People put the bedroom in and don't tell anyone. You either do it correctly or not. It's your house.
Ron

You won't get into trouble until you have a problem and the insurance company finds out you don't have a egress window.

don't plan to move. The inspector will write it up in a heartbeat. But nothing's from stopping you technically.

I would continue to lobby for the proper window. I did mine myself, except for actually cutting the hole, and it cost ~$1000. One benefit of a bigger window (3'x4') is it dramatically increases the natural light in the room and really improves the feel of the room.

I personally wouldn't ask a friend or family member to sleep in a room without the legal minimum for fire safety standards. Tragedies usually result from several mistakes or failures occurring along the way (not a single event)and I don't want to first mistake to be foregoeing the safety standards.

good luck

Thanks for all the replys, I guess I'll just have to keep bugging DH about new egress windows, maybe he'll get tired of me asking and just give in :)

I used to think "do it, it's your home", but no longer on critical issues. As an inspector once said, "You may not need it, but the next guy may."

Egress window dimensions allow a properly equipped firefighter the clearance to get inside. So if you can imagine someone unconscious for some reason, think it through a bit more.

I had a friend just lose his house in a flash due to dryer lint catching fire, and he cleans his duct every year. Go figure.

I think I need to clarify something, my house is a raised ranch, with the steps coming down the middle. On one side of the steps is the finished basement which we are thinking of making a bedroom, but the other side is a one car garage, and there is a garage door, and a regular walk out door on that side. So while the bedroom wouldn't be up to code,(only one small basement window) there is still easy access for a fireman to enter the basement itself in case of a fire. I don't know if this will change anyones answers because what it still breaks down to is that its not up to code, but I just thought I'd throw it into the discussion

I also wouldn't do it if it couldn't be done to code. It may come back to haunt you later on. Ours is a new home, but we paid extra for the oversize windows (and a window well for each.)
Show it to you husband. The windows make it feel like a ground floor.

Wow your basement looks great. It doesn't have a "basement" feel to it at all, I guess I'll just keep bugging him, thanks :)

Kathy,

Having a garage across from the room would only make me want the window more. The garage is a common starting place for a fire. That is why there are special codes that deal with garages, such as a solid self-closing fire-rated door between the garage and living space. The are also additional fire related requirements for walls between garages and living spaces.

Why won't your DH let the basement walls be cut into? Maybe if you speak to an engineer and learn how to do it correctly your DH's concerns will be gone. (I'm assuming his concern is related to something like that, and not a "because I say so" or money thing)

The problem is in most areas the code changed in 2003. The previous code was you needed an egress from a basement bedroom. But if it was a normal finished living area it wasn't needed. In 2003 it changed that an egress is needed for any finished living space. Some people can say when they sell the house that the basement was finished before 2003 and it was up to code then.
To present a room in the basement as a bedroom it needs an egress.

If your still going back and forth with DH i came across a great window well that meets egress requirements and lets in a ton of natural light. It also will dramatically increase the look and feel of your landscape on the outside, as opposed to those steel window wells you usually see. I'm looking it to putting them in my home.

www.rockwellinc.com

Here is a link that might be useful: RockWell WIndow Wells