Uhm???? That makes a lot of sense because so many people now a days hate having a window that you could escape out of in a emergency.

Seriously though unless it looks really awkward aesthetically or somehow increases the potential for water or physical damage I can't see how it reduce the value. If anything it adds the ability to add a bedroom down the road and meet code requirements.

Can you expand on what windows you were planning on using and why they must be the egress windows now, it should be pretty easy to make the rough openings smaller if you were hoping to use smaller windows. What did you mean by "contractor never made sure......fit properly"?

If that's what the real estate agent said, he's uninformed.

According to Popular Mechanics magazine, "with an extra legal bedroom [in the basement], you could recover 10 to 20 times your window installation cost when you eventually sell your home."

This post was edited by worthy on Wed, Nov 20, 13 at 20:30

ok I apologize for misspeaking. What I meant to say is the windows were suppose to be above grade so no need for a window wells. The windows are now below grade and a window well or creative landscape is needed. There is also plans for a deck over the window with a bedroom.
My question was really the value going from above grade windows in the basement to below grade. Again I apologize for misusing the word egress.

Is there a reason for wanting to guess now? You won't know for sure until you sell.

Renovator8, we want to make sure we are making a smart decision and there is a chance that we could be relocating in a couple years. When a realtor told us that our basement windows moving from above grade to below would negatively affect the value of the house I wanted to test the validity of her comment but canâÂÂt find much info on the topic... hence me asking via this forum :)

If its a common thing in your new neighborhood it's fine.

When we built our guest house with a basement under, we were made to build a 4 x 12 foot light well with egress windows, ladder to climb out and railing to stop anyone from falling into the hole. The key component is a drain(s) that goes to a sump pump. The lot is flat and the basement has 10 foot walls.

I'm in southern CA and they require this for any new basements. If properly built with drainage it would not be a negative or diminish the value. The windows and natural light probably add value to the basement space.

Should I look past the fact that the plan we agreed on with the builder was with for above grade windows? We were not noticed or consulted of this change. I have not built before and don't know if these types of changes are normal. It seems like a big change.

Well you need to have a window that can be used for egress from a basement bedroom unless you can walk out a ground level door from the basement. That's international residential code.

I don't understand what they could have done to make the windows entirely above the ground except either make the windows tiny and near the basement ceiling or to build the house sticking out of the ground more so full sized windows were completely above ground, so I really don't understand the question I guess. Is the house sited differently on the lot than you expected?

Here's the issue, if you plan on having a bedroom in the basement you need to have 2 means of egress. So if losing that bedroom means your 3 bedroom is now a 2 bedroom then re-sale value could be a factor. If you could put in a doorway to access outside right from basement than I believe(check local codes) that would satisfy means of egress and you could use smaller windows and not have the need for window wells. I don't believe (check local codes) you need to have 2 means of egress if you don't plan on using basement.

Personally I don't think anyone would base purchasing a house on window wells alone if you have enough bedrooms upstairs, the basement isn't the primary living area and they like the rest of the house.

As for your contractor being at fault, if bedroom is what you wanted then egress windows are a must but I do feel you should have been consulted and discussed any alternatives that may have been available.

Thank you for your comments. I truly appreciate your advice.
I do not want to lose that space as a bedroom nor do I want to lose a window. To add to this issue they have a deck planned out for above that window. So when the window was above grade the deck was 6 feet above that. Now that the window is below grade, I understand per code the deck must be at least 3 feet from top of window but to me that is where the huge changes in.

If you need window wells, there are other options than the metal ones. We have light cream coloured ones that are angled to collect more light (not sure how they or any other window well would do under a deck as described). Our window wells were from Alberta, Canada, so likely not in your neck of the woods. If you Google Wolfa Window wells you should be able to see a photo to give you an idea what you might be able to find. They really do make a difference bringing in light and much nicer to look at than metal.

I would be very upset if I had above grade windows in my plan and they were replaced with egress window wells. You should be given a discount at least.

Hopefully, you can work out something with the contractor.

Carol

Newhome-- I think I may be reading this differently than the others.

It sounds like you thought you would have a daylight basement (which is much more desirable than a basement without above grade windows IMO) and you aren't getting this.

What exactly did you agree on or sign? Do you have plans to show us? What do you mean by the builder changing lots?

Does your lot even have enough slope to create a daylight or walkout basement or is it totally flat? If it's flat then you were sold a pig in a poke.

What height are your basement walls supposed to be and are they?

I can see why you are upset. I would not want a basement with only egress windows. Just my opinion folks.

Red lover, you have it completely correct. I am very upset . However I am desperate to move and can't find any other options in the area. I also have already put a lot of time and planning and money into this house . The contractor knows this isn't the house we signed for and I was hoping to find a way for him to correct this. I do not want to be unfair in my request however I am wondering if there is a way to but a value on this change.

But that was my question, wouldn't it just mean that the house was built significantly higher out of the ground assuming this is a level lot? Daylight basements are typically built on sloped lots where part of the basement is mostly underground and part of it is mostly above ground *based on the terrain*. A daylight basement on a level lot is essentially a raised house where you have to go up stairs to get in the front door. I still don't understand how this miscommunication occurred, when the two are generally such different types of houses.

In terms of look from the bedroom, it won't be much different as a window with a deck over it looks like a basement window anyway.

Can you post pictures of what the back of the house was suppose to look like and how it actually looks?

It's mind boggling to me the number of houses that get built on this forum without site plans and elevations that fit the house to the site contour. These sort of discrepancies are supposed to be resolved during the design phase.

This kind of thing was acceptable in my neighborhood in the 1960s when my house was first built. These days, it is not. The city requires a complete set of drawings showing all of these details. The planset produced for my remodel is many times larger than the original planset for the house, and still doesn't completely capture every detail that's important to me.

There really needs to be a "Primer" for people considering building a home that includes stuff like this and other common topics like contract issues and such.

I'm surprised too. When we had the hole in the ground (biiigggg hole!), we spent a lot of time with the project mgr and the architect and the story pole in the ground and discussing the layout and the height. We also made sure the foundation was angled correctly toward the sun and the road. Further, we had setback issues in the front and it was critical that the setback meet the zoning requirement. Our town for sure would've made us rebuild if it wasn't right! It was a very important part of the build.

Caben-your correct but the truth is as much time as you spend on planning means nothing until you actually start. We had planned on adjusting to a gentle slope for our house by digging taking a little from the front yards and adding it to the backyard. Once he started digging for the 9' basement walls, excavator advised to stop at about 7-1/2' because of how wet that ground was getting. We adapted and it all worked out but my point being its not always lack of planning of effort. Good advice on as least looking ahead a little bit.

There are many houses in my neighborhood with lookout windows. We purchased our lot before selecting a builder, but the person who showed us the lot told us we would be able to build a house with lookout windows. When we started talking to builders, it became clear that lookout windows were not an option. I was very disappointed that our windows would all be below grade with window wells, but the lot was still great for us. We ended up with larger than standard windows - 20" instead of 16"??? I can't remember exactly. We also added a larger egress window so that we can add a bedroom when we finish our basement.

Lookout windows are definitely more desirable. I would expect some type of compensation if you had agreed to that in the plans. However, for us it was certainly not a deal breaker. I hope you can find a resolution.