How to Frame an Egress Window

Are you installing an egress window DIY-style? That's great! A DIY egress window installation can be a fun and challenging project, plus it can be quite the cost saver. If you have been following along with our other posts in this series, you should now have a well dug and a hole cut, ready for the window to be installed. Well not quite... first, you will need to frame the opening so that the window can be anchored into place. If you are ready to get started, grab your tool belt and follow this 4-step process.

1   Collect proper framing materials.

To properly anchor the egress window into place, a frame must be installed into the wall cut. When building the frame make sure to use pressure-treated wood or a similar synthetic composite material.

2   Install the sill.

Apply construction adhesive to the side of the sill that will be contacting the concrete wall and firmly secure it in place. If the concrete used to fill in the exiting concrete blocks is still wet, then driving 3” screws partly into the underside of the sill and then pushing them into the wet concrete can further help to secure the sill in place.

3   Install the remainder of the frame.

Construction adhesive should again be applied to the sides of the frame material that will be in contact with the wall. Place the wood frame into the rough opening so that the outer edge of the frame is flush with the outside of the block wall. Ensure that the frame is level, plumb, and square.

4   Nail frame into place.

Nail the bottom sides and top of the frame with 2 ¼” concrete nails. Ensure that you drive the nails into the mortar joints, not the concrete blocks. This will help to avoid cracking the hollow blocks. Once again, double check that the frame is level, plumb, and square.

Conclusion

Framing the window may be the shortest section in our series of how to install an egress window on your own, but it is just as important as all the rest. If you have been following along with the entire series of posts so far, you will are almost done. All there is left to do now is install the egress window itself. See you in the next post.