3 Benefits of Adding an Egress Window
If you’ve been thinking of finishing your basement, or even if you’re just tired of doing laundry by the light of a single hanging bulb like something out of one of the Saw movies, you probably know that involves an egress window. It seems like a big project but it also brings big results. Here are three benefits of having one installed.
1 - Add light
Even if your basement has windows already, they’re probably those small rectangles right at the ceiling that do more to highlight the cobwebs on them than provide any actual light. An egress on the other hand, is about 6 square feet in size and lets in ton of light at eye level to instantly erase that dungeon feeling.
2 - Add living space
If you want to add bedrooms or any habitable space, you have to have an egress window in order to meet building code. Waterproofing (if needed) and an egress should be your first steps in the process of finishing, and once that’s done the possibilities are endless.
An egress window not only makes living space legal, it also makes it pleasant. A basement with an egress window or two feels more like a real room than just the basement and ties it into the rest of the house as actual living space and not just a halfhearted attempt to use space in the basement. It also frees up space upstairs by moving whatever was taking up a room to the basement - maybe a bunch of toys or exercise equipment - making the whole house feel bigger.
3 - Add value
When you finish your basement in general, you add square footage to the home. If your home was 1500 square feet and property sells for $100/square foot in your area, it’s a $150,000 house. Now add 500 square feet of finished basement and you’re suddenly in a 2000 square foot, $200,000 home. That puts you in a much better position, equity-wise and also attracts more buyers.
Add another bedroom down there and you’ll add even more appeal and value, as well as open up to buyers that would’ve overlooked your listing before. A 3 bedroom house becomes 4, which makes it attractive to a different subset - bigger families, or people looking to move in an elderly relative or just have frequent guests.
Adding an egress window is a legal requirement in many cases, sure, but it does bring many benefits with it. You paid for your whole house when you bought it, so you should be able to use your whole house. With the addition of an egress, you’re on your way to finishing the basement however works best for your family, and in the future even putting extra money in your pocket.
