Without a code-compliant egress window in each bedroom, your secondary suite is not legal - and your insurance may not cover you. An egress window installation often unlocks $1,200-1,800/mo of rental income from a basement that currently sits idle. One call, one crew, permit handled.
The City of Calgary's secondary suite program requires that any basement suite being registered as a legal secondary suite meets the National Building Code (Alberta Edition). That means egress windows in every bedroom - no exceptions.
An egress window is sized and positioned so an occupant can escape through it during an emergency. In a basement bedroom where the stairs might be blocked by smoke or fire, that window is often the only other way out. The code requirement is not administrative red tape - it reflects a real life-safety need.
The City's suite registration process includes an inspection. That inspection checks egress compliance. If your bedroom windows don't meet code, you will not get suite approval, and you cannot legally rent those rooms.
Many Calgary homeowners have basements that are liveable, nicely finished, and clearly used as bedrooms - but never formally registered or properly egressed. That gap is what creates both the risk and the opportunity: get the egress windows installed, register the suite, and start generating legal rental income.
We've done this across Calgary - from Mahogany to Tuscany, Beltline row homes to 1970s bungalows in the northwest. If the foundation can be cut, we can get your suite legal.
The baseline comes from Alberta Building Code Article 9.9.10.1. Calgary's secondary suite program adds overlapping requirements. Here is what applies specifically to rentable bedrooms in a secondary suite.
The unobstructed opening when the window is fully open must be at least 0.35 m2 (roughly 3.77 sq ft). This is the net clear area - not the rough opening or frame dimensions.
Neither the height nor the width of the clear opening can be smaller than 380 mm (roughly 15 inches). A narrow-but-tall or wide-but-short window that hits 0.35 m2 overall still fails if either dimension is under 380 mm.
The window sill can be no higher than 1.5 m above the finished floor. If the sill is too high, an occupant cannot reach the window to escape - which defeats the purpose. This often drives where the new opening must be cut.
If a window well is required (which it usually is for below-grade installations), the well must provide at least 760 mm of clear horizontal space in front of the window so a person can climb out. Undersized wells are a common compliance failure.
The National Building Code - 2019 Alberta Edition (NBC AE) governs the egress window specification. City of Calgary Building Advisory A19-004 applies this to local construction. Your installation must satisfy both.
Every room designated as a sleeping room in the secondary suite requires its own egress window. A one-bedroom suite needs one; a two-bedroom suite needs two. Common areas - living room, kitchen, bathroom - are not required to have egress windows.
We've done these projects across Calgary in every configuration - finished basements, tenant-occupied units, poured concrete and block foundations. Here's the process from quote to legal.
We assess the project with landlord concerns in mind: tenant disruption timeline, whether the basement is finished or unfinished, window well placement relative to the suite layout, and which bedroom locations offer the cleanest code-compliant cuts. Send photos and your address - most written quotes come back same business day.
A City of Calgary building permit is required before we start. We offer permit obtaining as an optional add-on and handle the application on your behalf. The City's permit fee (approximately $333.84) is separate. Full permit guide →
Our crew excavates outside each bedroom location and cuts the foundation openings using diamond-blade equipment - no overcutting to corners. The concrete cutting side of this work is backed by our parent company, Concrete Cutting Geeks. For multi-bedroom suites, we typically complete both openings in one to two days.
We supply and install White Vinyl LOW-E Argon Gas egress windows in your choice of three styles - casement, sliding, or hopper. Every window is set in pressure-treated bucking, wrapped, sealed, and finished with vinyl brickmould. Compare window types →
Galvanized steel window wells are installed at each opening with drainage stone. Code-compliant 760 mm clear space is built in from the start. Window well options →
Your windows are ready for the City of Calgary building inspector. We build every installation to code - your windows pass inspection so your suite registration process can proceed. Once registered, your suite is legal and you can start renting.
An egress window installation is a one-time cost that unlocks ongoing monthly rental income. For most landlords converting a basement into a legal secondary suite, the egress windows are among the faster-payback items in the renovation budget.
Our full-service egress window installation runs $1,950-$2,800 + GST per window. A two-bedroom suite requires two windows. That puts the total egress cost for a standard two-bedroom suite in the $4,000-$5,600 + GST range. Full pricing details are on our Pricing Guide →
Rental income from a registered Calgary basement suite varies by neighbourhood, size, and finish level. The right-hand table gives a rough illustration - not a guarantee. Your actual payback depends on your specific rent and total renovation cost.
Note: figures above are illustrative. Actual rental income and payback period depend on location, suite size, finish quality, and the full renovation budget. This is not financial advice.
Illustrative 2-Bedroom Suite Example
Payback calculation: total egress cost / monthly rent. Full renovation payback depends on total suite investment, not egress alone. Confirm figures with your own research before publishing.
Renting a non-compliant secondary suite is a liability that most homeowners don't fully appreciate until something goes wrong. The risk is not just a bylaw fine - it can involve your insurance coverage.
In Alberta, a homeowner's insurance policy often requires that any rental activity in the home be disclosed and that the suite be legally registered. A suite that doesn't meet building code - including egress requirements - may be treated by an insurer as a material change in risk that wasn't disclosed. In the event of a fire or other loss, that gap can affect how your claim is handled.
We are not lawyers or insurance brokers, and this is not legal or insurance advice. We'd strongly encourage you to confirm with your insurance provider what documentation they require for a rental suite and whether suite registration is a condition of your coverage. The point we can speak to from the construction side: getting your suite properly egressed and registered removes a real compliance gap, and that matters when you're relying on rental income from your property.
Always verify insurance implications directly with your insurer. This content is informational only and does not constitute legal or insurance advice.
Calgary buyers actively look for income-generating properties. A registered legal secondary suite - with documented egress compliance - is a tangible value driver at resale. It tells a buyer that the basement unit is ready to rent legally on day one, with no hidden code work required.
This is different from a basement that looks like a suite but is not registered. Unregistered suites often become a negotiating point at sale, with buyers discounting for the cost and uncertainty of bringing the space into compliance. A legal suite with documented egress removes that conversation.
We don't publish specific percentage-appreciation figures because resale outcomes depend heavily on neighbourhood, overall renovation quality, and the Calgary market at the time of sale. What we can say from working in this city since 2015: Calgary buyers value income-suite-ready homes, and the legal egress component is often the most visible and verifiable piece of that value.
This page focuses specifically on the egress window requirement for secondary suites. For a broader look at legal suite egress including before-and-after photos, multi-step process, and general suite windows guidance, see our Legal Basement Suite Egress Windows guide →
Interested in how the concrete cutting works? That side of the project is handled by our parent company: Concrete Cutting Geeks →
Greg and Luke are brothers who co-own and operate Egress Windows Calgary and its parent company, Concrete Cutting Geeks. Both of them have been doing this work in Calgary since 2015 - not as a corporate office that subcontracts everything out, but as the guys on the job or directly managing every crew that goes out.
For landlords, that matters in a specific way. When a corporate window company does your egress install, your point of contact is a salesperson, and the work is done by whoever is available. With us, you're dealing with owners who stand behind the workmanship with their name and their business reputation - not a warranty card from an anonymous crew.
Our concrete cutting roots (via Concrete Cutting Geeks, our parent company) mean the most technically demanding part of the job - opening your foundation wall - is handled by a team that has done thousands of precision concrete cuts across Calgary. That's a different skill base than a window retailer who happens to also offer cutting.
We give set-price quotes. We don't discover surprises mid-project and add them to the invoice. Same-day quotes on most projects. Year-round service. Two-year workmanship warranty. The brothers are accountable.
Greg and Luke are the owners - not investors or a franchise. They've been hands-on in Calgary trades since 2015.
Backed by Concrete Cutting Geeks - the parent brand with deep concrete cutting experience on Calgary foundations.
One crew handles excavation, cutting, window install, and well. One schedule, one invoice, no hand-off gaps.
We quote a fixed price before we start. No mid-project surprises on your invoice. Landlords plan budgets - we respect that.
Yes. The City of Calgary requires a building permit for any new egress window installation, including those done for legal suite compliance. The permit fee is approximately $333.84. We offer permit obtaining as an optional add-on service and handle the City of Calgary application on your behalf.
In most cases, yes - with coordination. The concrete cutting and window installation typically takes one day per opening. The tenant would need to vacate the affected room for that day. We'll discuss access, timing, and disruption mitigation when we quote your project so you can plan around your tenant's schedule.
A finished basement does add some complexity on the interior side. The concrete cutting through the foundation wall is the same process regardless. On the interior, the existing framing and drywall around the new opening will need to be addressed - this is typically done by your own contractor or via our interior finishing add-on. We'll flag what's needed when we assess your project.
No. The Alberta Building Code requires an egress window in every bedroom designated as a sleeping room in a legal secondary suite. If your suite has two bedrooms, you need two code-compliant egress windows - one per bedroom. Common areas like a living room or kitchen do not require egress windows.
Most single-window installations are completed in one day. A two-bedroom suite requiring two egress windows can often be done in one to two days. The timeline depends on soil conditions, foundation type, and access. We'll give you a realistic schedule when we quote your project.
We provide a 2-year workmanship warranty covering all work our crew performs - excavation, concrete cutting, window installation, and window well. The window manufacturer's warranty covers the window unit itself on top of that. If anything we installed causes a problem within the warranty period, we come back and fix it.
Only if they already meet Alberta Building Code Article 9.9.10.1 minimums: at least 0.35 m2 clear unobstructed opening, no single dimension smaller than 380 mm, and a sill height no higher than 1.5 m above the finished floor. Many older Calgary homes have small basement windows that fall well short of these requirements. If your existing windows don't meet code, new openings need to be cut. Window types that qualify →
Insurance coverage for secondary suites varies by policy and provider. Generally, a suite that is registered with the City and meets building code requirements - including egress windows - is in a much better position than an unregistered or non-compliant suite when it comes to coverage. We'd encourage you to confirm with your insurer what documentation they require. We do not provide insurance or legal advice - this answer is informational only.
Send photos of your bedroom window locations - we'll have a set-price quote back same business day.