How to Close & Remove a Window Well and Egress Window
I hope your week is off to a good start! Over the weekend we finished a daunting project and officially closed the window that filtered light into our basement closet. Why go to the trouble and forego ample light? This is the first of many steps to building our outdoor kitchen. The appliances arrived over the weekend, so we’re motivated to knock this project out. Before we can begin tiling our backyard patio, I wanted to share the process of how to close & remove a window well and egress window. While it’s not an aesthetically pleasing project, it’s one I found to be interesting and rewarding… I also received a lot of questions about this (apparently heated) topic. Hopefully this post will help clarify and prove useful if you find yourself in a similar situation! Click through for our reasoning, tips, and a detailed look at the process. It was definitely a bit more labor intensive than we expected… buckle up for this one!
When I was floor planning and designing our outdoor kitchen months ago, there was really only one layout that made sense from both an aesthetic and functional point of view. The only issue… a bank of cabinets needed to live directly above our basement window well. All of my design ideas were leading me back to this floor plan. We had anticipated this window would eventually need to go, as we’ve always dreamed of having an outdoor cook space in this specific spot. We even ran a gas line to this exterior wall when renovating our main kitchen five years, planning for this project. The only thing standing in our way at this point was the window. Emmett put the finishing touches on the concrete late last night (notice the wet concrete in the above image?), then we’ll be ready to prep for tile once it’s completely set. Here’s how we did it…
BEFORE Removing a Window Well & Egress Window…
I’m honestly not super sad to see this particular window go because we spend more time looking at it from ground level perspective, as opposed to the interior view from the closet. Personally, I think it looks pretty ugly with the grate and gravel obstructing our outdoor dining area. Here are some before images- indoors and out.
Do you have any basement windows you’d like to remove? Before you start demo, make sure you understand that egress basement window wells are important in case of an emergency. You’ll need to check your local building codes to ensure you have a proper emergency exit. Because we have so many windows in our basement, and this one existed inside a closet… we were able to meet egress requirements and remove the window. The window wasn’t in a basement room that required an exit, and there are multiple windows in our basement media room that provide alternative escapes and natural light. This was our best option despite the amount of light we’d be losing in the closet. It felt like an easy trade off.
Remove Window and Window Trim
The installation process was simple, but labor intensive. It’s a DIY project anyone could tackle with patience. First, Emmett removed the window and window trim. Since the window buck and top of the window well was above patio grade (or ground level), he also removed the top portion during demo to cover with stucco. We found a pry bar to be a great way to get the window trim and window itself loose. It all has to come out…
Close & Seal Window Opening
Next, we needed to close and seal the window opening, while keeping structural integrity. Because availability of products vary from each hardware store (and we used what we already had on hand), I’m not going to link the entire supply list. The essentials? We used rebar, 8x8x16 sized cinder blocks with Quikrete mortar mix. The cored concrete blocks ended up being our best choice.
Check out the interior and exterior view, as the concrete was curing. Inside, of course- we’ll eventually drywall over this, so you’ll never know a window was even here.
Waterproof the Wall
Once the window was blocked in and sealed, we needed to waterproof it. Emmett rolled this foundation waterproofing over all of the cinder blocks with a paint roller, then he used a brush to thoroughly cover the corners and edges. Once that was dry, he caulked any remaining cracks with this sealant, inspecting the well walls carefully.
Backfill the Well
Next, it was time to backfill the well. Follow these important steps for an adequate drainage system. Before you can begin filling it, you’ll need to dig 6″ below the window opening, then fill that with a 6″ layer of gravel. Once you have the gravel in place, tamp it tightly- all the way to the edges of the window. This will ensure proper drainage. Add clean soil over the gravel, tamping every 6-10″ until the soil is 4-6″ below ground level or the patio top. Add 3″ of gravel to the top, tamping it once more. It should look even and packed.
Finishing Details
The last step was to add the finishing details… or concrete work, in our case. Emmett set a rebar frame, then poured concrete flush to the existing patio. We wanted to make sure it blended nicely with the surrounding ground and was perfectly level, since we’ll be tiling over this. We ended up with a beautifully smooth transition, and hopefully we’ll avoid any future drainage problems by taking the extra care. It’s obviously still wet in these photos…
FAQ
They should always have metal covers or grates on top to ensure people or pets cannot fall into the well. Sometimes window wells can’t be avoided since they act as emergency exits for basements. Do I love the aesthetic? Absolutely not- but sometimes natural light and basement living space is a nice trade off.
We have a window well in our side yard, adjacent to our garden! It’s a grassy spot- I’ll drop a photo for you below. If we were to close that particular window well in, we would skip the concrete step, adding dirt to ground level, then planting grass on top.
Related
This is oddly not our first concrete project we’ve tackled. One of my most-read blog posts happens to be our DIY built-in outdoor sofa, made of cinderblock and stucco (pictured below). Have you read it? I’ll link some similar projects below you may find intriguing…
- Ideas & Design Plan for Our Outdoor Kitchen Build
- Our Concrete Outdoor Sofa Build (Then Painting It)
- How to Install a Custom Paver Patio
- Transforming Our Side Yard (at our previous home)
- The Shed Build
- How to Install a Privacy Fence
- Where to Install Outdoor DIY Solar Landscape Lighting
- How to Choose the Best Garage Door Style & Color
- How to Paint Exterior Brick
Was that riveting home improvement content, or what? Hah! Emmett photographed this entire project and tackled it on his own. I know it was a ton of work and a project he’s proud of. Blogger husband and resident construction guru air-dropped me these images and videos yesterday (which I was not expecting), and it made my day. I love that he takes so much pride in our home projects and sharing it with you.
Anyway… I hope in the rare chance you ever need to close in a basement window and are looking for a DIY solution, this post will come in handy. We’re looking forward to tiling the concrete patio next! I’ll be sharing that project as well, which I’m sure will feel more exciting (to me). I hope this also helped to clarify why we were able to remove this particular window and why it made the most sense for our project. Some heated messages rolled in about losing natural light and I received an emergency exit phone call from my very concerned parents. I had to laugh (and share)! We’ve got this, guys. Here’s to a good week ahead!