Some people like to perform various tasks around the house on their own. For some of them, this is a matter of pride. They feel proud and confident when they see the results of their effort.
Photo by João Jesus from Pexels
Others calculate that it’s more affordable to apply a do-it-yourself strategy to things around the house. While this will keep a few dollars in your pocket, doing such jobs on your own isn’t always the most economical option.
For instance, installing one or more egress windows might be more demanding than doing some simpler tasks. Since these windows are installed as a way out from the basement or any other part of the house, there are some special installation requirements you need to meet. You can read more about them in the rest of this article.
1) Going for efficiency and affordability
Hiring a professional to install your egress window means giving an advantage to efficiency and affordability.
For starters, if you’re an amateur who has never done such a thing, you might not be able to calculate how much time you’ll need for the installation process. Since most of us are working people, we don’t know if we’ll be able to finish the entire installation process in one or two days.
People often use their basements and other similar spaces for storage. If you keep such a space in your house without a window for a couple of days, different insects, bugs, and other animals might sneak in.
What’s more, spending time installing your egress window might incur more costs than expected. If your regular job or side jobs suffer from this DIY adventure, it might turn out to be more expensive than hiring a professional.
Professional window installers should be able to calculate the window replacement costs and provide you with the estimate beforehand. That way, you’ll know all the budget info in advance.
2) Ensuring detailed works
The main difference between a professional and an amateur in every activity is that the latter usually leaves things rough around the edges.
Installing an egress window is a sensitive process because of the place where it should be installed. If you don’t seal every little hole around the window, the basement or any other room where you install it will be hard to warm up.
What’s more, egress windows need to be properly installed in order to ensure enough space for window treatment. Sometimes these decorations can hang from the ceiling. In some other cases, it’s necessary to attach them directly to the windows. If you miss only an inch or two in the installation process, you might not be able to install these additions properly.
If you want to control the amount of sunlight in the room, consider blackout curtains or shades that you can adjust.
3) Meeting safety requirements
In every DIY home repair, it’s crucial to bear the factor or safety in mind.
Some types of work are relatively safe, like mowing the lawn or raking the leaves.
However, any repairs and work related to the water supply system, electricity, and energy efficiency have some special features. That’s why you should leave those operations to professionals.
Installing an egress window the right way will increase the energy efficiency of your entire home. Basements are usually weak spots in energy efficiency, due to humidity and a lack of fresh air. Adding an egress window to it will enable you to reduce humidity, increase its energy level, and perhaps turn it into another room in your home.
If you install your egress window alone, you might not meet all the installation standards needed to perform the action in an ecological and energy-efficient way.
Apart from that, this process requires different kinds of tools for all the included works. From removing parts of the wall to make room for the window to installing and fixing the window, there are several stages. You’d have to use a drill, different screwdrivers, wrenches, a window sealant and many other things. Each of these jobs includes chemical, technical, and energy safety standards that need to be met. For all these reasons, window replacement isn’t a DIY job.
4) Using proper equipment
We’ve already mentioned some devices and tools you need to install an egress window. The drill, the screwdrivers and different hex keys make only one part of the equipment you need to install an egress window.
If the place where you want to install this window is hard to reach, you might need some additional equipment to remove the obstacles. For instance, many people use basements to store their old things. You might not be able to get through the area planned for the egress window. This means that you’ll need additional equipment, such as ropes and planks to get those bigger things out of the basement.
If you want to install an egress window to a room that’s not on the ground floor, you’ll need a ladder and some additional safety equipment.
All these items will cost you some money, plus you’ll need to spend some time looking for them.
Hiring a professional who already has all these things is a more practical option.
5) Removing the debris
After every housework job, there’s a smaller or larger amount of debris.
Depending on the place where you want your egress window, this debris might be limited only to the yard, but there might be some leftovers from DIY work around the house.
Getting rid of dust and particles produced during construction works is no cakewalk. If you want to install an egress window at a higher place, you’ll probably have to perform most of the works from the inside. This means a lot of dust and debris around the house.
On the other hand, professional window installers usually have a certain routine regarding debris removal. Some of them are more detailed, while others aren’t. During the negotiations, emphasize that it’s important for you to keep the debris under control. Also, stress out that it’s their job to remove all the remains after the work is done.
Adding an egress window to one or more spaces or rooms in your home is a practical thing to do. It will add both to the safety and appeal of your home.
Unless you have experience in installing such windows, it’s recommended to leave it to professionals. They will spend less time and fewer resources to do it. Also, they will leave the window and space around it in a neat and visually attractive condition.
Zana Dodig is a window treatments consultant with over 20 years of experience and loves helping others to cover their windows stylishly. She works as a window treatment consultant and writer at DraperyCurtainRods.ca – a place where you can find everything to treat your windows!