Egress window requirement question

[Anonymous]

Hello ,
I am trying to finish my basement in montgomery county . I don’t have any bed rooms in basement . Do I need egress window ? I am not planning to have egress window .
Thank you

[Anonymous]

Technically you do need an egress window. Whether the county will make you put one in or not is another question.

[Anonymous]

So any basement with or without bed room require egress window ?

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No.

Could you please elaborate your answer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So any basement with or without bed room require egress window ?

I do not know MoCo rules specifically.

In Virginia, the answer now is yes, for any basement, because so many people actually used their basement as a bedroom.

On building code, Maryland often is more strict than VA.

[Anonymous]

You only need an egress window if you have a bedroom, however if you don't have a door or some kind of exit or you think you may use a room in the future as a bedroom its a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So any basement with or without bed room require egress window ?

If you’re not claiming a bedroom in the basement then you don’t need an egress window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So any basement with or without bed room require egress window ?

If you’re not claiming a bedroom in the basement then you don’t need an egress window.

I have two separate set of stairs to come out of basement ..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So any basement with or without bed room require egress window ?

If you’re not claiming a bedroom in the basement then you don’t need an egress window.

I have two separate set of stairs to come out of basement ..

That’s great but you still need an egress window if you’re planning to claim a legal bedroom for listing or rental purposes.

[Anonymous]

The egress window is for safety and a code requirement for room to be called a bedroom.
So if you have an egress window when you sell you can call it a bedroom if not it’s just a room.

[IleanaSchinder]

Hi,
Architect here. You don't "need" an egress window but you may want to include it in the scope of the project.
It's a small investment that will pay off because your house will have one MORE bedroom if you decided to change its use in the future.
Also, if you have a door, that may comply with the egress requirement while keeping a smaller non-egress-compliant window.
Good luck with the project!
ileana schinder

[Anonymous]

IleanaSchinder wrote:Hi,
Architect here. You don't "need" an egress window but you may want to include it in the scope of the project.
It's a small investment that will pay off because your house will have one MORE bedroom if you decided to change its use in the future.
Also, if you have a door, that may comply with the egress requirement while keeping a smaller non-egress-compliant window.
Good luck with the project!
ileana schinder

I called to Montgomery county permit office and they even I don’t have bed room in basement I need egress window …

[IleanaSchinder]

Hi OP,
you don't need an egress window in non-living spaces. If you don't label your basement (bedroom, family room, living room, etc). there is no requirement in the building code for egress windows for non-sleeping rooms.
Feel free to reach out (or to any architect) to make sure you are labelling each room correctly.
Good luck!
ile

[Anonymous]

This comes up when you sell your house and want to list a room as a bedroom. For example, we just sold a house. We had a large room in the basement with a big walk-in closet and a really nice bathroom adjacent. It did not have egress, and our real estate agent wanted us to change the window so that it did, so that she could market the house as a four bedroom house instead of a three bedroom. We didn’t bother to do it, and the house sold right away above list anyway. But that’s why you would concern yourself with egress. Or, if you are actually going to use a room as a bedroom, you don’t want to be caught sleeping in a fire in a room without a way out.