One of the common questions that people ask is: How big does an emergency basement window need to be? It has to be at least 20 inches wide and at least 24 inches tall with at least 5.7 square feet of total area.
A window that is 20x24 inches only has 3.3 square feet of total area. So those dimensions are basically saying that the window can’t be too skinny vertically or horizontally. If you were to take the required 5.7 square feet of total area in the shape of a square, it comes out to about 29x29 inches.
The above requirements are based on the 2018 International Residential Code, which has been adopted by cities such Wichita, Hutchinson, and McPherson.
Your emergency basement window doesn’t have to be a square shape. Besides our 48x48 inch egress window, we also offer 30x48, 28x46, and 31x41 inch egress windows. All of these are well over the minimum size requirements.
Which size you choose really comes down to how much natural light you want, and what fits your budget. Bigger windows allow more natural light into your basement, but do cost a little more than our smallest egress window.
You can see our egress windows on this page.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 620-200-0616.