Egress Window For Attic Bedroom

Minimum 20 inches of net clear width opening.

Egress window for attic bedroom.

When installed in a basement egress windows are often paired with an egress well and attached ladder or steps for easy escape. Minimum 24 inches of net clear height opening. Maximum 44 inches to window sill measured from finished floor. A window has to be taller and or wider than these minimums to meet the 5 7 sq ft opening requirement.

Irc r310 1 requires all sleeping rooms to have emergency escape and rescue openings however i think the irc is limited to 3 story residences. An egress window is a window that is large enough according to local building codes to enter or exit a room during an emergency. Please be aware of the definition and egress requirements of a habitable attic as it relates to dwellings built from the 2012 irc. To qualify a basement window as an egress you may also have to install window wells to enlarge windows and allow access.

Egress windows are usually required when finishing a basement or attic. Since the staircase to the attic can act as a chimney for the fire to quickly spread it s necessary to have a secondary point of egress or exit. It must be at least 5 7 square feet that is at least 20 inches wide by 24 inches high with an opening no higher than 44 inches from the floor. In most codes this means an opening not fixed window to the outside.

The 2009 and 2015 irc verbiage is similar and still applicable. Note that a window opening that s the bare minimum of 24 in. For determining egress window sizes and placement the international building code holds that every bedroom must contain at least one egress window. This would imply that some egress windows are expected to be more than 15 or 20 ft.

Have an egress point attics are the worst place to be in a fire because heat and fire rise rapidly. Window wells serving an egress window shall not be less than 9 square feet in area with a horizontal length width of no less than 36 inches. Attics that meet the size and ceiling height criteria of the habitable attic definition in chapter 2 are considered habitable. The trickiest part is the window egress.

The base of the well can be no more than 44 inches above the bedroom floor. High and 20 in. Wide does not meet egress requirements since its net clear opening is only 3 33 sq.