BASEMENT DAYLIGHT

BRIGHTEN A DARK ROOM WITH AN LED "WINDOW"

- BRAD HOLDEN

Want to bring daylight into a finished basement, but don't want the labor and cost of adding an egress window? If you don't need an egress window to meet code, here's a way to gain the light along with the illusion of a beautiful new window. You won't get an outdoor view, but a basement window rarely gives much of a view anyway.

We used thin LED panels with adjustable color temperature, set in easy-to-build window frames. 

Getting power to the panels takes a little electrical work, but the lights are operated by remote control or a battery-powered switch that fits in a junction box, so you don't have to hard-wire a switch.

1 BUILD THE FRONT FRAME

The frame consists of a front and a back, each cut from 3/4-in. MDF. Determine the frame size needed for your light panel, and then cut the front and back frame pieces. We chose to make a 4-in. wide frame for our LED panel. You will have to decide what looks best in your room.

The front and back frames are identical in size, but the lengths of the parts are different so that the joints of the two frames overlap (see Figure A). Assemble the front frame using wood glue and pocket screws.

2 RABBET THE BACK FRAME

Cut rabbets on the back inner edges of the back frame. These rabbets should be deep enough to allow the LED panel to sit flush with the back side of the back frame. For our LED panel, the rabbets are about 3 in. x ¾ in.

3 ATTACH THE BACK FRAME