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Basement Apartments & Suites

Egress Windows in the GTA

An egress window is the one a bedroom's occupant climbs out of when the stairs aren't an option. The Ontario Building Code requires basement bedrooms to have an opening big enough to actually escape through — roughly 0.35 square metres of clear opening with no dimension under about 380 millimetres — and most older GTA basements were built with little hopper windows that wouldn't pass a house cat. If you're calling a basement room a bedroom, this window is what makes that claim legal.

Getting there usually means enlarging the existing opening, and enlarging a hole in a foundation is structural work. The concrete gets saw-cut wider and deeper, a properly sized lintel goes in above the new opening so the wall keeps carrying its load, and the new window — typically a casement, because they hinge fully open — gets installed and sealed. All of it needs a municipal building permit, and where the cut is significant, engineered drawings. This is one of those small-looking jobs where the skill is invisible and the shortcuts aren't.

Because the sill usually ends up below grade, the window gets a well — and a well is a bucket beside your foundation unless it drains. Gravel down to the weeping tile, a drain where conditions call for it, and a cover where leaves or kids or raccoons are a factor, sized so it can still be pushed open from inside. Egress windows are most often part of a bigger plan — a basement apartment, an in-law suite, or simply making the word 'bedroom' in your listing an honest one — and we quote them both ways: standalone or folded into the suite build.

What this covers

  • Assessment of existing openings against Ontario Building Code egress sizes
  • Municipal building permit, with engineered drawings where the cut requires them
  • Excavation at the window location and saw-cutting of the foundation
  • A properly sized lintel over the enlarged opening
  • Egress-rated window installation — usually casement — flashed and sealed
  • Window well installation with gravel drainage tied to the weeping tile where possible
  • Well covers that shed debris but still open easily from inside
  • Interior finishing around the new opening — framing, insulation, drywall returns
  • Coordination with suite or bedroom projects so inspections line up

What affects the price

  • How much bigger the opening needs to get — widening is simpler than cutting deeper
  • Foundation type and thickness — poured, block and stone all cut differently
  • How far below grade the sill lands, which sets the depth of the well and the dig
  • Where the well can drain — down to weeping tile is easy, dense clay is not
  • How many bedrooms need compliant openings — each one is its own cut
  • Access for excavation — flower beds and tight side yards slow the dig
  • Interior finishing, from a simple drywall return to matching an existing finished room

Every basement is different, so we don’t publish flat prices — the quote is free and based on your actual job.

Egress Windows near you

We take quote requests across the GTA and Golden Horseshoe. Local pages:

TorontoMississaugaBramptonCaledonVaughanMarkhamRichmond HillNewmarketAuroraKingWhitchurch-StouffvilleEast GwillimburyGeorginaPickeringAjaxWhitbyOshawaClaringtonUxbridgeScugogOakvilleBurlingtonMiltonHalton HillsHamiltonSt. CatharinesNiagara FallsGrimsbyKitchenerWaterlooCambridgeGuelphBarrieInnisfilBradford West Gwillimbury

Common questions

What size does an egress window need to be in Ontario?
The Ontario Building Code requires an unobstructed opening of roughly 0.35 square metres with no dimension smaller than about 380 millimetres — think of a window a real adult could climb through in the dark, not just wave a permit at. The measurement is the clear opening with the window fully open, which is why casements pass easily and sliders often don't. We confirm the exact requirement for your situation as part of quoting, since details vary with window style and how the well is built.
Do I need a permit to enlarge a basement window?
Yes — you're modifying a structural foundation wall, and every GTA municipality treats that as permit work under the Ontario Building Code. Larger cuts also need engineered drawings for the lintel. A like-for-like window swap in the existing opening generally doesn't need one, which is exactly why some sellers do the swap and hope nobody measures. If a bedroom's window doesn't meet egress, an inspection or an insurance claim is a bad time to find out.
Does every basement bedroom need its own egress window?
As a rule, each bedroom needs its own way out — either a compliant egress window in that room or a door directly to the outside. A big window in the rec room down the hall doesn't cover a bedroom behind a closed door. This is one of the main items that separates a real basement apartment from a 'bedroom' in quotation marks, and inspectors check it room by room.
Will cutting a bigger window cause leaks or cracks?
Not when the structural side is done properly — that's what the lintel and the permit are for. The leak risk lives in the details: the cut edges need waterproofing, the window needs correct flashing, and the well needs real drainage rather than a gravel gesture. Done right, an enlarged window is no leakier than the wall was before it, and the room gets daylight basements otherwise never see.
How long does an egress window installation take?
The work on site is usually two or three days per window — dig, cut, lintel, install, well, backfill — plus interior patching. The longer wait is up front: permit review and, where needed, engineering. Frozen ground slows winter digs, so if the window is part of a suite project aimed at a spring completion, it pays to get the permit moving early. Multiple windows on one visit share the setup cost, which is why bedroom pairs are commonly done together.

Ready to sort out your egress windows?

Tell us what your home needs — a small fix or a full project — and get a free quote.

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