See a safety hazard in these pictures?

[Ben J. Gromicko]

See a safety hazard in these pictures?

[Bob Elliott]

Besides the open window well?

By the way they should have hinged that storm on the other side.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

Bingo!

What's your report narrative on that?

[Bob Elliott]

I simply state the window wells should have covers for safety with out to many adjectives.
They of course need to be easily open-able from the inside as a fire escape issue.
Also a good idea to check for drains Ben.
The other thing to check from the inside is dimensions on the opening and of course window mechanism operation.

[Bob Elliott]

Just to beat you to the punch the answer is here.....

Thanks to Ralph ...as I make a habit of adding to my comment library through rapid inclusion of them in to my multi clipboard that is split into sytems columns for instant lookup during reports.
I recommend them to all.

Trying to make a habit of keeping the names to give credit.


To properly answer this question, you would really need more information that just a photo - you would also need to know how tall and wide the window opening is, how high the window is off the floor, and how close the window is to the exterior grade. For proper egress, windows must open at least 24″ high, 20″ wide, and have a net openable area of 5.7 square feet. That’s a large window! This means that if a window only meets the minimum height and width requirements, the net openable area will only be 3.33 square feet (24×20 = 480. 480 / 144 = 3.33). If a window opens 24″ high, it would need to be 34.2″ wide to meet the minimum opening requirement. Besides the opening requirement, the window also needs to be within 44″ of the floor. Below is an excellent diagram that illustrates two different windows that both meet the minimum requirements.

Egress_windows

So what about the quiz? The only window that met egress requirements was the last one, F. ’A‘ had a net openable area less that 5.7 sf. ’B‘ was too high above the floor, had less than 5.7 sf of net openable area, and was less than 24″ high. ‘C‘ was less than 5.7 sf. ‘D‘ was slightly more than 44″ above the floor.

Why do some people label only a basement room with a tiny window a ‘non-conforming’ bedroom, while often none of the windows in the home meet egress? It’s because they don’t know better. Just for the record, there are several more requirements for a window to meet egress, and there are several ways for smaller windows to be ‘conforming’, but the details get… quite detailed. Also, today’s building code no longer uses the term ‘egress window’ - they’re more broadly categorized as Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings. As always, please feel free to email me with any specific questions.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections Home Inspection Minneapolis

[KEVIN WOOD]

Too bad you can't point out the obvious in the next pic.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

What about the step at the door ?

[Bob Elliott]

Originally Posted by kwood

Too bad you can't point out the obvious in the next pic.

What stopped you?

[Bob Elliott]

Originally Posted by wwilson3

What about the step at the door ?

Yep looks a little high.
I usually tell them to throw down a set of yellow pages so they get some use.

[Russell J. Hensel]

12 years inspecting...only inspected one basement and that was in PA...

[Tim Spargo]

Ben,

The well doesn't seem to be what you would have been *focus'd* on in the first pic, and I doubt it's the Home Owner's tennis shoes , what were ya looking at?

[Kenneth Dolin]

The cargo shorts are too long. Trip hazzard

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

I see the means of egress should have a safety perimeter.
Railing acting as a anti fall measures should be in place.
I do not know if there is a separate egress on the back of the home to allow for safe exit in case of fire or other emergency and if not those concerns must also be addressed.
I can not make any predictions on the photo,s about the exit access , but to me it looks small and not to code.

[Christopher Currins]

Originally Posted by ryoung7

I see the means of egress should have a safety perimeter.
I do not know if there is a separate egress on the back of the home to allow for safe exit in case of fire or other emergency and if not those concerns must also be addressed.

What if it's an unfinished basement?

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Mr.Currins
I do not know what you mean by an unfinished basement or not.
Weather or not the basement is finished , would this make a difference.
I see it a code issue and by definition of municipality. Is this not the case?
Its a basement.
I am asking out of ignorance but will look it up.