Whether you are building a house, adding a bedroom to your house, or turning a garage, attic, or basement into a bedroom, building codes require that you buy egress windows for each bedroom and room that will be used as a bedroom. Since its purpose is to provide a means of escape in an emergency, other than a door, an egress window must have fit certain size requirements and must be a window that opens. If you are adding a bedroom, before you buy egress windows for it, make sure that the space you have allotted for the window will accommodate it.
You can buy egress windows and install them yourself, or you can have a professional come in and install them for you. Because the requirements for egress windows have changed recently, many older homes will not have the required size of windows in extra places where you might want to add a bedroom, such as a basement or attic. However, it is fairly easy to fix this problem either on your own or by hiring someone. If there is a window in place that needs to be made bigger, the window area can easily be resized.
Buying and installing egress windows in a basement, attic or garage is also a good way to increase your home value if you are getting ready to sell it. You will have a bigger pool of buyers for your house if you have a bigger selection of rooms to be used as bedrooms. The addition of egress windows in attics and basements also bring in more light than these rooms normally have, making the overall effect of the house one of natural light and good ventilation.
Overall, the most important reason to buy egress windows is safety. Thousands of people are hurt and killed each year in house fires, and these injuries and deaths could have been avoided if proper windows had been installed in their sleeping areas. Since keeping your family safe is important to you, look into installing egress windows in any place that a person is sleeping. Egress windows need to fit the specified coding sizes, should be easily opened, and everyone in the family should practice climbing out in case of an emergency. Stay safe and make sure your windows will get you out in an emergency.