How much does an egress window cost in Toronto?

A complete new one, meaning the opening saw-cut through the foundation, the window fitted and a well dug outside it, is published at $4,000 to $7,000 by TH Windows & Doors, $3,000 to $7,000 by Everest Windows and $2,500 to $5,000 by The Great Egress Co. Enlarging an opening that already exists is far cheaper, because the concrete work is $700 to $900 rather than a whole new cut. Add 13 per cent HST to all of it.

What size does a basement bedroom window have to be in Ontario?

Ontario Building Code 9.9.10.1 asks for an individual, unobstructed open portion having a minimum area of 0.35 square metres with no dimension less than 380 millimetres. Both conditions have to hold at once, which is the part people miss: a tall narrow window can have plenty of area and still fail on the 380 millimetre side. The window also has to open from the inside without tools and stay open without being propped.

Do I measure the window or the hole it makes when it opens?

The hole. The code is written about the open portion, so what counts is the clear space a person could actually climb through when the sash is fully swung. On a slider, only the openable half counts. On a casement, the arm and the frame both eat into it. This is why a window that looks big enough on paper can fail when someone measures it properly.

Does a window well need to be a certain size too?

Yes. Where the window opens into a window well, the code calls for a clearance of not less than 550 millimetres in front of the window, so there is somewhere to stand once you are out. A well also needs drainage. A well with no drain fills up in a Toronto downpour and holds a column of water directly against the foundation and the window, which is how a safety feature turns into a leak.

Is a permit needed to cut an egress window into a foundation?

Cutting a new opening in a structural foundation wall is building work and normally needs a permit, and a lintel over the opening has to be sized for what is above it. Everest Windows lists permits inside its $3,000 to $7,000 Toronto range, but not every company does. Ask any quote whether the permit and the engineering are in the price or on top of it, because it is a common gap between two quotes that look identical.

Can I get away without an egress window in a basement bedroom?

Only if a door on the same floor level as the bedroom gives direct access to the exterior. That is the exception written into 9.9.10.1 itself, and it is why a basement with a proper walkout can skip the window. Otherwise every floor level containing a bedroom in a suite needs at least one window that meets the opening rule. If you are finishing a basement to rent, this is the requirement that decides whether the room is a bedroom or a den.

What does an egress window cost, and does yours meet code?

Last updated: August 26, 2026By Below-Grade Records Desk

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Before the price, the measurement. Ontario wants a bedroom window with an open portion of at least 0.35 square metres and no side under 380 millimetres, and a window that already clears both saves the entire job. Measure the opening below and the tool will tell you where you stand, then price the work: $2,500 to $7,000 for a new cut across three published GTA price lists, far less if the hole is already there.

1. Does the window you have already meet code?

Measure the opening, not the frame: how far the sash actually swings clear, at its widest and its tallest. Ontario asks for both a minimum area and a minimum single dimension, and a tall narrow window can pass one and fail the other.

Measuring in

inchesmillimetres

Clear width

Clear height

That opening clears the Ontario minimum.

Open area: 0.495 m² against a minimum of 0.35 m². Clears it.
Smallest dimension: 610 mm against a minimum of 380 mm. Clears it.

Ontario Building Code 9.9.10.1 asks for “an individual, unobstructed open portion having a minimum area of 0.35 m² with no dimension less than 380 mm”, openable from the inside without tools and staying open without being propped.

2. What will it cost

What is there now?

There is no window there at allA new opening saw-cut through the foundation wall, a casement unit fitted, and a window well dug and built outside it. Three companies publish this as one all-in price.There is a small window, and it is too small for codeThe most common basement-bedroom job. The opening is cut wider and deeper, then a bigger unit goes in.The opening is already big enough, the window is notA unit swap. No concrete work, which is most of why this is the cheap version.Just the window well outside itUsually because the old one has collapsed, filled with soil, or has no drainage and is putting water against the wall.

Does it need a window well too?Yes, build a window well outside itNeeded wherever the sill sits below grade. Where a window opens into a well, the code asks for at least 550 mm of clearance in front of it, and the well needs drainage or it becomes a bucket against your foundation.

How many windows?

window

What this costs in the GTA

$4,181–$10,622

with 13% HST. Before tax that is $3,700–$9,400.

Enlarging the existing openingTH Windows & Doors: $700–$900
The egress window, supplied and fittedTH Windows & Doors; Delco Windows & Doors: $1,500–$5,000
Window wellTH Windows & Doors; AquaMaster Plumbing: $1,500–$3,500
HST at 13%Government of Ontario: $481–$1,222

Five Canadian window and waterproofing companies publish these figures; where they disagree the range covers both ends rather than averaging. A permit is usually required to cut a new opening in a foundation wall, and whether it is inside the quoted price varies by company. Ask.

Method

How is this estimate built?

The code half is not an estimate at all. It applies Ontario Building Code 9.9.10.1 literally: area of the open portion against 0.35 square metres, smallest dimension against 380 millimetres, both of which have to pass. The clause text is quoted on the page so you can check the tool against the rule rather than trusting it.

The cost half reads five Canadian window and waterproofing price lists, gathered in August 2026. Where three companies publish one all-in figure for a complete project, WaterproofingIndex uses the widened range across all three. Where the job is built out of line items instead, as it is when an existing opening is enlarged, the line items are added: concrete work, then the window, then the well. Adding published line items and widening published totals are different operations and the page shows which one it did.

What it cannot see: whether a lintel has to be engineered for what sits above the opening, whether the ground outside can be dug without hitting services, and whether your municipality wants a permit for this particular cut. Those three decide the top of the range.

Ranking

What decides where in the range you land?

Whether concrete has to be cut. It is the difference between a $1,500 unit swap and a $7,000 project. Measure before you assume.
How deep the sill sits. A window well is a hole, shored and drained. The deeper the sill below grade, the bigger and more expensive that hole is.
Where the well drains. Tying the well to the weeping tile is the right answer and it means digging to the footing. Leaving it to soak away is cheaper and is why so many wells fill.
Permit and engineering. Sometimes quoted, sometimes not. This is the single most common reason two egress quotes are $1,000 apart.
The unit itself. The Great Egress Co starts side-hung egress windows at $525 before shipping and fitting, so the glass is rarely the expensive part of the bill.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an egress window cost in Toronto?: A complete new one, meaning the opening saw-cut through the foundation, the window fitted and a well dug outside it, is published at $4,000 to $7,000 by TH Windows & Doors, $3,000 to $7,000 by Everest Windows and $2,500 to $5,000 by The Great Egress Co. Enlarging an opening that already exists is far cheaper, because the concrete work is $700 to $900 rather than a whole new cut. Add 13 per cent HST to all of it.
What size does a basement bedroom window have to be in Ontario?: Ontario Building Code 9.9.10.1 asks for an individual, unobstructed open portion having a minimum area of 0.35 square metres with no dimension less than 380 millimetres. Both conditions have to hold at once, which is the part people miss: a tall narrow window can have plenty of area and still fail on the 380 millimetre side. The window also has to open from the inside without tools and stay open without being propped.
Do I measure the window or the hole it makes when it opens?: The hole. The code is written about the open portion, so what counts is the clear space a person could actually climb through when the sash is fully swung. On a slider, only the openable half counts. On a casement, the arm and the frame both eat into it. This is why a window that looks big enough on paper can fail when someone measures it properly.
Does a window well need to be a certain size too?: Yes. Where the window opens into a window well, the code calls for a clearance of not less than 550 millimetres in front of the window, so there is somewhere to stand once you are out. A well also needs drainage. A well with no drain fills up in a Toronto downpour and holds a column of water directly against the foundation and the window, which is how a safety feature turns into a leak.
Is a permit needed to cut an egress window into a foundation?: Cutting a new opening in a structural foundation wall is building work and normally needs a permit, and a lintel over the opening has to be sized for what is above it. Everest Windows lists permits inside its $3,000 to $7,000 Toronto range, but not every company does. Ask any quote whether the permit and the engineering are in the price or on top of it, because it is a common gap between two quotes that look identical.
Can I get away without an egress window in a basement bedroom?: Only if a door on the same floor level as the bedroom gives direct access to the exterior. That is the exception written into 9.9.10.1 itself, and it is why a basement with a proper walkout can skip the window. Otherwise every floor level containing a bedroom in a suite needs at least one window that meets the opening rule. If you are finishing a basement to rent, this is the requirement that decides whether the room is a bedroom or a den.

Sources

Where these numbers came from

Five Canadian window and waterproofing price lists plus the Ontario Building Code clause itself, each read on its own page in August 2026. Canadian dollars, before HST.

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