Recommendations for company to install egress window in basement?

**Mom22** · 07-27-2012, 02:27 PM

Hi there, we are in the process of finishing our basement and we currently are looking for bids to install an egress window. Row house, egress through the front, need to cut the poured concrete to enlarge the opening, dig out and install the window and window well support. If anyone has recommendation for a contractor with expertise in this area, I'd appreciate it.

We also need to solve a problem with the steps. There isn't sufficient headroom when coming down the steps, and we've had a suggestion from a couple of contractors. They suggest putting in a new heavy-duty post to support the floor joist, then cut the joist from the post to the wall and open up that space on the last couple of steps. (It's two floor joists that are causing the issue.) Now, we could live with ducking our heads to get into the basement--the stairs are very sturdy and pretty wide--BUT we are doing a PhilaLoan so everything has to be by the book. If anyone has thoughts/suggestions on this, I would, again, appreciate more input.

Btw, most of the full-basement renovation quotes we've received have been in the $40-50k range, for a basic redo where we can put the kids and their toys. This seems high and is certainly more than we want to spend--our house is barely worth $150k. Has anyone done a basic frameout and drywall of their basement for this price? We're getting more quotes of course, but now we're just doing things one at a time as we have the funds.

**Tail** · 08-01-2012, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by Mom22

Hi there, we are in the process of finishing our basement and we currently are looking for bids to install an egress window. Row house, egress through the front, need to cut the poured concrete to enlarge the opening, dig out and install the window and window well support. If anyone has recommendation for a contractor with expertise in this area, I'd appreciate it.

We also need to solve a problem with the steps. There isn't sufficient headroom when coming down the steps, and we've had a suggestion from a couple of contractors. They suggest putting in a new heavy-duty post to support the floor joist, then cut the joist from the post to the wall and open up that space on the last couple of steps. (It's two floor joists that are causing the issue.) Now, we could live with ducking our heads to get into the basement--the stairs are very sturdy and pretty wide--BUT we are doing a PhilaLoan so everything has to be by the book. If anyone has thoughts/suggestions on this, I would, again, appreciate more input.

Btw, most of the full-basement renovation quotes we've received have been in the $40-50k range, for a basic redo where we can put the kids and their toys. This seems high and is certainly more than we want to spend--our house is barely worth $150k. Has anyone done a basic frameout and drywall of their basement for this price? We're getting more quotes of course, but now we're just doing things one at a time as we have the funds.

Is a egress window allowable on a row home?

**Mom22** · 08-03-2012, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Tail

Is a egress window allowable on a row home?

Yes, our house is set back from the sidewalk considerably--we have a porch, then a yard, then sidewalk. We've gotten three quotes all in the $5k range to dig, remove the section of stone foundation, concrete to smooth the sides, install and seal the window, put in a window well and cap, and put in drainage for the well.