Dell Rapids builds to the 2006 International Residential Code (Municipal Code §7-16), not the Sioux Falls rules. That means an escape opening needs at least 5.7 sq ft of clear opening (5.0 at a grade floor), 24 in of clear height, 20 in of clear width and a sill no higher than 44 in, with a 9 sq ft well and a ladder once the well is deeper than 44 in. The city keeps its local amendments in a separate document, so we confirm them before we cut. It requires a permit for repair or remodeling work expected to cost over $1,000, labor included (§7-23), which covers essentially every egress cut-in, basement finish and foundation repair.
Dell Rapids basements
Dell Rapids had 3,996 people at the 2020 Census. Its downtown is a National Register historic district, listed in 1978: 39 buildings along East 4th Street, nearly all built between 1885 and 1934, many of them in quartzite from the town's own quarries.
The houses around it span more than a century, from original stone and block foundations to newer poured walls. Each one gets looked at before it's cut: what the wall is made of, the grade outside, and where the water will go.
Dell Rapids is also a good example of why the town matters. Sioux Falls, 25 miles south, amended its code to a 5.0 sq ft opening and a 48 in sill. Dell Rapids adopts the 2006 IRC instead, so a window that passes in Sioux Falls may not pass here. Check yours with the checker on the model-code setting.
Permits and code in Dell Rapids
| What | In Dell Rapids |
|---|---|
| Residential code | 2006 International Residential Code, adopted by reference (§7-16), for permits issued after February 24, 2009 |
| Permit needed | Repair or remodeling over $1,000 including labor, any change to a building's outside dimensions, and any new structure (§7-23) |
| Owner labor | Counted at fair value toward the $1,000, even when it's your own work |
| Radon | Minnehaha County is EPA Radon Zone 1, the highest-potential zone |