Egress Window & Window Well Installation in Lehi, Utah

Installing a basement egress window is structural work, not a simple window swap. Our team marks the opening (after a Blue Stakes/811 utility check), cuts the concrete foundation with a diamond saw, installs a structural header above the opening, excavates outside for the window well, sets the window, installs the well and a gravel drainage base tied to a drain line or daylight, backfills, and finishes the interior framing around the opening. We then schedule the Lehi City inspection. The finished result is a bright, safe, legal escape opening that meets International Residential Code.

You need an egress window if any of these apply to your Lehi basement:

• You are turning a basement room into a bedroom — Utah code requires egress in every basement sleeping room.
• You are finishing a basement as habitable living space without a direct exterior exit.
• You are creating a basement rental or ADU, which legally requires emergency escape access.
• Your basement has only small windows that do not meet the modern clear-opening size.
• You want a room to legally count as a bedroom for appraisal and resale — without compliant egress, it is only a "den" or "bonus room."

Utah enforces IRC Section R310, and Lehi has adopted the 2021 I-Codes. To pass inspection, a basement egress window must meet all of these requirements (measured at the actual clear opening when the window is fully open, not the glass or frame size):

• Net clear opening: 5.7 square feet (5.0 sq ft allowed for grade-floor/below-grade openings).
• Minimum clear height: 24 inches.
• Minimum clear width: 20 inches.
• Maximum sill height: 44 inches above the finished floor.
• Window well: at least 9 square feet, with at least 36 inches of projection and width.
• Wells deeper than 44 inches require a permanently affixed ladder or steps.
• Window well drainage is required except on well-drained Group I soils — which Lehi's clay-heavy ground generally is not, so drainage is effectively always needed here.

A casement window usually gives the largest clear opening for its size, which is why we often recommend it. (Confirm any local amendments with the Lehi Building Division at 385.201.1035.)

The most common reasons an egress window fails inspection are due to measurement and drainage mistakes: a window whose clear opening falls just under 5.7 sq ft, a well smaller than 9 sq ft, a deep well with no ladder, a sill set above 44 inches, or a missing gravel drain. In Lehi specifically, the drainage issue is critical: the clay-heavy valley soil holds water, and the March-to-May snowmelt fills an undrained well like a bathtub pressed against your foundation. Freeze-thaw cycles can also crack cheap covers and seals. We build wells with proper gravel beds, drain lines, and freeze-rated materials so they stay dry through a Lehi winter and spring.

We provide a free quote after a site visit because cost depends on your specific home. These factors include:

• Foundation type - poured concrete is slower and more costly to cut than block
• Basement depth and amount of excavation required
• Soil and access - hard clay or a tight side yard raises labor
• Window size and material
• Well material - basic corrugated steel vs. decorative composite
• Drainage requirements
• Interior finishing (framing, drywall, trim, paint) if your basement is already finished

The average cost to install an egress window in Utah ranges from $2,550 to $6,800, with most homeowners paying around $4,250 for a complete basement egress window installation including the window, window well, excavation, and installation. Installing a code-compliant basement egress window typically costs between $3,000 and $7,500+ with retrofits into already-finished basements from $4,500 to $7,500. Your price will depend on your specifics.

Three situations call for different work:

• Adding new egress (no opening exists) is the full project including cutting, well, and drainage.
• Replacing an existing egress window that already has a compliant well and opening is much simpler and less expensive because the foundation and excavation work is already done.
• Enlarging an undersized window sits in between — the existing opening helps, but the foundation may need to be cut wider and the well rebuilt to hit 9 sq ft.

We will tell you which category your project falls into and price accordingly.