Egress Window Installation in Ham Lake, MN
You are finishing the basement or turning the spare room down there into a real bedroom, and the window is a small hopper high in the wall.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Egress window installation in Ham Lake, MN: JMB Builders digs out the outside, cuts or enlarges the opening in the block or poured basement wall, sets a header where the wall needs one, installs the window and the well on drainage gravel, and trims the inside. We check with the City of Ham Lake building department and pull the permit. Priced per window, quoted from photos or a free in-home estimate.
- Priced per window, window and well included
- Permit pulled with the City of Ham Lake
- Ramblers, walkouts and custom homes
Ham Lake basements come in two kinds. The 1970s ramblers sit on full basements with small hopper windows set high in the wall, and a bedroom down there needs one of them cut bigger and lower, with a well outside deep enough to climb out of. The walkouts, common on the rolling and wooded lots here, have one side of the lower level at grade. A bedroom on that side may only need a larger window cut where the ground is already low, with a shallow well or none at all.
The big lots help. There is room for the dig, the saw and the spoil pile, and the well can go where the yard drains away from the house. What takes care is the window itself. Many Ham Lake homes were built custom or semi-custom through the 2000s with windows in a particular style and color, and the egress window gets ordered to sit next to them without looking like an add-on.
Most cities require a permit to cut a new or larger opening in a foundation wall. We check with the City of Ham Lake building department, pull the permit and schedule the inspection, and we call Gopher State One Call before any digging. We have installed in Ham Lake this year, and it is a short drive from our Zimmerman base.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- A decision on which room gets the window and roughly where on the wall
- Your pick of casement or slider, color and well style
- A clear path in the yard for the dig and the concrete coming out
- Paint color for the inside trim — painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- Site check of the wall, the grade and what is on both sides of the cut
- Permit application with the City of Ham Lake and the inspection scheduled
- Utility locate, excavation, wet-saw cut of the block or poured wall, concrete haul-away
- Header over the opening where the wall needs one, sized by an engineer when required
- Treated buck, the egress window, sill pan, flashing, foam and sealant
- Window well anchored to the wall on drainage gravel, then backfill
- Drywall returns or wood jamb extensions and casing inside
- Photos of the finished window and well in your job folder
How it is priced: per window
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Enlarging an existing basement window vs. cutting a new opening in solid wall
- How far below grade the sill sits — a full basement vs. the low side of a walkout
- Poured concrete vs. block wall
- Well size and style, and whether a ladder or steps are needed for a deep well
- What is in the way of the dig: a deck, AC unit, landscaping or a long walk for the machine
- Ordering a custom size or color to match the rest of the house
- Inside finish: drywall returns, wood jamb extensions, or an unfinished wall
Send photos of the wall from inside and outside, a wide shot of the yard on that side, and whether the basement is finished.
How long it takes
One egress window: usually two to three days from dig to trim, plus inspection timing. The opening is closed in at the end of the cutting day. A custom-color window adds order time before we start.
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 reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 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
Rambler full basement
The window is enlarged or cut new well below grade, and the well is deep enough that a ladder or steps go in it. Most of the work is the cut and the dig.
Low side of a walkout
The bedroom wall is mostly above ground, so the cut is shorter and the well is shallow or not needed. The window gets set and flashed much like an above-grade window.
Matched to a custom home
When the house has a set window brand, color or grille pattern, the egress casement is ordered to match so it does not stand out from the outside.
Egress Window Installation in Ham Lake, MN: questions, answered
Does a bedroom in my Ham Lake walkout basement still need an egress window?
Every basement bedroom needs an emergency escape opening that meets code. A bedroom on the at-grade side of a walkout may already have a large enough window or a door straight outside, and a bedroom on the buried side usually does not. We look at the room and check it against code before quoting anything.
Do I need a permit for an egress window in Ham Lake?
Most cities require a permit to cut a new or larger opening in a foundation wall. We check with the City of Ham Lake building department, apply for the permit and schedule the inspection. The permit fee is a line on the quote.
Can the egress window match the other windows on my house?
Usually, yes. We look at the brand, color and grilles of the windows already in the house and order the egress casement in the closest match the maker offers. A custom color or size takes longer to arrive, and that is on the schedule we give you.
How deep will the window well be on a 1970s rambler?
It depends on how far below grade the new sill sits, which is set by the code range for the window and the height of the room. Deep wells need a ladder or steps so someone can climb out. We measure it on site and show you the well size on the quote.
Where is the best place for an egress window on a big lot?
Away from the driveway and the main walk, on a side where the ground falls away from the house so the well drains. We also stay clear of beams, posts, plumbing and the electrical panel inside. On large lots the dig is easy to reach, so the choice is mostly about drainage and the room layout.
Do you install egress windows near Ham Lake, like in Andover or Blaine?
Yes. Andover, Blaine, Oak Grove and Forest Lake are on the same north-metro routes as Ham Lake. Each city has its own building department, and we check with whichever one your house is in before cutting.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All by city pages
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