If your window well is deeper than 44 inches and serves a bedroom or finished basement, the building code doesn't just recommend a ladder — it requires one. Well Covered installs permanently attached, code-compliant window well ladders across the Chicago suburbs, sized to your exact well.
Under the IRC, any egress well deeper than 44 inches must have a permanently attached ladder or steps so a person inside the basement can climb out in an emergency. Deep wells are the norm around Chicago because our foundations are dug below the frost line — which means most egress wells here need one.
A loose garden ladder tossed into the well doesn't count — inspectors look for permanent attachment and proper rung dimensions.
We install 4-foot (4-step), 5-foot (5-step), and 6-foot (6-step) ladders matched to your well's depth. Every ladder is anchored to the well itself — never to the cover — so it stays put year-round and your cover still lifts off freely from inside.
A ladder is cheap insurance: it's the difference between an exit your kids can actually use in a fire and a 5-foot steel pit. It's also one of the most common items flagged in home inspections when selling — buyers' inspectors check egress wells, and a missing ladder shows up in the report.
Yes, if the well is deeper than 44 inches and serves an egress opening. The IRC requires a permanently attached ladder or steps.
No — code requires the ladder to be permanently attached, with rungs at least 12 inches wide, projecting 3 to 6 inches from the wall, spaced no more than 18 inches apart.
No. We anchor ladders to the well, not the cover, so the cover still lifts off from inside without tools.
4-, 5-, and 6-foot ladders, matched to the depth of your specific well.
On-site measurement, honest pricing, no pressure.