About Grand Rapids Egress Windows
We do one thing: put legal, well-drained emergency escape openings into West Michigan basements. Not roofing, not general remodeling, not whatever the phone brings in. Specialists get faster and better at the same problem; generalists get busier.
Why this trade needs a specialist
An egress window sits at the intersection of three trades that don't usually meet. It's structural work — you're removing a section of a wall that carries a house. It's drainage work — you're excavating a pit against a foundation in soil that doesn't want to drain. And it's a permitted, inspected code job with specific numbers that either pass or don't.
Plenty of good contractors are strong in one of those and improvising in the other two. That's where the classic failures come from: a beautiful window in an opening that measures 4.9 square feet, or a perfectly sized opening above a well that fills every April, or a job done well in every respect and never permitted, which surfaces years later at a closing.
Doing only this work means we've already met your wall type, your soil and your inspector. That shows up as fewer surprises rather than as anything you'd notice on a marketing page.
Five things we do differently
We publish prices
Our cost page carries real ranges and a full line-item breakdown. Most competitors in this trade make you book an appointment to learn whether the job is $2,000 or $7,000. That wastes your evening and ours. Know the range before you call; we'll firm it up on site.
We measure the net clear opening and give it to you in writing
Not the rough opening, not the manufacturer's catalogue figure — the installed, measured hole, recorded at completion. That's the number an inspector checks and an appraiser asks about, and you should hold it in a file rather than trust your memory in four years.
Drainage is in every quote
A stone core and a real discharge point are not an upgrade line you can decline to hit a budget. In Kent County clay, a well without them will hold water, and the resulting damage costs multiples of what the detail would have. If a competitor's bid is well under ours, this is usually the difference.
We pull the permit
Cutting a foundation requires one. We apply, we meet the inspector, and you end up with a documented, inspected opening. Unpermitted structural work is a liability you keep until you sell it to someone else, at which point it becomes an expensive negotiation.
We tell you when the answer is no
Some basements have 6-foot-8 ceilings and will never hold a legal bedroom. Some rubble walls need an engineer before anyone cuts them. Some problems people call us about are drainage issues that a new window won't touch. Saying so costs us the job and saves you the money — we'd rather be the call you trust than the invoice you regret.
What we don't do
Being explicit about this saves everyone time:
- We don't finish basements. We cut the opening, install the window and well, and leave it sealed and inspection-ready. Framing, drywall, flooring and the rest belong to your builder.
- We don't waterproof basements or install sump systems. We handle drainage at the well. If your basement has a broader water problem, you need a waterproofing contractor and we'll say so.
- We don't do whole-house window replacement. Above-grade windows are a different trade with different economics.
- We don't quote sight-unseen. Anyone who firms up an egress price over the phone is either guessing high or planning to revise it.
- We don't do high-pressure sales visits. You get a measurement, a number and a departure.
Straight answers about who you're calling
You should know how to read a contractor's website, so here's ours read plainly. This site doesn't display review counts, star ratings, badges, years-in-business claims or a photo gallery of other people's jobs. That's deliberate. Those things are trivially easy to fabricate and rampant in the home services industry, and we'd rather earn the call on published prices, accurate code information and a straight description of how the work is done.
What we'd suggest instead: get in touch and ask us something specific about your wall. How we answer a technical question about a rubble foundation or a drainage detail will tell you considerably more than any badge would.
A note on the code information on this site. We've tried to be accurate and specific about Michigan Residential Code R310 and local Grand Rapids requirements, with figures stated plainly rather than vaguely. Codes get amended and jurisdictions differ. Everything here is intended to make you a better-informed customer, not to replace your building department's ruling on your house — and we confirm current requirements with the relevant authority on every job we quote.
Ask us a hard question about your wall
How a contractor answers a specific technical question tells you more than any badge on a website. Call and try us.