Concrete cutting, structural header, code-sized window well, full engineering and Dane County permit handling. Required by Wisconsin building code for any sleeping room below grade.
Egress Window Installation pricing: $3,000 to $5,500 per window installed. Covers concrete cutting, structural header, window unit, steel or composite window well, gravel base, rough-in for the finish carpenter. Engineering and permit included on every job.
Free inspection first. We confirm the proposed location works structurally, take measurements, and quote the engineering and the permit alongside the install. After quote acceptance, the engineering stamp lands within a week and we pull the Dane County permit before the saw starts. Day one on site: interior layout, wet-cut diamond saw scoring on the foundation wall, opening prep, header install. Day two: exterior excavation for the window well, gravel base, well install, window unit set. Day three: weatherproofing, interior trim rough-in, slurry and debris cleanup. The finish carpenter follows on a separate visit to drywall around the new opening. The install carries a lifetime warranty on the structural work and the manufacturer warranty on the window unit.
$3,000 to $5,500 per window installed. The range covers the concrete cutting, the window unit itself, the steel or composite window well, the gravel base, and the rough-in for the finish carpenter. Premium window units (heated glass, security-grade locks) push toward the top of the range; standard vinyl-frame units land at the lower end.
Wisconsin building code requires an egress window in any below-grade bedroom or sleeping space. If you are finishing a basement to add a bedroom (the most common driver in our service area), the egress is non-negotiable. If you are finishing the basement for any other use (rec room, home office, gym) and not adding a sleeping space, an egress is not legally required but is often added for resale value and for the basic safety upgrade.
Yes. We use a wet-cut diamond saw to score the foundation, then chip out the opening with a hammer drill. The cut creates a controlled rectangular opening with clean edges, and we install a steel header above the new opening to carry the load that the removed concrete had been supporting. The slurry from the wet cut gets contained and removed, the basement stays clean.
Yes for the header design. The cut removes a section of structural foundation wall, and the header above it has to be sized to carry the load the concrete had been supporting. The $250 to $400 engineering line is called out separately on the quote. The Dane County building inspector requires the stamped plan before issuing the permit, and we pull the permit before the saw starts.
Two to three days on site for a typical egress install. Day one: layout, concrete cutting, opening prep. Day two: window well excavation on the exterior, gravel base, window well install, window unit set. Day three: weatherproofing, header trim, interior rough-in. The finish carpenter follows on a separate visit to drywall around the new opening.
A steel or composite window well sized to code: 9 square feet of horizontal area minimum, 36-inch projection from the wall minimum, and a permanent ladder if the well is deeper than 44 inches. We do not install plastic wells (they crack in the Wisconsin freeze-thaw cycle within a few seasons). The well is back-filled with washed gravel for drainage and tied into the perimeter drain tile if the home has one.
