What you want are sash locks. They prevent the window from opening more than 8" or so (or at whatever height you install them). There are many different styles and some windows come with them built in. The primary difference is how you engage and disengage them.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 15, 2008 4:29 PM in response to Window lock?

As said above, a GC would be the right person to hire for this work. However, I think the 4-5k number above may be low because in addition to the digging and building of the stairs you will need to break through the foundation wall, do some shoring, add support for the wall above, do a certain amount of waterproofing and of course buy a good door and frame. I'm guessing your looking at closer to 8k-9k. You could realize some savings if you can reuse what you dig out in landscaping the yard, etc... This will save on the manual labor of hauling it away.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 21, 2008 4:57 PM in response to Digging down to add stairs and entrance from basement to back yard