Basement Window

Because of its incredible properties, glass is used for windows and walls. There are varieties of glass employed for domestic construction application. Glass is a strong material and allows you to decide the amount of incoming light that you would like. Transparent glass allows almost all the light to enter the premises, whereas frosted glass restricts the light and thus offers better privacy. Glass blocks make a popular and practical option for being used in basement windows. The features that make them such an ideal choice are: light, thermal, sound and ventilation.

Glass Blocks – Let there be light!

Depending upon the quality of glass used, glass bricks let in a lot of light. You have a choice there to decide the amount of light entering. Colored glass, for instance will make the incoming light colored whereas frosted blocks make it difficult to exactly figure out the objects near to the window, thus adding to the level of privacy.

This is especially significant for basement windows. You also get patterned glass bricks. These also change the way of light entering the premises. It will be worthwhile to look for the available varieties of glass bricks and decide the one that suits your requirements of light entering the premises.

Hot Or Cold!

The thermal characteristics of glass blocks are quite similar and comparable to those of double glazed windows, meaning they help maintaining the room temperature in all weathers. So, in winters the hot air inside is retained without letting in any cold outdoors air and in summers they can retain the inside cold air by not allowing the outside hot air to enter. That enables one to cut down on power bills.

Keep the Noise Down!

Glass bricks are helpful for cutting down noise entering your place. You won’t get unduly disturbed by the traffic passing by the street or even if youngsters in the neighborhood decide to party with drinks and music.

Ventilation

One of the most helpful features of glass bricks is the use of specialty blocks to facilitate ventilation. Specially designed air vents are used to ensure a constant flow of air but creepers are left out from entering inside. The opening of these vents can be adjusted to suit your requirements and works out to be quite economical if you have them installed at the time of installing windows rather than adding subsequently. Another useful special purpose block has a dryer vent with a hole wherein you can attach your dryer pipe –this may be a permanent feature or there is a cover provided for if the pipe is removed.

Egress means an outlet or an exit, or escape route. So, a basement egress window is essentially an exit or route to escape, normally in case of fire. All this while these windows were small spaces, mainly to let in some amount of sunlight in the basement. The safety codes have undergone many changes, making such windows obsolete. It’s mandatory to have egress windows in any basement, bedroom or living area.

Plans showing a basement as an office or study, but using it as a bedroom after having got the plans approvaed, doesn’t work any longer. Any living space below or at ground level, which is large enough to be used as a bedroom and has a closet, no matter what name you give it, has to have some escape route, including an egress window. This requirement is often fulfilled by putting one in a bedroom that joins a living space.

Often, the installation process of an egress window is quite simple and can be executed within a day. First step is to dig out enough area in front of the window to put in the window. Digging a hole next to the foundation, which is at least 6 inches deeper than the bottom of the window, is helpful. As you require room enough for an adult to come out from the window, approximately 48 inch square area should be cleared out.

Having thus cleared the area in front of the window, you can score concrete and cut a hole where the window will be positioned. After cutting the area, using a 3-pound hammer and a chisel take out the concrete along with any bricks and mortar. A window box frame is built with pressure treated lumber and then pushed into the opening. It is attached by using concrete nails before the window box is pushed into place. This action necessitates handling by two people; one to hold the window box and the other nails it down to the provided place.

Having thus put the window box frame in its place, the area surrounding the window opening is sealed with a high quality caulk. Many a time the demolition process results to having chips and gaps around the edges of the frame; these need to be filled in with premixed mortar. After the area surrounding the window frame is repaired, the trim can be placed. A final run with caulk all over the seams is required for the basement egress window installation.

Finally, it’s time for well and drainage system to be positioned. The window well is already made and you need to put it in place and attach to the house. This is followed by replacing the soil and tamping it down firmly. Make sure to provide a slope away from the house to drain water away from the home. A drainage system should be designed to handle excess water during rainstorms.

The specifications of glass used on standard window are not the same as on these. As egress windows are a below ground level, for security measures stronger glass is used.

At last you big project of basement remodeling is over, after months of labor and heavy withdrawals from the bank! With your hands on your hips you survey the whole area, slowly taking a complete round and absorb every detail. For long you have been waiting to cherish this moment.

You seem to be grinning ear to ear and taking pride in your achievements, yet there is that feeling of something amiss or gone wrong somewhere. Something has definitely been overlooked?

The uncomfortable feeling is what could have gone wrong after you labored for so long and spent huge amounts. Whether you did it all by yourself or hired a professional, there is one last detail–the proverbial icing on the cake–that needs to be accomplished to get that feel that your basement remodeling is really over.

Yes! You have a big good looking cake with inviting flavor that lacks the final icing. You already completed all this:

- Walls: drywall, texture, and paint.

- Ceiling: new ceiling tiles or paint.

- Floors: new floor coverings.

- Trim: new baseboards, window molding, and new doors.

- Built-ins: new cabinets and a bar.

- Bathroom: new fixtures.

- Conveniences: new refrigerator, wine cooler, bar sink.

- Fun décor items: gas fireplace, can lights, decorative pendant lights.

Everything looks superb. You were meticulous in your planning, right from choosing the color scheme; lighting and that wood trim so aesthetically adding nice warmth to the space along with the fireplace. You just fail to realize what you forgot…till you turn towards the windows.

Those galvanized metal window wells invite a frown on your face. All the while you were happy with those metal window wells because they would fill your basement with natural light. And the safety factor associated with these egress windows can’t be overlooked. But those metal window wells are simply beyond you, too ugly!

The idea of finishing those window wells never occurred to you simply because they are out of your home. But not any more, as everything is finished indoors, those wells become an eyesore, and mange to get your attention all the time, wherever you are in the basement.

You hate to cover your basement windows with blinds, curtains or shades as that affects the amount of light entering your den to brighten it up. So, how do you mask that unsightly metal?

Perhaps you could paint the metal–but you lack that artistic talent. You might build something additional in the well and cover the metal, but that may reduce the area, making it difficult to escape in an hour of emergency.

Here’s a solution. You get a decorative ready to use solution in the market that allows you to attach a thin scenic liner straight on to the curved metal window well. It’s made from durable, weatherproof, waterproof styrene, a flexible plastic, which remains unaffected by extremes of weather, hot or cold. It’s easy to apply onto the window well and gets attached to the metal.

The provision of the scenic liner allows the room to remain flooded with daylight and brightens the colors. As the image is curved, you get grand 3-D effect on viewing it. With this kind of a scenic background, you can decorate the foreground whichever way you like. You may just provide river rock or any other landscape material, or continue with your theme of artificial plants and other landscape pieces like driftwood, sculptures, figures, or suchlike materials. And, earn the credit of personal original creation.

Such like images make your den like it’s in the woods, next to a lake or a river, may be some mountain when you view thru the window. You might as well make it look like a golf course. Maybe you like its being tranquil – go for a waterfall! You like getting a feel of being in paradise, consider beach, the ocean with rows upon rows of palm trees, or whatever be your imagination for heavens.

That completes the icing on your cake. It’s the finishing touches that matter most in transforming an ordinary window to a heavenly place while you are in there.