Egress Window Installation in St. Paul, MN
You want the basement room to count as a bedroom. In St. Paul, how hard that is depends a lot on which decade the house was built in.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
Egress window installation in St. Paul, MN: JMB Builders cuts or enlarges the basement opening, sets the window on a treated buck, installs a drained well, backfills, and trims the inside to code. We check with the City of St. Paul building department, pull the permit where required and schedule the inspection. Priced per window, from photos or a free in-home estimate.
- Priced per window, dig to trim
- Permit with the City of St. Paul
- Postwar and pre-war basements
St. Paul basements span more than a century. Victorian-era homes have old foundation walls and often low basements. The 1920s bungalows sit on walls that may be poured, block or clay tile. The postwar expansions have block or poured basements with fuller height, and those are usually the simplest place to cut an egress window.
In an older, shallow basement the window is only half the question. A room has to meet code as a sleeping room in other ways too, ceiling height among them, and an egress window does not fix a room that falls short there. We look at the room before quoting so you are not paying for an opening in a space that still cannot be called a bedroom.
Our job log has five window and door installs in St. Paul from April through July 2026, all through dealers and builders. We also cut egress windows in Shoreview and White Bear Lake. Painting is quoted as a separate line, or leave the new trim primed and caulked and paint it yourself.
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
- Which room will be the bedroom, with photos of the wall inside and out
- A clear path for digging and hauling out the cut concrete
- Your pick of window style, color and well type
- Paint color for the inside trim, or paint it yourself
What JMB supplies
- A look at the room, the wall and the yard before the quote
- The permit with the City of St. Paul building department where required, and the inspection
- Gopher State One Call locates and excavation
- Wet-saw cut of the opening and concrete haul-away; a header where needed, engineer-sized when the wall calls for it
- Treated buck, egress window, sill pan, flashing, foam and sealant
- Anchored window well on drainage gravel, then backfill
- Drywall returns or jamb extensions and casing inside
- Photos 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 window vs. cutting a new opening
- Poured, block or clay tile wall, and the condition of an older foundation
- How deep the cut runs below grade and the size of the well
- What is over the dig: steps, walks, a deck or the gas meter
- Interior finish: bare block vs. a finished wall with trim to match
- Permit fees, listed on the quote
Send the wall from inside and out, the yard in front of it, and the ceiling height of the room.
How long it takes
A basement egress window usually takes two to three days on site from dig to trim, plus the city inspection. The wall is closed up at the end of the cutting day.
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
Postwar block or poured basement
Fuller-height basements with regular walls. The usual job is the old window enlarged to egress size with a new well.
Pre-war or Victorian-era basement
We check the wall material and the room height first. Some walls need an engineer's say on the header; some rooms are not good bedroom candidates.
Well and cover
Galvanized or composite well, sized to climb out of, on drainage gravel. A cover keeps snow out and opens from inside without tools.
Egress Window Installation in St. Paul, MN: questions, answered
Do I need a permit for an egress window in St. Paul?
Most cities require a permit to cut or enlarge an opening in a foundation wall, and egress windows are a common example. We check with the City of St. Paul building department for your address, pull the permit where it is required and schedule the inspection. The fee is on the quote.
Is a postwar St. Paul basement a good fit for an egress window?
Usually, yes. Postwar basements tend to have block or poured walls and enough height for a bedroom, so the job is mostly cutting the opening and setting the window and well. We still check what is behind and in front of the wall before we quote.
Can an egress window go into an older St. Paul foundation?
Often, but the wall decides. Older walls may be clay tile or stone, and they need a different approach to the cut and the header, sometimes with an engineer. We look before quoting and tell you if the wall or the room is not a good fit.
What kind of window is used for a basement egress window?
Usually a casement, because it opens the full width of the sash and reaches egress size in a smaller opening. A slider works too but only opens half its width, so it needs a wider cut. We size it to the code range for your room before ordering.
Does an egress window well need a cover?
A cover is not always required, but it keeps snow, leaves and animals out of the well. Whatever cover goes on has to open from inside without tools or keys, so the window still works as an exit. We quote the cover as its own line.
Do you install egress windows near St. Paul as well?
Yes. We do the same work in Shoreview, White Bear Lake and across the Twin Cities metro. Send photos of the wall and we reply within one business day, or book a free in-home estimate.
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.
Related jobs we do
Egress Window Installation — Basement Opening Cut, Window and Well
A basement bedroom needs a way out. We cut the wall, set the window and the well, and finish the inside so the room is legal and usable.
Read moreWindow Well Installation and Covers — Wells Replaced, Gravel and Drain
A well rusted through at the bottom, one the snowblower crushed, one that fills with water every spring, or an egress well that needs a ladder and a cover — replaced, drained and covered so the basement stays dry.
Read moreBasement Window Replacement — Hopper or Slider, Supplied and Installed
Rusted steel frames, rotted wood bucks, single glass that frosts all winter. We supply the new basement windows and set them right in the concrete.
Read moreEgress 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.
Read moreWindow Claim Code Upgrades — Egress, Tempered Glass, Energy Code
The hail broke a bedroom window from the 1970s. The replacement has to open big enough to climb out of, and the one next to the tub has to be tempered. Who pays for the code part is the question.
Read moreStorm Damaged Window Repair in St. Paul, MN
A tall old house, a mix of original wood windows and newer replacements, and a storm that hit all three floors. Every window gets looked at, not just the ones you can reach.
Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All by city pages
Where we work
Window & Door Services by City near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: