Searching the forum and the internet has so far been unsuccessful, so I’m asking the question here:
For our house building project, the architect expects a “very low” knee wall when installing a shed dormer in the attic and has mentioned a cross-gable dormer as a potential alternative. However, we are not very keen on that option due to the appearance and shading on the ground floor.
I wanted to understand this better and took some measurements in our current rental apartment, which has a shed dormer:
I don’t know the thickness of the roof insulation in the rental unit but will assume it meets “current standards” (built in 2019). The window sill in the dormer is about 27 cm (11 inches) higher than the knee wall, measured from the inside floor level.
Can it be assumed that with a lower knee wall, the sill height would decrease proportionally by the same amount?
In other words: would a knee wall of around 90 cm (35 inches) result in a window sill height of approximately 117 cm (46 inches)?
In my opinion, the windows in the rental apartment are too high. For our own build, I am looking for the sweet spot between having a knee wall that is “high enough” and dormer windows that are “low enough.”
I would appreciate any insights or experiences, especially if someone wants to take measurements in their own home.
For our house building project, the architect expects a “very low” knee wall when installing a shed dormer in the attic and has mentioned a cross-gable dormer as a potential alternative. However, we are not very keen on that option due to the appearance and shading on the ground floor.
I wanted to understand this better and took some measurements in our current rental apartment, which has a shed dormer:
I don’t know the thickness of the roof insulation in the rental unit but will assume it meets “current standards” (built in 2019). The window sill in the dormer is about 27 cm (11 inches) higher than the knee wall, measured from the inside floor level.
Can it be assumed that with a lower knee wall, the sill height would decrease proportionally by the same amount?
In other words: would a knee wall of around 90 cm (35 inches) result in a window sill height of approximately 117 cm (46 inches)?
In my opinion, the windows in the rental apartment are too high. For our own build, I am looking for the sweet spot between having a knee wall that is “high enough” and dormer windows that are “low enough.”
I would appreciate any insights or experiences, especially if someone wants to take measurements in their own home.
Mal Bauen schrieb:
For our house construction project, the architect expects a "very low" knee wall when installing a catslide dormer in the attic and mentioned a cross-gable dormer as a possible alternative. Just because of the entrance projection https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-neubau-auf-bungalow-bestandskeller-1-5-geschossige.44686/, I already see a cross-gable dormer here, and I hope for a significantly higher knee wall; otherwise, the conversion would be quite pointless.
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Mal Bauen21 Mar 2023 20:1811ant schrieb:
I am hoping for a significantly increased knee wall heightI hope so too, and I have communicated this to the architect accordingly. Let’s see what they come back with. As soon as it is available, I will share the results in the main thread.Mal Bauen schrieb:
I hope so too, and I have conveyed this to the architect accordingly. Let’s see what comes back. As soon as it’s available, I will share the results in the main thread. The problem is that without a significant knee wall height increase, a noticeable gain in living space would only be possible with an extension — or at least by having the ground floor overhang the basement on the gable side. I find it surprising that you have already presented a specific draft for discussion but haven’t yet shared any preliminary work (feasibility study) from the architect. That’s usually how the whole process starts.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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Mal Bauen21 Mar 2023 21:34The plan is to expand the attic by raising the knee walls and adding dormers, while keeping the same floor plan (as defined by the basement).
The floor plan from post #1 in the main thread is now a partially discarded design by a prefabricated house vendor. I posted it for completeness to provide all the data available at that time. This is probably causing more confusion now.
In the meantime, we have started anew with pencil and paper, working with a “proper” architect...
The floor plan from post #1 in the main thread is now a partially discarded design by a prefabricated house vendor. I posted it for completeness to provide all the data available at that time. This is probably causing more confusion now.
In the meantime, we have started anew with pencil and paper, working with a “proper” architect...
Mal Bauen schrieb:
The floor plan from post #1 of the main thread is by now a (at least partially) discarded design from a prefabricated house seller. [...]
In the meantime, we have started again from scratch, with pencil and paper, working with a "real" architect...And did they then verify how approvable the knee wall of 140cm (55 inches) shown there would be?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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Mal Bauen21 Mar 2023 22:30Do you mean approval in terms of the development plan (maximum building height, eaves height, etc.)?
The working assumption is still that a higher knee wall (and a steeper roof) would be approved. There is no development plan available, and around us there is a mix of various house styles (two-story, three-story, flat roof, hip roof, gable roof). Our current bungalow is quite modest in comparison.
The surveyor came last week and also measured the neighboring buildings. With his results, we will have a clearer idea of how well our building fits into the existing development. If there are any doubts, a building permit inquiry / planning pre-application will probably be considered.
The working assumption is still that a higher knee wall (and a steeper roof) would be approved. There is no development plan available, and around us there is a mix of various house styles (two-story, three-story, flat roof, hip roof, gable roof). Our current bungalow is quite modest in comparison.
The surveyor came last week and also measured the neighboring buildings. With his results, we will have a clearer idea of how well our building fits into the existing development. If there are any doubts, a building permit inquiry / planning pre-application will probably be considered.
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