ᐅ Definition of a Full Storey (Full Floor) – Traditional Understanding
Created on: 26 Jun 2019 18:10
K
KEVSTHello everyone,
Since our search for plots of land has been quite limited, we are slowly considering purchasing an existing building.
One question we have is about the possibility of adding an extra floor to a bungalow.
For example, in a residential area from the 1960s and 1970s where one full storey is allowed and a flat roof is required, what are the rules regarding adding an additional floor? The definition of a full storey at that time is not entirely clear to me.
Back then, the point about the “footprint of the storey below” was not specified. Does this mean that, because of the two-thirds rule at the time and the flat roof requirement, adding another floor is not possible? Or am I misunderstanding something?
Since our search for plots of land has been quite limited, we are slowly considering purchasing an existing building.
One question we have is about the possibility of adding an extra floor to a bungalow.
For example, in a residential area from the 1960s and 1970s where one full storey is allowed and a flat roof is required, what are the rules regarding adding an additional floor? The definition of a full storey at that time is not entirely clear to me.
Back then, the point about the “footprint of the storey below” was not specified. Does this mean that, because of the two-thirds rule at the time and the flat roof requirement, adding another floor is not possible? Or am I misunderstanding something?
Single-story with flat roof:
In theory, only a setback or recessed upper floor would be possible as an extension, where the additional floor has to be less than two-thirds of the ground floor area and therefore is not considered a full story.
In practice, you still need to check what the zoning plan or building permit/planning permission allows, for example, maximum height restrictions, setback requirements... and then there is the structural engineering – it must be able to support the load. Since a setback floor is set back from the load-bearing exterior walls, I hardly see a cost-benefit justification for it.
In theory, only a setback or recessed upper floor would be possible as an extension, where the additional floor has to be less than two-thirds of the ground floor area and therefore is not considered a full story.
In practice, you still need to check what the zoning plan or building permit/planning permission allows, for example, maximum height restrictions, setback requirements... and then there is the structural engineering – it must be able to support the load. Since a setback floor is set back from the load-bearing exterior walls, I hardly see a cost-benefit justification for it.
KEVST schrieb:
Does this mean that due to the previous two-thirds rule and the flat roof requirement, an additional storey is not possible? Yes.
KEVST schrieb:
Or am I misunderstanding this? No.
ypg schrieb:
Theoretically, only a setback storey would be possible as an extension, where the additional floor has less than two-thirds of the ground floor area and therefore does not count as a full storey. No, because the current full storey definition does not apply, and back then the two-thirds referred to the floor area of the storey in question. While unusual solutions might be considered, such as lowering the clear height of non-habitable rooms, these awkward workarounds usually result in unattractive and impractical buildings.
It would be more sensible to examine how the existing development in the building area has evolved over the past 50 years and to check with the local authorities to what extent the original urban planning objectives still apply today, with reference to exemptions under §31 of the Building Code (Baugesetzbuch).
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