Egress window requirements in Calgary

What is an egress window

An egress window is a window big enough for someone to climb out of in a fire. The building code requires every bedroom, including every basement bedroom, to have at least one outside window or door that opens from the inside without keys, tools or special knowledge. The only exception is a suite with a sprinkler system.

Egress window size in Calgary

The opening is measured in the window's normal open position, without taking out sashes or hardware. A window can be large on the wall and still fail if the part that actually opens is small, which is common with older sliders.

Which windows qualify

Window wells

When the window opens into a window well, there must be at least 760 mm of clear space in front of it. That number went up from 550 mm in a 2014 code change, so many older wells are too small for a bedroom. A sash that swings into the well cannot cut that space down. Covers or grates over a bedroom window well are not allowed unless the City approves them case by case, and any cover has to open from the inside without keys or tools. Security bars follow the same rule.

Under decks and cantilevers

An egress window under a cantilever needs at least 760 mm between the underside of the cantilever and the top of the well or the ground, and the cantilever should project no more than 610 mm. An egress window under a deck is not allowed unless there is at least 760 mm of headroom between the ground and the underside of the deck and the window is right at the deck's edge. If you are planning a new deck over basement windows, check this first.

Do you need a permit for an egress window in Calgary

Yes, in most cases. Cutting a new window opening in a foundation wall, or making an existing one bigger, is a new opening in an exterior wall, and that needs a building permit in Calgary. Replacing a window with one the same size in the same opening generally does not. The egress window is reviewed on the drawings and checked at inspection against what was approved. If the basement is being developed for the first time, the egress windows are part of that basement permit.

What it involves

Enlarging a basement window means cutting the concrete foundation with a saw, adding a header if the opening is wider, installing the new window and setting a deeper, wider well with drainage at the bottom. Window wells need to drain properly, because a well full of water against a new window is a common way water gets into a basement. Our guide to preventing basement flooding covers drainage.

Egress for legal suites

A legal secondary suite needs an egress window in each bedroom, as well as fire separation, smoke alarms and its own exit. See our legal basement suite guide for the full list. Kay2 designs egress into every basement development from the start, and for the City's permit and inspection links, see how to apply for permits and inspections in Calgary.