egress in basements

So, I have a 1969 two story house with a 3 bedroom finished basement.
The windows are 5foot 5 above floor . If I call this out does this require remodeling the foundation wall to meet the 44" floor clearence.the only other way out is thru the stairway to upper level

well here… and codes may vary… would not meet the building code and is not a legal bedroom - should be mentioned at least.

Here are your local requirements…how they accomplish it would depend on many factors.

Dom.

A permanently mounted step will suffice to reduce the vertical distance but in my area you can’t have the opening more than 60" so…

Check with your AHJ.

Dom,

You provided information for Denver, CO. The OP is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Different city and possibly different codes. Most likely the same requirements but then again…

You’re right, thanks. I’m used to a State Building Code.

Dom

So, if you have a basement with a family room that has access from an interior stairway and an openable window or door to the exterior, and one or more bedrooms (without windows or doors) are connected to this family room (with interior and exterior access compliant with Section 402) would this comply in your interpretation?

Wait your turn Jeffrey!

4 years of a member Jeffrey Joans stalking me.
I am not amused and will be making some official complaints.
I hope InterNACHI deals with this.

This will be continually posted until I see he is reprimanded.

4 years of a member Jeffrey Jonas stalking me.
I am not amused and will be making some official complaints.
I hope InterNACHI deals with this.

This will be continually posted until I see he is reprimanded.

If you go by the letter of the law, most homes built before 1980 here will need to have major structural work done to meet the current egress laws. Windows are 70 +/- off the ground and are just under the current minimum standard. What are you going to tell your client about these windows? Should we be grandfathering safety?

Are you doing a full fire code inspection?

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