Sioux Falls amended the 2021 IRC's egress rules: inside city limits an escape opening needs at least 5.0 sq ft of clear opening (not the model code's 5.7), 24 in of clear height, 20 in of clear width, and a sill no higher than 48 in (not 44). Wells need 9 sq ft, 36 in of projection and width, a drain, and a ladder past 48 in deep. Indigo Construction holds City of Sioux Falls contractor license #16860, pulls the permit, and does the whole job, outside and in.
Sioux Falls basements
Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota, with 192,517 people at the 2020 Census, split between Minnehaha and Lincoln counties. That means basements of every age, and most of them were built with windows that were never meant to be an exit.
Turning a lower level into bedrooms means an egress opening for each one. Because the city's minimums are a little looser than the model code's, some windows that fail elsewhere pass here. Run yours through the checker.
What we do here
- Egress windows: new cut-ins and enlarged openings
- Window wells and covers
- Basement finishing
- Foundation repair, drywall and carpentry