Enlarging/ Replacing a Window Well

[Katie Bond]

This may sound like a dumb question but I want to bring our window wells up to code and I have no idea who to hire/ how to hire a person to help with digging the window well. Where do I start? Thanks!

[Bill S.]

@Katie Bond so one approach is to drive by the local corner where day laborers stand waiting for work. Tell them what you want done (Spanish helps here) and taking them to the property and tell them how big and deep to dig. A guy I know who does window wells (it's his business) does this. He pays $100 per window for the digging. It takes a guy about 1 day to dig the hole. The cheapest retaining material is landscape timbers.

Also, it's not just about the well size. The window size and clear opening of the window is part of the code. Basically it has to be large enough that a fireman with an airpack on can get through it. Make sure you check all of that out as well.

As Matt M. said there are businesses that only do egress windows. Meet with a couple of them and you will have a pretty good idea of your scope of work.