So... classic story of "measure twice, cut once".
I installed an egress window well myself. The hole for the window has not been cut (I am subcontracting that). So for the past week I have been digging, and I finally bolted the well to the foundation and backfilled.
However, now that I measure twice, I see I might be a couple inches short of the 36x36 requirement for clear opening in front of the opened window.
It's more like 36" deep by 34" wide.
How serious are the inspectors? Do they vary?
Some require less money than others.
Oh yeah. I've recently had three new egress windows installed in bedrooms, replacing old ones that were not up to egress code. Inspector didn't measure anything. Insisted on checking every bedroom in the house (even ones with no new windows) for smoke alarms, but certainly did not measure any windows.
In your case, I'm guessing most would turn a blind eye to the missing
2". Would probably take a harder line though if your window was too small by the same margin. My bet is you get away with it, and 2" is not enough to worry about in terms of safety. However, every city and every inspector is different. Two years ago I had windows and siding replaced on back and sides of my house. Inspector was here for no more than 10 minutes and passed everything just fine. When we had the front of the house done last year, different guy came and mistakenly inspected the whole house, including back. He raised about half a dozen issues, all of them trivial, and in some cases, plain wrong. So yeah, luck of the draw my friend, so good luck.Thanks - the window and well themselves are generously sized. So hopefully things work out well. If they don't, I'll have to re-cut the hole super wide, and shift the entire window over. Not fun. But better than re-digging and re-mounting the well offset.
I would only worry if the inspector is carrying a tape measure on his person.
Nah no worries....
"bryanska" wrote
How well have you gotten along with him so far? If you have a shitty defensive attitude, you can bet he'll go after 1/16" under. If he is an OK guy and everything seems to be done correctly he may never measure. There there is always the inspector on a power trip just looking to pick nits.
Have your inspection scheduled on his day off. :-//
Rub his head with spin grease?!!
Talking about 'egress' inspection ................... did the OP get out of it?
Also, if asked, try saying, "But knowing the requirement I ordered a
36 inch window well, and that's what THEY provided!BTW who is it around here who posts "If there is some nit to pick, some nit-wit will pick it".
Maybe there should be a 'Nit-index'. Ranging from zero for something that makes complete sense from a safety viewpoint to say ten for something that makes no sense whatever and is just the personal opinion/preference of some inspector!
You can start with this:
I suspect code inspectors vary wildly....in my locale, on most days, you can't get them to enforce codes unless it is a cosmetic issue. On other days, not so....we had an inspection of seawall work "red tag" for two days because there was water (high tide) in the hole prepared for pouring concrete for tiebacks...this was afternoon of one day. Cont. called the inspector to return the following morning when there was no water in the hole. The guy didn't show up for another day. Always wondered if the crew had another job to work on or whether an entire day was wasted.
So...you have choices, the best being to correct the situation. Tough choice, but I'd be tempted to call the code enforcement office, speak with a supv., and ask the question. Got a building permit?
yeah, I have the permits. So it sounds like there are other things to be more worried about...
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