AKICILJ: the basement finishing edition (part 1)

[mrissa]

If you were to call a service professional in to make a window in your basement into an egress window, what kind of service professional would you call?

(Egress window: a window that is large enough to meet code locally for an adult person being able to escape from the house through the window in case fire or other emergency blocks the exit. Needed to make a room into a bedroom rather than a "study" or "den." Ever wonder why a room that looks like a bedroom and is decorated like a bedroom is advertised as a den? Window(s) may be too small to get out in case of emergency. Sometimes there are other factors, but that's one.)

ETA: Got some people tracked down for bids. Thanks, everybody; much appreciated.

Comments

[carbonel]

That's a very interesting question. It's the sort of thing that's probably on the small side for a building contractor, but might be beyond the scope of your basic handyman. Plus, I'm not sure if handyman counts as "service professional" in your parlance.

If I were dealing with that sort of project, I'd probably go to Angie's List and look under contractors for people specializing in small projects, if there were such a thing.

Well, actually, I would call Greg Cotton, but I understand that not everyone has a Greg. But your talking to Greg might be a thing, also.

[clarentine]

Structural engineer, maybe? At least to make sure the opening can be big enough?

You might call the people who are responsible for judging whether the egress window meets code and seeing who they know of who's successfully created such windows. That might be a decent starting point.

[raecarson.livejournal.com]

Ah-HA! I've always wondered about the bedroom/den thing!

[pmrabble.livejournal.com]

Well, fancy that! There appear to be a handful of egress window specialists in town showing up under google. I'd do my usual cross match against Angie's and start pulling bids (says the guy who needs to do this for stucco repair, chimney tuck pointing, driveway, etc. etc. etc.)

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Any competent (in some states, licensed) renovation contractor should be able to handle that. Ask for references, check Better Business Bureau, etc. Check insurance.

Don't know if your state requires a licensed professional (architect or engineer) to draw plans for a building permit on renovations to a single family house. Check with your Code Enforcement Officer.

(Posting from under my architect's hat.)

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I shall listen with interest. We framed for one when we built my room, but haven't planned to cut the foundation and actually put in the window any time soon (the back door is about as close as it is from some of the first-floor bedrooms, closer than for the second-floor bedrooms, so it doesn't seem urgent to me as the one who lives there). But we'd probably do it before selling the place, because having it be an official bedroom probably factors into the selling price.

Partly it depends how your house is built. We have about 16" of poured cement foundation to go through.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

>We have about 16" of poured cement foundation to go through.

Drill and blast. Piece of cake. Shouldn't need more than three sticks of dynamite . . .

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

The problem with dynamite, I hear tell, is limiting the effects to the area you intended. Especially when that area is this small.

The two sun porches (front and back) have separate foundations (there's a full-thickness foundation wall between the space under them and the basement, with a door through it). The rear one, the door opening was clearly cast in place (neat edges, form marks, etc.). The front one was originally the coal cellar, and they cast in a 3'x3' hatch at the bottom. Then, later (presumably when the furnace was converted to gas) somebody chiseled out the rest of the door. Rough, rounded edges and corners. Looks like a LOT of work!

One of the revolutions in construction in my lifetime is cement sawing. These days I can rent something from Ace hardware and just saw that door precisely where I want it. (I doubt I can rent something that will cut 16" deep, come to think of it, at least not at Ace. I can get about three inches with the right "blade" in a circular saw, but that doesn't do much good with 16" foundations. I'm guessing I could rent something that would cut 8" or a bit more, though, so by sawing from both sides carefully I could probably make a relatively neat hole. Otherwise -- hammer drill time!)

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Extra bedrooms definitely sell houses. Baths, too.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

The plumbing is in the floor for the bath, and we've started the framing. Not that there's any likelihood of our selling the house soon; but *I* want a bathroom there, too.

[p-j-cleary.livejournal.com]

This may be because I've known my town's building inspector since childhood, but I'd call the building inspector, and ask for recommendations.

[retrobabble.livejournal.com]

I'd go with a licensed contractor but you know about legal-happy California. Too bad you weren't here. :P

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I have met Greg exactly once, I think, possibly twice. So calling him would be pretty weird and out-of-the-blue.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I had not previously joined Angie's List, but we're doing enough stuff that possibly I should. Hmm.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend Angie's List.

[scottjames.livejournal.com]

I typically start with a local handyman and see what they recommend. I look for retired carpenters or the like, rather than someone who is doing a side-job in addition to their regular job.

I have heard good things about Angie's List, however.

[carbonel]

On the other hand, DD-B calling him and saying that he had a friend with a query would be perfectly reasonable.

Or, say, getting together for dim sum and having the question arise.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Heh. I've been trying to plan dinner with friends I have known for more than a decade since December. I think I'd better use Angie's List for this project rather than relying on dim sum, even though dim sum is generally more pleasant.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Drill and blast.

Is this architect swearing?

[ladysea.livejournal.com]

I think you would want a General Contractor or a Handyman. If you call Service Magic (if you still use it) and tell them what you want, they can find the appropriate category for you.

[lexiphanic.livejournal.com]

definitely a general contractor. you will need a dirt crew for the excavation, a mason for the concrete work, a carpenter for the window itself and perhaps someone else for the finishing work inside, so a GC is your best bet for finding all of those people at once. they will also handle the permits you need, so they are handy people to have.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Your faith in general contractors is touching; I have talked to two who specifically did not do egress windows. Plumbing, electrical, drywall, appliances, whatever. But not egress windows.

(Still, I have achieved forward motion on this project. Wiktory.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My last few Service Magic attempts were not met with rousing success. I got people who called me four to six weeks after I said I was looking for bids. Sigh.

[lexiphanic.livejournal.com]

yeah, finding one that wants to do it could be the tricky bit. i do know someone who had one put in, i'll see if they have a reference.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

In a less flippant line, contractors have saws that will handle 16" of concrete. Been there, done that, for a computer room at a USN site -- former coastal defense bunker . . .

Don't know if you can rent one, as a private person. They come mounted on frames to handle the weight, require 220 V power or have their own gasoline engines, and resemble a crew-served weapon in several respects.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

No, architect swearing involves more scatology.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had no doubt they existed in some form. But I'm not nearly so sure about renting them. I've *done* electrical "tie-ins" when I was on a film crew, but I doubt any sane company would rent equipment that needed that level of power.

I wonder if you saw inwards, or outwards? I see problems either way in my case. I think I'd really rather let somebody who knows what they're doing do it, anyway, when the time comes :-).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the thought. I do have a couple of people doing bids already, so if it's not a simple question, I wouldn't want you to put a great deal of effort into it.

[guppiecat]

My friend in Iowa that needed that done got good (if pricey) bids from foundation repair people.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Greg reports that it's easy to rent saws that will do 16", in fact (in Minneapolis MN). Frame and all, yes. Kind of a pain to haul around.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I know that the contractor who did that Navy job rented the saw -- he doesn't need such machines every day. Wasn't sure if a "civilian" could walk into Joe's Rental and lay hands on one, just to do a little work on the vault at First National Bank of East Overshoe . . .

[rmnilsson.livejournal.com]

I would say general contractor. Just become some don't do it doesn't mean that others won't.

Generally, though, I like to get referrals to professionals. While we haven't had it done, I seem to recall talking to someone about egress windows at one of your parties. I just don't remember with who.