ᐅ Survey on Gable Roof Knee Wall Height

Hello everyone,

I’m asking out of curiosity if there are any homeowners here who have built a gable roof and deliberately chose not to make the knee wall as high as possible? Many are restricted by zoning regulations or planning permission, but some are not.

We built a gable roof in 2018/2019 with a knee wall height of 1.30 m (4 feet 3 inches) interior measurement, a roof pitch of 38 degrees, and just under 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft) of living space. Since we don’t have any specific zoning restrictions here, we could have built it differently or higher. However, we decided against it for the following reasons:

- We actually like sloped ceilings, as long as we’re not talking about a knee wall of only 40 cm (16 inches). It feels particularly cozy in the bedrooms.
- We are both only 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall and therefore hardly feel restricted. If we were taller, it would probably be a different story.
- At the time, a gable roof with a very high knee wall didn’t appeal to us visually at all (it somehow looked too “leggy”); meanwhile, I (my partner does not) also find houses with a high knee wall and a shallower roof pitch very stylish. The only downside is that it reduces the size of the attic.

I’m really looking forward to your replies.

Best regards

bauherr2019_he schrieb:

We built a gable roof with a knee wall of 1.30 m (4 feet 3 inches) interior height, a roof pitch of 38 degrees, and just under 170 m² (1,830 sq ft) of living space in 2018/2019.

In my opinion, that is a very practical dimension. I recommend around 120 cm (47 inches) plus or minus 20 cm (8 inches), because this height for a knee wall fully replaces a dwarf wall but at the same time does not raise the window sill too high (as I explained three months ago in "How the Knee Wall Affects the Window Issue in the Attic").

bauherr2019_he schrieb:

We actually like sloping ceilings, as long as we’re not talking about a knee wall of only 40 cm (16 inches). It feels particularly cozy in the bedrooms.

I call a 40 cm (16 inch) knee wall a "vacuum cleaner knee wall," because it only makes cleaning the attic floor easier, but still doesn’t provide space for placing a bed along the exterior wall under the eaves.

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If the zoning plan had allowed it, we definitely would have built a higher knee wall than the maximum permitted 1.0 meter (3.3 feet). However, we probably wouldn’t have gone beyond 1.3 to 1.4 meters (4.3 to 4.6 feet) with a roof pitch of 45°.

With the current 1 meter (3.3 feet), we are managing well overall. The only limitations are noticeable when furnishing, due to the somewhat limited space available for furniture placement. In terms of living comfort, though, we don’t miss anything. Especially the children often say how cozy they find the space under the sloping ceilings. However, it shouldn’t be much less than 1 meter (3.3 feet).

The traditional building style here does not include a knee wall, which is why we are limited to a maximum of 75cm (30 inches) externally, and a gable roof pitch of 35-45°. We built with 75cm (30 inches) and 38°, and installed the attic ventilation in the sloped roof spaces. Inside, depending on the size of the boxed-in areas, our knee wall height varies between 75cm and 1m (30-39 inches), which honestly isn’t very much. From the outside, the 75cm (30 inches) somehow doesn’t quite fit – looking back, I would probably opt for closer to 45° with the lowest possible knee wall to better match the local architectural style (see background):

If I had a free choice, I would probably lean more toward a higher knee wall with a flatter roof.

Hangman schrieb:

The traditional buildings here don’t have knee walls, which is why a maximum of 75cm (30 inches) and a pitched roof of 35-45° are required. We built with 75cm (30 inches) and 38°, and installed attic ventilation in the sloped roof sections. Inside, depending on the size of the boxed-in areas, the knee wall height ranges between 75cm and 1m (30 to 39 inches), which honestly isn’t much. From the outside, the 75cm (30 inches) doesn’t quite fit — looking back now, I would probably choose closer to 45° with as low a knee wall as possible to match the local architectural style (see background):

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If I had free choice, I would probably prefer a higher knee wall with a flatter roof.

That is a very nice house. Because of the short roof overhang, it doesn’t look that low despite the 75cm (30 inches). I would probably build a somewhat taller house with a flatter roof now as well. But then the problem of a smaller attic remains, since we don’t have a basement.

Our wall goes up 2.65 meters (8 feet 8 inches), then the roof has a 22° pitch. We don’t have an attic; instead, the exposed roof structure with wooden boards and beams is visible from the inside.

In the future, we plan to have a carpenter install loft platforms in the children’s rooms, where there will still be enough headroom. 🙂