Hello everyone,
We are currently planning the garden for our newly built semi-detached house.
Our rear terrace is supposed to be level with the house and laid with ceramic tiles.
Unfortunately, it has turned out that the side door of the garage (1 m x 2 m) cannot be opened. The terrace would be 3 cm (1 inch) higher than the garage.
This is a prefabricated garage from Hörmann.
Two options have been proposed to us:
1. The terrace is set 15 cm (6 inches) lower than the house. This would also require installing a step block.
2. The terrace remains as planned, but a lowered area or plateau is made around the garage side door.
We don’t find either option acceptable, as we want a barrier-free access to the terrace. Option 2 would allow this, but water and dirt would constantly collect in the lowered area.
My suggestion is to remove the door frame of the garage side door and set it slightly higher. About 3 cm (1 inch) would need to be milled above the door frame. According to the builder, this is not possible. The manufacturer reportedly said the construction would be damaged. There is steel directly above the door frame.
We paid extra for this garage side door (€850). If we had known about this problem, we would never have ordered the door. We were not informed about this. According to the builder, it was not foreseeable that we would extend the terrace so extensively (by the way, the terrace is small—what else could we have done?). He also suggested buying a new door that is a bit shorter. However, he will not cover the additional costs (about €1000). This is obviously unacceptable, as we have invested a lot of money in the project.
Do you have any ideas on what else we could try?
We are currently planning the garden for our newly built semi-detached house.
Our rear terrace is supposed to be level with the house and laid with ceramic tiles.
Unfortunately, it has turned out that the side door of the garage (1 m x 2 m) cannot be opened. The terrace would be 3 cm (1 inch) higher than the garage.
This is a prefabricated garage from Hörmann.
Two options have been proposed to us:
1. The terrace is set 15 cm (6 inches) lower than the house. This would also require installing a step block.
2. The terrace remains as planned, but a lowered area or plateau is made around the garage side door.
We don’t find either option acceptable, as we want a barrier-free access to the terrace. Option 2 would allow this, but water and dirt would constantly collect in the lowered area.
My suggestion is to remove the door frame of the garage side door and set it slightly higher. About 3 cm (1 inch) would need to be milled above the door frame. According to the builder, this is not possible. The manufacturer reportedly said the construction would be damaged. There is steel directly above the door frame.
We paid extra for this garage side door (€850). If we had known about this problem, we would never have ordered the door. We were not informed about this. According to the builder, it was not foreseeable that we would extend the terrace so extensively (by the way, the terrace is small—what else could we have done?). He also suggested buying a new door that is a bit shorter. However, he will not cover the additional costs (about €1000). This is obviously unacceptable, as we have invested a lot of money in the project.
Do you have any ideas on what else we could try?
face26 schrieb:
Please provide some information (some of which has already been requested). The easiest way would be a plan with dimensions showing what is located where, so that one can get a clear idea. ypg schrieb:
I’m also missing a simple 2D plan that shows how the garage door/garage is positioned relative to the terrace/house. pim1985 schrieb:
Thanks for the replies. Will there be any further information provided here?
hanse987 schrieb:
Are you even allowed to build such a large terrace on the small plot? What is your floor area ratio and what floor area ratio is permitted?I am allowed to, but that is not the issue.
If it’s really only about 3 cm (1 inch), that can be managed, nobody will notice it from a distance. Cutting or grinding around the door will void the manufacturer’s warranty and liability.
The bricks rise higher than the garage, and if nothing is done about that, it will no longer be accessible without barriers.
We never really worried about issues like this during the house construction. If problems occurred, there was always a solution, and it was rarely a topic for long discussions. But cutting around the door is by far the worst option — first, it usually leads to rust, which doesn’t look good, the warranty and guarantee are lost, and if the door gets damaged in the process, repairs can become expensive.
The bricks rise higher than the garage, and if nothing is done about that, it will no longer be accessible without barriers.
We never really worried about issues like this during the house construction. If problems occurred, there was always a solution, and it was rarely a topic for long discussions. But cutting around the door is by far the worst option — first, it usually leads to rust, which doesn’t look good, the warranty and guarantee are lost, and if the door gets damaged in the process, repairs can become expensive.
First of all, hats off to the architect for having the courage to plan a "cozy" seating area for four on a 2-meter (6.5 feet) deep terrace.
An Aco Drain channel is installed in front of the garage side door as this is the lowest point, then the surface slopes gently toward the terrace door. From there, the terrace remains level (with a slight slope away from the house) to allow for the barrier-free door.
The only drawback is that the terrace slopes not just in one direction, but the gradient will be very gentle and hardly noticeable. I wouldn’t recommend steps here—especially not a 15 cm (6 inch) step right at the door followed by another step up toward the garage.
You also have to like the enclosed parking space inside the garage, but a lack of space calls for creativity. It’s also not allowed everywhere if a second parking space is required.
An Aco Drain channel is installed in front of the garage side door as this is the lowest point, then the surface slopes gently toward the terrace door. From there, the terrace remains level (with a slight slope away from the house) to allow for the barrier-free door.
The only drawback is that the terrace slopes not just in one direction, but the gradient will be very gentle and hardly noticeable. I wouldn’t recommend steps here—especially not a 15 cm (6 inch) step right at the door followed by another step up toward the garage.
You also have to like the enclosed parking space inside the garage, but a lack of space calls for creativity. It’s also not allowed everywhere if a second parking space is required.
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