How to Frame Egress Windows

Egress windows offer an additional entrance or exit to your basement. Since egress windows normally get mounted in concrete or concrete block walls, the opening must be framed with wood, to which the window is secured. You will need special masonry tools to secure the boards to the wall. Use pressure treated lumber to build the frame since it will be exposed to the elements.

Cement
Newspaper
Trowel
Plastic sheeting
Tape measure
Pressure-treated 2-by-10 inch boards
Circular saw
Construction adhesive
Caulk gun
3-inch deck screws
Drill
Phillips driving bit
2 1/2-inch nails
Power actuated nailer
Hammer

Instructions

- 1
  Mix a bag of cement according to the manufacturer's directions. Crinkle up newspaper and stuff the newspaper into the gaps in the concrete blocks along the opening's sill. Use a trowel to spread an even layer of concrete over the concrete blocks and newspaper. Lay a piece of plastic sheeting over the wet concrete. If your wall is solid concrete, skip this step.
- 2
  Measure the width of the concrete or concrete-block wall. Transfer this measurement to a pressure-treated 2-by-10 inch board. Rip the board to the appropriate width using a circular saw.
- 3
  Measure the opening's length. Transfer this measurement to the board you ripped in Step 2. Cut the board to length using a circular saw. Apply a squiggly bead of construction adhesive along the board's back.
- 4
  Set the board on the plastic sheet. Drive 3-inch deck screws through the board and into the wet concrete from Step 1. If you have a solid concrete wall, drive 2 1/2 inch nails through the board and into the concrete with a power actuated nailer.
- 5
  Rip and cut a second board to fit under the opening's top edge. Apply a squiggly bead of construction adhesive along the board where it will rest on the concrete wall. Drive 2 1/2-inch nails through the board and into the concrete with the power actuated nailer.
- 6
  Rip a third board to the same width as the concrete or concrete-block wall. Measure the distance from the bottom board to the top board. Transfer this measurement to the board you just ripped and cut it to length with a circular saw. Apply a squiggly bead of construction adhesive along the back of the board.
- 7
  Set the board's bottom edge in the corner where the bottom board meets the side of the opening. Push the board's top edge as far in as you can. Set a scrap piece of wood over the board, near the top edge. Hit the scrap wood with a hammer to drive the board firmly against the opening's side. Drive 2 1/2-inch nails through the board and into the concrete or concrete-block wall.
- 8
  Repeat Steps 6 and 7 with a fourth pressure-treated board against the opening's other side.

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