A Burning Issue In the Basement

After making cuts in the concrete, sometimes both inside and outside, "we literally just bust the wall out," he said. "Then we take a grinder, smooth out the edges to make sure it's all nice and clean, then mount [the] window. It creates a lot of dust."

The new or enlarged opening does not weaken a home's foundation, he said, but code still requires the installation of an overhead reinforcing steel brace, or lintel. Grabinski has installed basement openings as large as French doors, which typically require substantial excavation and a new staircase.

In below-grade applications, exit windows open into an outside window well or pit excavated next to the foundation. The installer holds back the surrounding soil with a manufactured well liner or corrugated steel arch, which is bolted to the dwelling's foundation. Rain that enters the well is diverted through an attached hose connected to the home's existing exterior drainage.

Woodbridge contractor Eric Morrison prefers one-piece well liners fabricated of seamless, high-impact plastic. "Because I come from a waterproofing background, I'm more concerned about water leaking into the house," he said.

Code specifies that the bottom of an exit window, or its "sill height," be no more than 44 inches above the basement floor. The window opening must measure at least 22 inches in height and 20 inches in width. The outside well's footprint must measure at least three feet square.

Code typically allows for the installation of sliding or casement windows. Grabinski said 30-inch-wide basement windows typically found in older basements do not need to be widened. "We just build it up using a taller window," he said. Clark said this enlarging process is important because it allows people to escape the dwelling -- and firefighters to get in.

Grabinski prefers windows that tilt open. "You just hit the tilt locks . . . and it opens like a big door," he said. The window must be operable without the use of a tool, Clark said.

Code typically requires deeper pits to have built-in stairs, to make it easier to escape. Some manufacturers offer steps that double as tiered flower planters, softening the well's visual impact. Code also may require placing a safety cover over the pit.

Without an emergency exit, escape from a burning basement can be difficult, said Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service. While some people believe they can run up a flame-engulfed staircase, he's doubtful.

"That's difficult for firefighters to do in a full ensemble of fire fighting gear and breathing gear," he said.

Piringer said all basements -- and basement bedrooms -- should have working smoke detectors. Lynch said homeowners may balk at the cost of installing an exit window, but observed, "It also costs about $7,000 to get buried in Virginia."