Five Types — Four Qualify, One Doesn't
We supply White Vinyl LOW-E Argon Gas windows in four egress-compliant styles — Single Slider, Inward Awning, Outward Casement, and Tilt & Turn. Here's how all five types compare.
Outward Casement Window
Hinged on the side, swings outward
Casement windows are hinged on one side and swing outward when opened — like a door. This means the entire sash opens, giving you the maximum possible clear opening from the smallest frame size. If your opening is tight, a casement window is almost always the best choice for meeting the 0.35 m² code requirement.
Casements are also easier to operate in an emergency — one hand cranks it open, no sliding or lifting required. The full opening makes them the clearest emergency exit of all egress styles. For most Calgary basement egress window installations, this is what we recommend and what we install most often.
Pros & Cons
Single Slider Window
Slides horizontally on a track
Single slider windows open horizontally along a track — one pane slides behind the other. The key consideration is that only half the window opens. This means the frame needs to be large enough that the openable half alone still achieves the minimum 0.35 m² clear opening with no single dimension smaller than 380 mm.
Single sliders qualify as egress under the City of Calgary's guidelines once sized correctly this way. It's one of the four styles we supply and install often — it works well where a wider, lower profile is preferred, or where the outward swing of a casement would create a clearance issue (near a walkway, patio furniture, or tight exterior space). We size every sliding egress window we install to meet code.
Pros & Cons
Inward Awning Window
Hinged at the top, swings inward — lies flat at 90°
Awning windows are hinged at the top and swing on a horizontal axis. The style we install swings inward into the room — when fully open at 90 degrees, the sash lies horizontal, parallel to the ceiling. Because it swings inward, it requires no exterior clearance, making it practical for tight side yards, window wells close to fences, or anywhere an outward-swinging casement is impractical.
The entire sash opens (unlike a sliding window), so there's no partial-opening penalty. Under the City of Calgary's egress window guidelines, an awning window qualifies as egress provided it can swing open a full 90 degrees free of obstructions and hold itself open in the fully open position — this inward-opening style does exactly that. One consideration: the sash swings into the room, so you need ceiling clearance above the window for a full 90° opening.
Awning windows can also be installed to swing outward. That's allowed too, but the city requires at least 760 mm of clearance between the window well and the sash when it's fully open, or it doesn't qualify. Our inward-opening style sidesteps that clearance requirement entirely, which is one reason it's what we install most for egress retrofits.
Pros & Cons
Tilt & Turn Window
Tilts for ventilation, turns fully open like a casement for egress
A tilt & turn window has a single sash that operates two ways from one handle: tilted inward from the top for ventilation, or turned fully inward on a side hinge — like a casement door — for cleaning or egress. Only the turn mode is the egress opening. The tilted vent position does not provide a code-compliant exit and should never be treated as the egress opening.
Under City of Calgary Building Advisory A19-005, a tilt & turn window qualifies as egress provided it meets the same requirements as a casement or awning window in turn mode — a full 90° swing free of obstructions — achieved without the need for special knowledge of the mechanism. We supply tilt & turn as one of our four standard egress styles for openings where its dual function is useful.
Pros & Cons
Hopper Window
Hinged at the bottom, tilts inward
Hopper windows hinge at the bottom (the sill) and tilt inward on a horizontal axis — the opposite hinge position from an awning window. The key problem: because the hinge is at the bottom, the open sash stays angled across the lower part of the opening. To get out in an emergency, you'd have to climb over the glass.
The City of Calgary's egress window guidelines specifically exclude hopper windows for this reason, regardless of how the opening is sized. It doesn't matter how large the frame is — the bottom-hinged mechanism itself is what disqualifies it.
If your basement currently has a hopper window in a bedroom, that opening needs to be upgraded. We cut the existing opening wider if needed and install a code-compliant style. Basement window replacement →
Why Hopper Windows Fail
