna grow on me over the next twenty years or however long we live here. Can we get a smaller window well?
I agree the tin outhouse style is ugly. If you really want to hide it I'd just find some low bushes or something to block the view. You only need one of these for a basement (although I think they are required in any bedroom from what I recall) so if you place them in the backyard or on the side of the house they are really not noticeable at all.
I think just to be able to list them as a bedroom. I don't think you need them for living space/finished basement. I could definitely be wrong though.
SECTION R310 - EMERGENCY ESCAPE AND RESCUE OPENINGS
R310.1 Emergency Escape And Rescue Opening Required.
Basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have not less than one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, an emergency escape and rescue opening shall be required in each sleeping room. Emergency escape and rescue openings shall open directly into a public way, or to a yard or court that opens to a public way. Exception: Storm shelters and basements used only to house mechanical equipment not exceeding a total floor area of 200 square feet (18.58 m2).R310.1.1 Operational Constraints And Opening Control Devices.
Emergency escape and rescue openings shall be operational from the inside of the room without the use of keys, tools or special knowledge. Window opening control devices complying with ASTM F 2090 shall be permitted for use on windows serving as a required emergency escape and rescue opening.R310.2 Emergency Escape And Rescue Openings.
Emergency escape and rescue openings shall have minimum dimensions as specified in this section.R310.2.1 Minimum Opening Area.
Emergency and escape rescue openings shall have a net clear opening of not less than 5.7 square feet (0.530 m2). The net clear opening dimensions required by this section shall be obtained by the normal operation of the emergency escape and rescue opening from the inside. The net clear height opening shall be not less than 24 inches (610 mm) and the net clear width shall be not less than 20 inches (508 mm).Exception: Grade floor or below grade openings shall have a net clear opening of not less than 5 square feet (0.465 m2).
R310.2.2 Window Sill Height.
Where a window is provided as the emergency escape and rescue opening, it shall have a sill height of not more than 44 inches (1118 mm) above the floor; where the sill height is below grade, it shall be provided with a window well in accordance with Section R310.2.3.R310.2.3 Window Wells.
The horizontal area of the window well shall be not less than 9 square feet (0.9 m2), with a horizontal projection and width of not less than 36 inches (914 mm). The area of the window well shall allow the emergency escape and rescue opening to be fully opened.Exception: The ladder or steps required by Section R310.2.3.1 shall be permitted to encroach not more than 6 inches (152 mm) into the required dimensions of the window well.
R310.2.3.1 Ladder and steps.
Window wells with a vertical depth greater than 44 inches (1118 mm) shall be equipped with a permanently affixed ladder or steps usable with the window in the fully open position. Ladders or steps required by this section shall not be required to comply with Sections R311.7 and R311.8. Ladders or rungs shall have an inside width of not less than 12 inches (305 mm), shall project not less than 3 inches (76 mm) from the wall and shall be spaced not more than 18 inches (457 mm) on center vertically for the full height of the window well.R310.2.3.2 Drainage.
Window wells shall be designed for proper drainage by connecting to the building’s foundation drainage system required by Section R405.1 or by an approved alternative method.Exception: A drainage system for window wells is not required where the foundation is on well-drained soil or sand-gravel mixture soils in accordance with the United Soil Classification System, Group I Soils, as detailed in Table R405.1.
Hopefully you didn’t ask for recessed lighting in that basement...dudes gonna install a chandelier.
Lol at the people suggesting you hide the watering tank. That's just gonna draw suspicion.
ACCENTUATE IT with a few live horses. Voila! A beautiful pastoral scene.
My guess is in this materials market he couldn't get the right size and plans to cut it down. No way he's trying to pass that off as is.
ACCENTUATE IT with a few live horses. Voila! A beautiful pastoral scene.
My guess is in this materials market he couldn't get the right size and plans to cut it down. No way he's trying to pass that off as is.
That isn’t an egressed window. That is a piece of tin around a window. An egressed window is below grade. Something stinks here Flick.
Except he shouldn’t need KFs to hide it. That isn’t an egressed window.When you get the window well cut down but still want to hide it (or if you can’t get it cut down) you might check out Karl Foerster feather reed grass.
Quick growing and very pretty ornamental grass that requires little water so you’re not having to add water next to your foundation. They grow about 3 feet tall and 18 in wide, and they hold their shape and ornamental shoots through the winter.
Five or six of those will hide that window well all year except for 6-7 weeks beginning in April when you cut them back to the ground.
If you saw down that thing you would see the 8 foot length of rope you use to climb up.
I don’t think rope meets code dude. Pretty sure it’s supposed to be a stripper pole.
