In the past, basements were often afterthoughts in home design, with limited entry points that restricted their use. However, as the American Society of Home Inspectors reports, modern advancements have transformed basements into valuable living spaces, with 30% of new homes featuring finished basements. Today, homeowners can enhance basement access in older homes through the installation of interior hatch and stairway systems, which not only improve entry but also expand functional space. Egress windows and external staircases are increasingly popular features. Walk-out basements, which merge indoor comfort with outdoor accessibility, are particularly sought after, offering a seamless transition to nature and inviting an abundance of natural light.
Many older homes had access to the basement only through exterior cellar doors or sometimes through floor hatches located within the home. Interior stairways can easily be added to older homes, allowing more convenient access to these basement spaces. Even if these older basements are left unfinished, this allows easy access to utility panels and systems, which can be a very desirable feature, particularly for homes located in colder climates.
Egress windows offer secondary access to modern basements. Such windows are large enough to serve as a door and is mounted below grade, inside an oversized window well containing an escape ladder. Although not intended as primary points of basement access, egress windows allow basements to be used as living and sleeping space by offering an additional exit point in case of fire.
External basement staircases can be added to either new or existing basements. They consist of a staircase, sometimes made of poured concrete and sometimes of wood or metal, located on the outside of a home and descending to the level of a door located at floor level in the basement. This is a general-purpose type of access and can be particularly handy when a basement serves as a workshop or mud room.
Walk-out basements, sometimes referred to as daylight basements, offer the most direct access to a basement space and are frequently finished and used as general living space. A home with a daylight basement is built into sloping earth so that only one side of the foundation is completely below grade. The grade on the opposite side is set at floor level for the basement. The daylight side of the basement is often constructed as a framed wall rather than a poured foundation. Ordinary patio or entrance doors are then installed to provide access.
In some cases, a home might be built with a partially exposed basement. This allows basement spaces to have large windows, making them suitable for living space. This type of basement offers emergency access through windows but generally relies on sunken exterior stairwells for direct access.
