ᐅ Roof windows not possible due to fire safety regulations – what are the alternatives?

Hello everyone,

I would like to install a roof window in my upper floor. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough space because it’s a semi-detached house, and here (in Bavaria) I need to maintain a 1.25m (4 ft) distance between the neighbor’s property and the roof window. If I move it in that far, the ceiling would already reach the attic floor.

So, I thought about mimicking this with an LED panel and a self-built window frame. It would be frosted or diffused, but my main goal is the lighting effect and atmosphere. Besides the very strong and large LED panel, it would also need a control system with a sensor that measures the current outdoor lighting conditions to replicate them.

This is probably very expensive or even not feasible—but I thought I’d share the idea here. Maybe someone has some suggestions. I just don’t want it to end up looking like a panel simply screwed to the ceiling.

Best regards,
Flo

Try searching for "Lichkamin". It might be an option.

nullhorn schrieb:

If I move in that far, the ceiling will already reach the attic.

Why? You still have to maintain the _lateral_ clearance. When you mention the attic, it’s actually _above_ your top floor. So the attic shouldn’t be the obstacle.
(assuming a common shared gable roof)

nullhorn schrieb:
Unfortunately, I don't have enough space because this is a semi-detached house and here (in Bavaria) I have to maintain a 1.25m (4 ft) distance between the neighbor and the roof overhang. If I push it that far in, the ceiling of the attic already interferes.

I don’t understand that.

sysrun80 schrieb:
Search for "light well".

Or "daylight spot" (this might be a product name from Velux).

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

ypg schrieb:

Why? You have to maintain the _side_ clearance. If you are referring to the attic, it is _above_ your top floor. So the attic should not be the obstacle.
(assuming a common shared gable roof)

Here you can see what I mean. Knee wall 1.20 m (4 feet), gable roof 40°, ceiling height 2.55 m (8 feet 4 inches), space from exterior wall to attic/deck of the attic floor 1.65 m (5 feet 5 inches), minus the minimum required clearance leaves 0.40 m (16 inches) remaining.

This is quite an unusual roof sequence for terraced houses. Often, it’s more common to have a continuous gable roof running over all the houses. Such special features should definitely be mentioned upfront. When I first read it, I also thought of this type of roofing.