All of our bedrooms have at least one window large enough to be considered an egress window. It is code in my area.

Could you use casement windows for the upstairs bedrooms? If it were not for this forum, I wouldn't think of mixing double-hung with casements, but there was a thread about it a while back and in the pictures posted it looked fine.

We were told we needed egress windows in all our bedrooms also. If you do want to mix casement and double hung, you can get a casement with a simulated checkrail so that it "matched" the double hungs. This is what we choose and I'm really happy with the result. It would look like the upstairs window in this picture.

And from the inside...

You asked for advice and here is mine:

Modern building codes (and most old ones) require "emergency escape and rescue" openings from ALL sleeping rooms and habitable basements. All window manufacturers have a mark in their catalogs next to the windows that meet the most common requirement. Ground floor openings are allowed to be slightly smaller but it doesn't always translate into a smaller window size.

The internet can be highly unreliable for code information because most codes are copyrighted and they also change every three years so you need to buy a copy of the version of the code used in your area and get any modifications from the local building department.

As the property owner you will be responsible for meeting the building code and because you will not be using a licensed design professional to assure you of code compliance, you should not rely on any code information from anyone that you haven't personally verified in your copy of the code book. Please take this advice seriously.

The next step is to find the window inside sash size from the rough opening size by subtracting about 3" from the RO height and 2" from the RO width.

Obviously, you will not be able to use your narrow window concept for at least one window in each bedroom. Your designer will be able to help you modify the house design to accommodate this fact.

I strongly recommend giving up the idea of aligning door and window heads unless, of course, they align by chance. Windows should be as high as possible in a wall to bring light deeper into a room. Never let standard door heights dictate where windows are placed; they serve entirely different purposes. Get the windows as high as you can. If a 4" head misalignment bothers you then use 7 ft doors. In old homes both grand and humble this was never an issue.

I would recommend a 3-0 x 5-1 RO window with a sash opening of 2-10 x 4-10. The interior stool trim would be 2-2 high with 1-0 of wall above the window. The head opening would be 7-0 high (an excellent height IMHO) and enough above a 6-8 door head to look fine or you could use 7-0 doors.

The only other choice would be a 2" wider window that is 4" shorter. I would raise the stool 4" to 2-6 (table height) for increased privacy and keep the window head the same for maximum light. Of course, you could align the doors and windows and keep the stool height at 2-2.

Frankly, I would consider a window with a 30 glass width normal rather than "gargantuan".

You might find a code compliant casement with a RO width of 2-4 wide. The hardware on some casement windows does not meet the building code emergency escape requirement so you sometimes have to specify the appropriate hardware option. I would take a look at it before ordering it.

If you prefer the appearance of narrow windows I suspect you should be using casements anyway.

Thanks for all the good advice! (I didn't mean to imply that 37" wide windows are "gargantuan" for everyone--just when compared to many of my first floor 24" windows!)

I was excited to see the casements that look like doublehung, and also the idea of flanking a wider window with two that are narrower. That should help match the downstairs and upstairs.

Also, knowing that the top of the window doesn't need to match the top of the door is good to know. We have the added problem/bonus of already owning many of our windows, since we purchased several overstocks through local builders. This has led to some problems since turning it over to our designer. For example, we have a set of three doublehung mulled together that are each 29 inches wide by 65 tall. Our designer thinks they are too big for the first floor, since they are not tempered glass, so they must be at least 18 inches off the floor, and thus will finish 4 inches over the door frame. It was good to read that the tops of doors and windows do not need to line up. I'm thinking that we could possibly make our interior doorless openings 4 inches higher to match the top of the windows.

Thanks again!

If the applicable code is based on the ICC or it's predecessors, tempered glass is required if the exposed glass EDGE is within 18" of the floor (RO would be about 13") AND if the exposed area of an individual pane of glass is greater than 9 sq.ft.

9 sq.ft. is 1,296 sq.in. and your lower sash exposed glass is most likely 24x28 which would be half the size of the maximum untempered glass allowed.

Your window can sit right on the floor and not be tempered unless the glass edge is within 24" horizontally of a door, or 60" horizontally of a stair/ramp, or in tub rooms, showers, etc. The code is quite specific on this subject but, of course, you can exceed it's standards if you wish.

Again, I recommend that you read the code instead of relying on the opinions of non-professionals or, alternatively, hire a design-professional.

By the way, it seems highly unusual to design a house and buy materials and then turn it over to a designer. Is this not a poor use of your resources? Well, water under the dam. I hope it works out for you but personally I try to avoid guessing or gambling and my clients seem to agree.

Also, your designer is giving you bad design advice in addition to bad code advice.

If you have a window that is 65" tall (frame) and you align the top of it's sash opening with the interior doors (80" AFF) the resulting window rough sill would be 16" AFF, the bottom glass edge 21" AFF and the stool trim 18 1/2" AFF.

Even if the code did limit the glass to 18" above the floor, the windows would be legal.

And there is nothing wrong with a stool height of 18 1/2". My house (built 1891) has interior stools at 19" AFF.

If you wanted a higher stool you could raise the window 4 or more inches, in fact, you should get them as high as possible. The top of my window sash is 7-7 AFF and the door frames are 7-0 AFF.

You are wasting money and time. Find someone who knows how to design a house even if it costs more; it will pay off in the end.

To put the 18" AFF rule for tempered glass in perspective: it is triggered only for the one or two largest "basic" (non-cottage-style) double-hung window sizes only if the rough sill is lower than about 13 1/2" (16 1/2" stool height).

If the windows must align with 80" door heads, the window RO height can be as tall as 6-6 which for many manufacturers is their tallest double-hung size.

Therefore, this issue should not even be raised except in rare window configurations or custom large sizes.

I hope nobody trips over that extension cord!!!

What is the safety rule on egress windows on the second floor bedrooms for children falling out? This seems to be a stupid requirement. I have seen other houses in my area without the egress windows on the second floor. I am in MIchigan. Can someone give me some guidance.

I believe code is that the bottom of the window must be no higher than 44" from the floor. That is pretty high, I can't see a child falling out of that. You think the egress window requirement is stupid?

There are really two aspects to the egress window requirement - a person trying to get out, and a firefighter trying to get in. A firefighter will take an ax to the window sashes and glass to get in, effectively increasing the size of the opening (which is good, because they wear an airtank and may be carrying a person). But a person trying to escape likely won't have an ax, and I don't think most people would be in the state of mind to remove sashes when trying to escape. My MIL's house has narrow, tall casements throughout. I would have a very hard time crawling through one of those window, and doing it holding a small child would be impossible. Getting rid of the sash would give me a few more inches, but I think a firefighter would really have to squeeze through with all the equipment on. When there is a fire, you want to get OUT. You can't rely on doors. People are frequently rescused through windows.

If you are concerned about a child falling out a window then use a double hung. The top can be open and the bottom closed. No child could fall out of that. Children small enough to fall out a window should never be unsupervised in a room with an open window anyway.

There are houses everywhere without egress windows. Possibly the house was built pre-code, the code inspector was an idiot, the house is in a no-code area, etc. You are not required to keep an existing house up to code.