Egress Window Trim — Finish the Inside of an Egress Window
The well is dug, the concrete is cut, the window is in. Inside, you have a foot-deep hole with foam and bare lumber. We finish it so it looks like part of the room.
Egress window trim is the inside finish the egress installer usually leaves for someone else: a deep, bare opening through the foundation wall. JMB Builders finishes the inside of egress windows across the Twin Cities metro. We true the buck, insulate the gap, build deep extension jambs or drywall returns, set a hard sill, and case it, keeping the opening as large as the window. Priced per window, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per window, jambs and casing included
- Deep jambs on concrete, opening kept clear
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Egress window companies are good at the hard part: excavating the well, cutting the foundation, setting the window and the drain. Most of them stop at the inside face of the concrete. What you are left with is the deepest window opening in the house, a foot or so from the window frame to the finished wall, lined with a rough buck and spray foam, waiting for the basement to be finished around it.
Finishing that opening is trim work with two extra rules. First, the jambs are deep, so they are built from wide stock or glued-up pieces and fastened to the buck, which is itself anchored to concrete and is rarely square. Second, nothing we add can shrink the opening. An egress window is sized so a person can climb out of it, and a stool, a deep jamb or a thick return that sticks into that space undoes the reason it was installed. We keep the finished opening at the full size of the window and leave the sill height where the installer set it.
JMB Builders trims out egress windows across the Twin Cities metro, in basements being finished and in finished basements where the egress went in later. Deep jambs, a sill that can take condensation, and casing or a drywall return that matches the rest of the basement. Priced per window.
What you supply
- A close-up of the opening with a tape measure from the window frame to the finished wall, and a wide shot of the wall
- Whether the basement wall around it is framed and drywalled yet, or still bare concrete
- The look you want: cased with a stool and apron, picture frame, or a drywall return with a hard sill
- A photo of the door casing in the basement, so the window matches
- Paint or stain — painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave it primed and caulked and paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- Buck repair or shimming so the window has a straight, square frame to trim to
- Insulation and sealant in the gap between the window and the buck
- Deep extension jambs in paint-grade stock, glued up when the depth calls for it, or plywood with a hardwood edge
- A PVC or hardwood sill piece at the bottom where condensation lands, never MDF or paper-faced drywall
- Casing, stool and apron, or picture frame, to match the basement's doors
- Moisture-resistant drywall and tear-away bead if you choose a return instead of wood
- Painting or staining of the new trim when you want it done, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the finished window in your job folder
How it is priced: per window
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Depth of the opening: deeper jambs mean wider stock, glued-up pieces and more fitting
- Condition of the buck: square and solid vs. rough, twisted or short of the finished wall
- Whether the wall around the window is already framed and drywalled or the opening has to wait for that
- Wood jambs and casing vs. a drywall return with a hard sill
- Paint-grade vs. stain-grade to match other basement trim
- A wide egress unit or a slider with a center post, which takes more jamb material and more sill
- Number of egress windows in the same visit
The depth from window frame to finished wall is what sets the price. Put a tape measure across it in the photo and we quote firm.
How long it takes
One egress window with deep jambs and casing: about half a day. Two in a day. A drywall return adds mud drying time and a second visit.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Deep wood jambs with casing
Wide paint-grade jambs on all four sides, fastened to the buck and shimmed true, with a PVC or hardwood sill at the bottom. Cased with a stool and apron or a picture frame to match the basement doors. The most forgiving finish for a window that sweats in winter.
Drywall return with a hard sill
For a trimless basement. Moisture-resistant drywall on the sides and head, tear-away bead at the window frame, and a PVC or hardwood sill at the bottom instead of drywall. Square corners, and a second visit for mud and sanding.
Egress in a finished basement
The egress went in after the basement was done, and the installer cut back the drywall to get the window in. We rebuild the wall edge, frame the buck out to the finished surface, and trim the opening to match the windows that were already there.
Egress slider or casement
Wide sliders need a long sill and a jamb across a wide head; casement egress units are taller and deeper. Either way the finished opening stays the full size of the window frame and the sill stays at the installer's height.
Egress Window Trim — Finish the Inside of an Egress Window: questions, answered
Who finishes the inside of an egress window after it is installed?
Usually a trim carpenter, not the egress company. Most egress installers stop at the concrete: well, window, drain and foam. The inside of the opening, from the window frame to the finished basement wall, is left as a rough buck and bare foam. JMB Builders does that interior finish across the Twin Cities metro: jambs, sill, casing or drywall returns, priced per window from a photo with a tape measure in it.
How deep are egress window jambs?
Deep. The window sits at the outside face of a poured or block foundation wall, and the finished wall inside is furred or framed out from that, so the jamb usually runs a foot or more from the window frame to the drywall. That is wider than any stock jamb board, so the jambs are glued up from two pieces or cut from plywood with a hardwood edge, and fastened to the buck with the joint hidden. Send the depth with the photo and we build to it.
Should an egress window get wood trim or drywall returns?
Either works if the bottom is a hard sill. Wood jambs with casing are the most forgiving on a window that sweats all winter and match a basement with cased doors. A drywall return suits a trimless basement, as long as the sides and head are moisture-resistant board with tear-away bead at the frame and the bottom is PVC or hardwood, not drywall. A plain drywall return all the way around, on a cold basement window, ends up stained and soft at the bottom.
Can trim make an egress window no longer compliant?
It can, if it is done wrong. An egress window is sized and set at a height so a person can climb out, and anything that narrows the opening or raises the sill works against that: a stool that sticks into the opening, thick jamb returns, a deep drywall wrap that crowds the frame. We keep the finished opening at the full size of the window frame and leave the sill height where the installer set it. The installer sized the window; our job is not to shrink it.
What is the buck on an egress window?
The buck is the wood frame the egress installer anchored into the concrete opening so the window has something to fasten to. It is rough lumber, often treated, set fast. It is what our jambs and trim attach to. Before anything goes on, we check that it is solid, shim it where it is out of square, and fill the gap between the buck and the window with insulation and sealant so the trim is not covering an air leak.
Can you trim an egress window before the basement is finished?
It is better to wait until the wall around it is framed and drywalled, because the jambs have to land flush with the finished wall and the casing sits on it. If the basement is staying bare concrete for now, we can install the jambs and a sill so the opening is protected and looks finished, and add the casing later when the wall exists. Tell us which stage you are at and we quote it that way.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All window trim pages
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Window trim near you
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