A code-compliant basement egress window with a cut opening, a new well and drainage runs about $4,500 to $12,000 in New Jersey. A glass block window set into an existing basement opening runs about $495 to $900 each, with a hopper vent or a dryer port if you want one. One of those is a legal requirement before anybody sleeps down there. The other is a security and comfort upgrade. We do both, and we pull the permit either way when your township requires it.
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A code-compliant basement egress window with a cut opening, a new well and drainage runs about $4,500 to $12,000 in New Jersey. Typical price: $495 – $12K. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
Under the NJ Uniform Construction Code, every sleeping room below grade needs an emergency escape and rescue opening — a window big enough for you to climb out of and for a firefighter in gear to climb in through. That's not optional and it's not negotiable at inspection.
The standard numbers: at least 5.7 square feet of net clear opening (5.0 square feet is allowed at grade level), at least 24 inches of clear opening height, at least 20 inches of clear opening width, and the sill no more than 44 inches above the finished floor. 'Net clear' means the hole you can actually crawl through with the sash open — not the size of the window you bought. A lot of units sold as egress windows don't make the number once they're installed.
The well matters too. If the window opens into a well, the well needs at least 9 square feet of floor area and at least 36 inches of projection from the wall, and if it's deeper than 44 inches it needs a permanently attached ladder or steps. Codes get amended, so we confirm the current requirement with your township's construction office before we cut anything.
We locate the opening away from beam pockets, gas and water lines and electrical runs, and we check what's on the other side of that wall outside — a walkway, a gas meter, a neighbor's setback.
Building permit from the township. Where the opening is wide or the wall is load-bearing above, we get an engineer's letter and a sized lintel.
Wall shored where needed, opening saw-cut with a track saw and water, block or concrete removed clean. No sledgehammers against a foundation wall.
Steel or precast lintel set to carry the load over the opening, jambs rebuilt and the whole thing parged.
The outside dug to depth, the well set and fastened into the wall, backfill compacted in lifts so it doesn't settle.
A drain in the bottom of the well, stone bed, and a pipe tied to the perimeter drain, the sump or a dry well. This is the step that separates a dry basement from an indoor swimming pool.
Unit set, flashed and sealed, cover fitted, interior trimmed. Then the township inspector, and the closed-out paperwork goes to you.
A window well is a hole in the ground right against your foundation. Put a window in the bottom of it and don't drain it, and the first real nor'easter fills it and pushes water through the frame into your new finished basement. We've torn out plenty of drywall that started that way.
Every well we install gets a drain, a stone bed and a pipe going somewhere real — into the interior perimeter drain, into the sump, or out to a dry well. Every well gets a cover that keeps the leaves, the rain and the neighborhood cat out, and that opens from inside without a tool, because a locked cover on an escape window defeats the entire point.
Glass block is the right answer for a basement window you don't need to climb through — the one at the back of the utility room, the one facing a driveway, the one that's been a rusted steel sash since 1961. It's solid mortared glass, so nobody's kicking it in, it doesn't rot, it doesn't need paint, and it lets daylight in while nobody sees your laundry.
It is not egress. You cannot climb through it. If that window is the escape opening for a bedroom, glass block is the wrong product and any installer who sells it to you for that opening is setting you up to fail an inspection.
We set block in a mortared panel with a proper sill slope, and we add a hopper vent if you want air or a dryer vent port if that's where the dryer runs. Around a hundred dollars more per window, and you're not fighting a rusted vent flap for the next twenty years.
If a basement bedroom is anywhere in your plan — now or for a future buyer — cut the egress opening before the framing, wiring and drywall go in. Doing it first costs what it costs. Doing it after means cutting concrete in a finished room, dust containment, and rebuilding the wall you just paid for.
It's also the thing that gets caught at resale. Buyers' attorneys and appraisers ask whether the downstairs bedroom is legal, and a basement bedroom without egress usually gets counted as a rec room — which is real money off the number.
Paramus-based, cutting egress openings and setting glass block across all 21 New Jersey counties. Text us a photo of the wall from inside and one from outside with something for scale and we'll tell you what's involved before anyone comes out. Photos to (201) 676-3099 or info@firstcallcontractingnj.com, and tell us the wall thickness if you know it.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
How we beat the big chains: Waterproofing chains sell egress as a bolt-on to a $20,000 basement package and quote it off a photo. We measure your wall thickness, your grade height and your soil, cut the opening ourselves and put the drain in. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“They set a big window in a well with no drain. The first heavy rain, it came right into my finished basement.”
“The window they called 'egress' failed the inspection — the opening measured too small.”
“They cut the block with a sledge and now there are cracks running up the wall from the corners.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle egress & glass block windows in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
About $4,500 to $12,000 installed for the full job: cutting the foundation, the lintel, the window, the well, the drain, the cover, the permit and the inspection. Poured-concrete walls cost more to cut than block. Deep wells, stone-faced wells and openings that need an engineer's letter push toward the top of the range.
Yes. Any sleeping room below grade needs an emergency escape and rescue opening under the NJ Uniform Construction Code. Without it, the room isn't a legal bedroom, it won't pass inspection, and it usually won't count as a bedroom when you sell. We confirm the exact current requirement with your township before we start.
The standard is at least 5.7 square feet of net clear opening (5.0 at grade level), at least 24 inches of clear height, at least 20 inches of clear width, and a sill no higher than 44 inches above the floor. Net clear means the actual hole with the sash open. The well needs at least 9 square feet and 36 inches of projection, plus a ladder if it's deeper than 44 inches.
No. Glass block can't be opened or climbed through, so it can never serve as an emergency escape opening. It's great for basement windows that aren't egress — privacy, security, no rot, no paint — and we install it with hopper vents or dryer ports when you want air or an exhaust route.
Most are two to three days on site: cut and lintel on day one, excavation, well and drain on day two, window, cover and trim on day three. Add township permit turnaround before that, usually one to three weeks. Any wall we open gets closed and secured the same day.
Not if the well drains. Water problems from egress wells come from wells with no drain, wells backfilled with clay that holds water, and missing covers. We put in a stone bed and a drain line, compact granular backfill in lifts and fit a gasketed cover. Anything we install that handles water is covered by the 5-Year Watertight Guarantee.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles egress & glass block windows across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
Saw-cut clean · real lintel · a well that drains
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A real person picks up every hour of every day. We tell you what to shut off first, then send the nearest crew.