{"id":20028,"date":"2022-08-17T15:58:51","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T21:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scotthomeinspection.com\/?p=20028"},"modified":"2025-03-18T17:20:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T23:20:48","slug":"why-are-egress-windows-so-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scotthomeinspection.com\/why-are-egress-windows-so-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are Egress Windows So Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Update: As of October 25, 2022, the egress rules changed for residential rental license<\/a> requirements in the city of Denver. Please refer to the egress section of\u00a0 the Residential Rental Program Guidebook<\/a> for the updated guidelines. Though some of the egress requirements now differ for Denver rental properties, the article below still outlines important egress concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

If you are a professional in the housing market, you have likely heard about proper egress standards.<\/p>\n

Agents, you’ve probably heard of the term, “non-conforming bedroom,” which generally refers to the egress methods (or lack thereof) in a bedroom. Property managers, you are probably familiar with the egress requirements of rental properties, which often vary from county to county. In this industry, the word “egress” gets thrown around a lot.<\/p>\n

But what is an egress? The dictionary defines egress as: a path or opening for going out; an exit. In the residential setting, an egress is simply a viable means to get out of the house.<\/p>\n

Having sufficient and safe exits from the home seems to be a no brainer, right? However, there are still areas that get overlooked and end up without suitable egress options – especially areas situated below grade, aka basements.<\/p>\n

Sometimes basements were constructed before the standard egress code was implemented. Or, they were converted from storage spaces to dwellings and safety protocol was not properly followed.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the reason, sometimes proper egress code is just not met, and this can lead to huge safety hazards. When living in the basement, it is absolutely imperative to have the right emergency escape methods. And this can commonly be achieved through the construction of egress windows.<\/p>\n

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Why Do We Need Egress Windows?<\/h2>\n

Egress windows are necessary for one main reason – safety. <\/strong>In the case of an emergency, people need the means to exit the home, and rescue personnel need a way to enter the home as well. According to the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC),<\/a> each dwelling unit in a residential home must contain at least one egress window (or door). This is in addition to a standard entrance.<\/p>\n

Basement egress windows are especially important. There are certain scenarios, like fires or floods, that could potentially obstruct or make inaccessible the primary basement exit. That is why each bedroom and living space in the basement must\u00a0<\/em>have no less than one egress window.<\/p>\n

Recently, the world witnessed the dangers that can arise when basement dwellings are unequipped with sufficient escape options. On August 8, 2022, Seoul, South Korea experienced record high rainfall<\/a>, which led to detrimental, city-wide flooding. Residents living in semi-basement apartments (also known as banjiha<\/em>), experienced the worst of the flooding.<\/p>\n

The flooding overtook these basement apartments, and in some cases, trapped banjiha\u00a0<\/em>residents. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, 9 people were confirmed dead from the disaster.<\/p>\n

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visiting a flooded semi-basement. Image Sourced from: www.cnn.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In all of these cases, the dwelling units did not have proper egress windows. Most of the windows in these units are small, hard to access, and sometimes sealed by security bars. This is an extreme case to illustrate how necessary egress windows really are.<\/p>\n

Basement egress windows are also beneficial in that they increase the amount of natural sunlight and ventilation in the living space.<\/p>\n

What Are Proper Egress Windows?<\/h2>\n

The 2021 IRC discusses basement egress windows in Section R310: Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings<\/em><\/a>. In this section, the following minimum requirements for basement egress windows are established:<\/p>\n