I'm not an expert on this but here's what I have learned from experience. You don't need an egress window unless it's a bedroom. Window manufacturers make egress windows with specific dimensions dictated by code. There is a maximum height to the sill of the window. I don't believe you can have anything permanent blocking the window.

As per Sec. 310 of the IRC, all basements require an egress window, not just bedrooms. See this summary from one municipality.

Contact your local building department or equivalent.

Mark - I have a GC who will know the code, but it will be a week or so before he comes out so I was curious what others had found in similar situations. I guess I am used to the kitchen forum where everyone has a story of how it went for them and you can get a good feel for the norm.

Learn to read Worthy: It says "sleeping rooms"

Geoffrey - my understanding is the same as Worthy’s, any basement with a Finished area must have an egress window. I copied the below from his link. If you read the first sentence the comma’s show it is basements AND habitable attics AND every sleeping room. That means all three of those spaces must have an egress window. The comment further down about basement bedrooms is in addition. So if you have a basement with a finished area, it must have an egress window. If it has 2 bedroom both of those must have one. Now would a basement bedroom egress window count for the rest of the finished basement too? I don’t know, but everything I have ever heard or read says a basement without a bedroom, if it is finished and habitable, has to have one, and Worthy’s link says the same in the first sentence. It in fact does not even say the basement has to be finished to require one, just that a basement must have one.

“basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room shall have at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. Where basements contain one or more sleeping rooms, emergency egress and rescue openings shall be required in each sleeping room.”

"Basements, habitable attics and every sleeping room
shall have at least one operable emergency escape and
rescue opening." - From Sec. 310 of the IRC

Yup, it does say "sleeping room" too.

Different jurisdictions view this type of requirement differently. That is why you should inquire locally. It boils down to how safe you want your basement. Being trapped in a space while it is on fire is not fun.

Honestly Mark that really isn’t very helpful. I have already said I have a GC who is very familiar with code that I will be consulting with, and that I already have an egress window. The answers to my questions may differ area to area, but they certainly don’t make a huge safety difference, IMO. I don’t think having an interior door vs an opening is going to make a difference in burning to death or escaping. Same than counter as long as steps are provided, though I can definitely see more issues with that one. The Forums are here to discuss questions and ideas. Just because someone posts a question doesn’t mean that they are going to ignore safety or not follow up locally.

And just to clarify, I understand that all sleeping rooms have to have an egress, whether that be a second door or a window, whether they are in a basement or not. My clarification of what was linked to was Geoffreys reading of it that a basement without a sleeping room didn’t require one, which is not what the document says. At least in my area all basements must have an egress, sleeping room or not. I am not making a sleeping room (and my basement doesn’t have one), I am finishing an unfinsihed laundry room that currently contains the egress for the basement.

It all boils down to what your building inspector is going to require and their interpretation of the local building code. All the other opinions you receive can be compiled in a book and sold under fiction. Honestly!

This is a silly discussion. There are tens of millions of homes in the US that have a finished basement - without an egress window. If you want to sell the home and call it a bedroom - then it needs an egress window. As far as a door is concerned - install a pre-hung door - and remove the door. Then you can install the door when the inspector leaves.

Geoffrey I honestly can’t imagine that it is within code many places (or anywhere) to have a finished basement without either an egress window or door (Second door, not the one and only door). I have never seen one when we have looked at houses to buy and a google search “does a basement need an egress window” brings up tons of things saying if they are “habitable” or finished they do. But for my purposes it really doesn’t matter, my basement already has one. And sorry to waste everyone’s time with a “silly question”. As I said, I am used to the kitchen forum where these type of discussions are common, guess I will stick to posting over there.