I have a basement living room which has a casement window into a lightwell. The top of the lightwell is ground level at the back of the house.
At the moment there is a grate at the top of the lightwell which is cemented in on one side but could be pushed or pulled upwards and dislodged with not much effort. So, the lightwell is effectively a fire escape from the room which is what I want. However we also need to keep it covered much of the time to avoid leaves, debris and rainwater accumulating. At the moment we have a gardener's cold frame propped on some bricks which does the job of keeping the lightwell both covered and ventilated. In fine weather we lift off the frame or open its lid. It is getting rather worse for wear and not very attractive so looking for a more permanent solution.
What I want is an openable glass lightwell cover (openable from the inside to maintain the fire escape), with some ventilation if the cover is going to fit above the extractor fan vent (fan is necessary to combat the damp air in the room). Or possibly fitted below the vent in the lightwell itself. I want to get rid of the grate.
I have attached two photos. One is a pic I found on Pinterest and shows the sort of thing I want. The other is a photo of our actual lightwell (minus the cold frame). I appreciate the gap looks small but the window/lightwell is just about large enough for an adult to squeeze out of the window and stand up in the lightwell.
I cannot seem to find anywhere that does what I am after. I have a builder who could fit it into the surround but I need to find the product itself. I found a place that makes openable roof lights but they said they wouldn't be suitable as they don't open manually, only electronically.
I spoke to another company this morning who supplies fixed glass lightwell covers but this would be a permanent fixture, not openable. I am aware that as the room is not a bedroom it does not legally have to have an openable window/fire escape but this is nevertheless what I want. The room is my children's playroom/homework room and I want to maximise the chance of them being able to escape if they were trapped. I would also like to leave options open to turn the room into a bedroom when family needs change. Not to mention I like opening the window and cover for some real fresh air sometimes.
Is what I am looking for really so obscure? Any ideas folks? I would obviously prefer to buy a product rather than having a bespoke one made. I am prepared to go bespoke if that is the only option but I don't even know where to start with that!