Basement fires can be deadly, and homeowners who want to add a bedroom to a below-grade space need to consider whether they will need to carve out at least an emergency egress window as part of their renovation. While the code historically has called for two means of escape on all floors, it has evolved in response to deaths because of fires in basements and attics, said Eric Mays, Prince William County Building Development Division chief. The highest risk of death in a fire is when people are asleep, so the regulations emphasize sleeping quarters in those spaces.
The code changed as building inspectors caught on to ways some homeowners avoided the requirements, said Dave Merrick, owner and president of Merrick Design and Build in Kensington. “People applied for a permit for an office or gym and used it as a bedroom.”
Noncompliance can be inadvertent, Mays said. “Someone may buy a house with a basement office and use it as a bedroom. Or a family room becomes a spare bedroom for out-of-town guests.
“A front door on the first floor or an exterior basement door is one means of escape,” he added. “But if the way is blocked, the second must be either an emergency egress window or a second door leading directly from the bedroom.”
The 2009 International Residential Code, the most current of a model building code most states have adopted, requires that “basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening.” It revised the 2006 IRC by adding a requirement for “habitable attics,” which must have egress windows like a first-floor or upper-story bedroom.
“The typical slider windows at the top of basement walls are not good enough,” said Tom Hummer, owner and president of My Builder Inc. in Manassas. “The window must have at least a 5.7 square-foot opening that’s big enough for a fireman with an oxygen tank to get through and carry someone out. The bottom sill can be no more than 44 inches from the floor. That’s so kids can get out.”
Window wells deeper than 44 inches require an affixed ladder or steps.
Most metropolitan-area jurisdictions have adopted the 2009 IRC, while the District uses the 2006 version but plans to adopt the 2009 codes by the end of the year.
The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code is based on the 2009 IRC. Virginia is a Dillon’s Rule state, so local jurisdictions cannot alter the code but building officials may modify provisions as long as they observe the code’s intent to protect health and safety, said John Catlett, director of the Alexandria Department of Code Administration.
In Alexandria, with its historic buildings and narrow alleyways, the city would deny a permit for an egress window if construction required going on an adjacent lot owned by someone else, or if there was limited or no access for the equipment to build the window well, Catlett said.
If the proposed window placement conflicts with underground utilities or site drainage, homeowners usually can pick a different location, Mays said.
Northern Virginia’s Loudoun County is an exception to Virginia’s regulations. All inhabitable spaces in basements or attics require egresses, but Loudoun does not require homes built before May 1, 2008, to retrofit basements with a code-compliant window well unless a “sleeping room” is in it, said Chris Thompson, building code operations manager.
The 2010 Maryland Building Performance Standards incorporates the 2009 IRC. Maryland is a home-rule state, so local jurisdictions may modify the IRC or state building code to suit local conditions. Both Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have adapted the 2009 IRC section on rescue windows in basements without amendments.
An egress window costs from $5,000 to $8,000 in the metropolitan area, Hummer said. It varies depending on the foundation material, type of well and whether there is an existing window.
Sawing a window extension or opening in concrete costs about $1,000 more than cinderblock, Merrick said. “If the basement bedroom has no window, add another $1,000.”
remodeling,egress window,window,windows,basement,bedrom
