Splint helped me find the thread “blogging a basement” last night that included photos of installing an Egress Window. I am picking up a back issue of Aug 2007 issue of FH which has what appears to be a fairly extensive article about the topic. I am also doing some net research into window wells, actual windows, etc.
My questions concerns cutting a 4×4 foot hole in the side of a block wall to install the window. The manual digging and all don’t bother me. But I am not sure how I need to permanently support the span that will be opened up in the wall. Should I have a lintel engineered and installed? Do I frame a header just like in a frame wall? There is an existing window (one of the “hopper” windows that builders throw in). Currently the only support above it is the 2×6 sill that the first floor joists sit on.
Anybody have some insight into SOP here?
Edited 7/14/2008 10:05 am ET by frontiercc2
Replies
while I can't specificalyy answr your question,
what is the size of the new (egress) window, and the current window.
I suspect that others can't answer unless the know the RO of the new window
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
Current window opening is 14 1/2" high by 32 1/2 " wide. Just looking at Andersen gliders last night, I am looking at expanding that RO to 4' x 4'. Or thereabouts. Final RO size will depend on whatever window I commit too. But a 4x4 RO would allow the installation of a window that meets the egress size requirements. And I would like to keep the RO size to a minimum. The next size up requires an RO 4' high by 4' 11 1/2" wide. So at a minimum, I'm going from a RO that is 32" wide to one that is 48" wide. Adding that extra 16" of span is what concerns me. Whatever I do will have to be permitted and approved. I would like to get some idea of what is typically done in the field, so I can approach the county with some idea of what they are going to want to see.
Unless you are supporting an unusually large load above the wall opening, you can probably get by with a wood or steel lintel. Over-size the RO enough to add two side supports and the lintel on top. Our egress window only has one story above it and we used PT 2x10s and a "beam" across the top made of laminated PT 2x8s.For more than one floor above the opening you probably should run the numbers by a structural engineer.
Hereabouts, we have this ceement fab company that makes basement window wells.
I got one on my house and it's quite nifty - ladders built in, iron grid top with locks accessable only from the inside, and the tightest fit.
I went there one day for a well for a below grade dust collector vent and saw their operation. The key to the tight fit is how they are "attached" to the house. Now I'm sure there's some welded interior supportive structure inside the 4" thick ceement walls, but it appears as if there is a built-in pin extending out from each side of the well. The well itself is composed of 5 of 8 sides of an octogon. The pins being in #1 and 5 side.
This style appears to be best suited for poured walls. As two hooks are 'poxied in the foundation wall the same distance apart (or slightly larger) as the pins on the well which must be located above the 1/2 way up it's height.
If the pins end up being say, 12" from the verticle edge of the well, a slightly longer chain or cable (say 15" or more) is formed to run from the hook to the pin. Strong enuff and corrosion resistant enuff to hold the weight of a one ton or more hunk of ceement for the duration.
Then a backhoe is used to position the well close enuff to attach the cables/chains. The backhoe is removed and the well now hangs from the hooks - nicely balanced and its weight forming a very tight seal against the poured wall. Then backfill.
So this shop makes these under license from the design patent holder. They wouldn't / couldn't sell one to anyone else but the company contracting with them for the fab work. But they had quite the inventory in all sizes.
For my application, I simply had a 24" (width and height) ceement drain pipe cut vertically in half. (They made those there, too.) One on top the other. Then hung them the same way as I saw how these big ones were.
Andersen makes an eggress casement window that will fit in that 32 1/2" opening. You will still have to cut the opening to 48"H. I think the window is a CW 14R. It has the straight arm hardware so it has the required 20" clear openable width, and 5.7 sq. ft. minimum. HD usually stocks it. The RO they told me was 28 3/8" x 48", but double check that. This makes the state eggress code here in MN, not sure about yours.
Here is a picture of the frame we used in the RO before the flashing and window were installed. The original window was 2/3 the width and about 1/4 the height. All the PT was gun-nailed to the concrete and sealed with polyurethane mastic.