3rd Floor Egress Options

[Cory St. Esprit]

Our city code requires a method of egress for 3rd Floor units. There's not currently one in place. Does anyone have any good options that are safe and won't break the bank? Something similar to the attached. I can find a lot of options in the UK and elsewhere, but not really in the US that's not like "break the bank" expensive. 

[Matthew Drouin]

@Cory St. Esprit
Have you checked with a local architect on this?

Local building codes are going to dictate the options.

I researched it several years ago and it ended up being cost prohibitive because of these reasons: 1.)  I was going to have to build an interior fire rated stairwell.  Steel fire escapes have been banned in many states. 2.)  I was going to have to have the third floor sprinkled and have a commercial fire alarm system installed. 3.)  I was going to have to get a zoning variance because the subject property was in a low density residential zone.  When I added all this up, it was going to cost $150k in a neighborhood where sales comps trade for $100k per unit.  That being said, I scrapped the idea and bought another rental property.

One hack to consider, a colleague of mine finished a third floor, made the third floor the living room and kitchen and the second floor the two bedrooms because that scenario avoided the need for a second means of egress.