Windows
A basement window that misses 5.7 sq ft of net clear opening is a window, not an emergency exit, and an inspector will say so. Here is which is which, in the exact sizes the manufacturer publishes, at their own published prices.
Measure first
Each size below shows two numbers: the unit size, and the net clear opening the manufacturer publishes for it, which is what the code actually measures and is always smaller. Drops to 5 sq ft for grade-floor and below-grade openings. Measure the opening you have, then match it against the net figure, not the frame. R310.2.1
Meets egress code
This size relies on the exception for grade-floor and below-grade openings. Some jurisdictions apply it, some require the full 5.7 sq ft. Ask before you buy.
View on The Great Egress Co
Meets egress code
This size meets the net clear opening required anywhere the code applies.
View on The Great Egress Co
Meets egress code
Built to your opening, in 84 frame and colour combinations (Black, Black Matte, Black Texture, Canyon Clay and more). This is the one you reach for when none of the standard sizes fits the hole you have.
View on The Great Egress Co
Basement window, not egress rated
This is a basement window, not an emergency exit. It will not pass an inspection as one.
View on The Great Egress Co
Basement window, not egress rated
This is a basement window, not an emergency exit. It will not pass an inspection as one.
View on The Great Egress CoPhotos: The Great Egress Co. Affiliate links. They cost you nothing extra and they do not change what we write. Prices and sizes read from the manufacturer on 2026-08-30.
Before you order
A window is heavy, breakable and awkward to send back. Here is what the manufacturer publishes, with the page each answer comes from.
What the manufacturer does not publish, we do not invent: A delivery time. The manufacturer does not publish a lead time, so we do not quote one. A shipping cost. It is not published either, and it will depend on your address and the size of the unit.
This maker sells the window, not the well hardware. Covers and escape ladders come from elsewhere, and we priced them: window well covers and ladders.
Before you order
It is what lets a basement room be counted as a bedroom, and bedroom count follows a house through every listing and every appraisal. On numbers, be careful who is telling you what. The closest thing to independent data we found is a NARI figure, cited by an installer, putting resale recovery on basement FINISHING at around 86 percent, which is the whole project and not the window. The same page also says legitimising a downstairs bedroom 'could add about $20,000' to a list price. That one carries no source at all, and it is published by a company that sells egress windows. Read it as an argument, not as a measurement.
Egress Solutions NJ, on resale value, read 2026-08-31.
You have 30 days to return it, unused and in its original packaging, and you have to request the return before shipping anything back. In some cases the return shipping is on you. Measure the opening twice against the net clear figure, not the frame, before you order.
If the opening is below grade you need a well, and the well has its own code minimums: 9 square feet of floor area with at least 36 inches of projection from the wall. The manufacturer we link to sells windows, not wells. That is a separate purchase and a separate decision.
The obvious question
It is a fair thing to ask, especially once you know duties are on you. We went and looked, on 2026-08-31. Here is what we found, and none of these companies is a partner of ours.
Most American makers do not publish a price at all. Boman Kemp has been in this business for decades and sells through dealers; EgressUSA advertises free shipping to the lower 48 but shows no number on its shop pages. You cannot compare what you cannot see, and getting a quote means giving someone your phone number.
The one that does publish is Redi-Exit, in Utah, and it is worth knowing about. It lists its net clear opening for every size, which is exactly the right number to publish and more than most manufacturers manage. Its two cheapest casement windows are listed at $598 and $698. Both were out of stock when we checked, and the least expensive unit actually buyable was a single hung at $848.
So the honest comparison, on the day we looked, is between a Canadian window at $600 to $650 with possible duties on top, and an American one at $848 with no border to cross. The gap is around two hundred dollars, and it moves the moment either one restocks or a tariff changes. If the duty makes you uneasy, Redi-Exit is a real answer and we would rather tell you than pretend otherwise.
And what other buyers say, for both. On Google, on 2026-08-31, The Great Egress Co sits at 4.6 from 45 reviews and Redi-Exit sits at 4.3 from 12 reviews. Ours is the better rated of the two and on four times the volume, which is worth knowing and worth checking: both links go straight to the listing, and neither number is ours to edit.
What we can say for the one we link to: it publishes a price for every size, it publishes the net clear opening for every size, and all six sizes of its 5.7 sq ft model clear the standard rather than leaning on the exception. That is why it is the catalogue this page is built on. It is not the only one.
Not an affiliate link and not a partner: we earn nothing if you buy from them. Prices, sizes and stock read on 2026-08-31, and all three move.
Checked 2026-08-31. Redi-ExitBoman KempEgressUSA
The window is the cheap part. If a new opening has to be cut into the foundation, or the well runs deep, the numbers change completely.