What makes Medicine Hat hard on a window well is not the cold, it is the thaw. Chinooks drive the temperature through zero and back several times a winter, and every cycle lifts and drops whatever is sitting in saturated ground.
What shapes a window well in Medicine Hat is the driest corner of Alberta, where drainage is less of a problem than wind-blown fill. It is roughly 295 km by road from our plant to Medicine Hat, and delivery there takes 2 to 15 business days.
We are a sheet metal manufacturer, not a reseller. Wells for Medicine Hat are formed from 20-gauge G-90 galvanized coil in our own plant, which is what lets us hold 213 sizes in stock instead of ordering them in.
Ordering a window well in Medicine Hat
Freight anywhere in Canada is $189.99 CAD, charged once per order rather than per item, with transit of 2 to 15 business days after the build time. Galvanized sizes leave the shop in one to two business days; gloss black powder coat is finished to order and adds one to two weeks.
Freeze-thaw and drainage
Free-draining backfill matters more here than raw depth. Water that cannot leave the base is water that will freeze, expand and lift the well during the next swing through zero.
Choosing a height
Wells in Medicine Hat are commonly ordered at 22 or 30 inches deep. Measure from finished grade to where the base will sit rather than guessing from the old well, which has usually settled.
How to measure the opening
Run the tape along the foundation past both sides of the window for width. Measure straight out from the wall for projection. Measure down from finished grade to where the base will sit for height. Where the excavation already exists, its dimensions are the ones that matter.
Measure the opening rather than the old well. A well that has been in Medicine Hat ground for twenty years has usually settled or spread, and copying its dimensions repeats whatever was wrong with it.
Common questions from Medicine Hat
What does Medicine Hat require for a basement bedroom window?
The governing document is the Alberta Building Code (NBC 2020 AE), administered locally through your municipal building department. A 30 inch projection gives 762 mm of clearance in front of the window. The window itself has its own opening requirement, so confirm both before you order.
Can I get a size that is not listed?
Yes. We manufacture in our own shop, so any width, projection or height is possible. Send the three measurements and we will quote it for delivery to Medicine Hat.
How deep should a window well be in Medicine Hat?
Deep enough that the base sits below the level the excavation reaches, with the lip finishing at grade. Frost design depth here is around 1.2 m, close to the national norm, so a standard height usually works. Measure from finished grade down to where the base will actually sit, not from the window.
How much does shipping a window well to Medicine Hat cost?
Freight anywhere in Canada is $189.99 CAD per order, not per item, and transit runs 2 to 15 business days on top of the build time. Because it is charged per order, several wells ship for the same price as one.
Treat this as orientation rather than a code interpretation. Alberta Municipal Affairs and your local building department in Medicine Hat set what actually applies to your build.