Your Basement Bedroom Needs a Way Out
If someone sleeps in your basement, the building code says that room needs more than stairs to get out. It needs an egress window: a window big enough for a person to climb through, low enough to reach from the floor, and opening into a window well you can get out of. Most basement windows in Baltimore fail that test. They were put in for light, not for escape. They are too small, too high, or painted shut.
An egress window changes the room. It is a second way out in a fire. It is the difference between a basement that counts as a bedroom and one that does not. And it turns a dark box into a room with real daylight. We install egress windows that meet the code minimums: at least 5.7 square feet of clear opening, at least 20 inches wide, at least 24 inches tall, and a sill no more than 44 inches off the floor. Confirm the exact requirements with your local permit office — Baltimore City and Baltimore County both review this work — and we will size every window to pass.
Why Baltimore Homes Need This Work
Baltimore's housing stock is old. The rowhouses of Canton, Fells Point, and Highlandtown were built when basement bedrooms were not on anyone's mind. Their basement windows are tiny — some are barely bigger than a shoebox. The county's cape cods and ranches in Dundalk, Essex, and Parkville are newer but often have the same undersized windows. When a family finishes a basement into a bedroom, a playroom, or an in-law suite, the window is the part that gets skipped. That is the part we fix.
This is safety work first. A basement bedroom with one way out — up the stairs, through the smoke — is a room no one should sleep in. It is also legal work: an illegal bedroom can stall a home sale when the buyer's inspector flags it. And it is value work: a code-sized window makes the basement brighter, more livable, and worth more. Read our plain-English code guide or our cost guide to learn more.
What We Do
We are an egress crew, not a general remodeler. We cut code-sized openings in foundation walls — poured concrete and block — set the window, and build the window well outside with drainage that actually drains. We fit covers that keep kids, pets, and leaves out while letting light in. We replace old egress windows that no longer open, and we repair the ones worth saving. Every job starts with a free on-site visit: we measure the room, check the wall inside and out, look at the grade and drainage, and give you a written estimate.
How It Works
1. You reach out. Call or send the form. Tell us which room needs the window.
2. We visit, free. We measure, check the foundation wall, look at drainage, and confirm the opening size your room needs.
3. You get a written estimate. Clear pricing for the window, the well, drainage, and the cover. Most single-window jobs land between $2,500 and $6,000 — your written estimate gives you the exact number for your home.
4. We do the work. Most installs take one to two days. We cut clean, haul the concrete, and leave your basement tidy.
Serving Baltimore City and Baltimore County
From the rowhouses of Federal Hill to the colonials of Towson, we cover the whole metro: Canton, Hampden, Catonsville, Dundalk, Pikesville, Parkville, Essex, White Marsh, and more. See the full list on our service area page.
Call (301) 679-9193 or send the form below for your free written estimate.