ᐅ Are building plans with a 1-meter knee wall still considered up-to-date?
Created on: 24 Aug 2020 01:11
K
KEVST
Hello everyone.
Plots are getting smaller and building costs are rising. So why are development plans for new residential areas still requiring a knee wall height of about 1 meter (3 feet), and that with only one possible full story? I understand the goal is to create a uniform appearance, but why restrict homeowners so much with a 1 meter (3 feet) knee wall? The definition of a full story should already set clear limits. But not at just one meter (3 feet)... The often permitted ridge height of 9 to 10 meters (30 to 33 feet) would allow much simpler planning.
Yet no... People are often forced to use skylights, dormers, and similar features to create sufficiently bright and usable space in the upper floor. Sometimes, there is no other choice but to increase the ground floor area to accommodate this upper-floor space. All of this only drives up building costs unnecessarily.
I’ve always disliked sloped ceilings, but honestly, you can’t really make a 1 meter (3 feet) knee wall look good...
What are your thoughts?
Plots are getting smaller and building costs are rising. So why are development plans for new residential areas still requiring a knee wall height of about 1 meter (3 feet), and that with only one possible full story? I understand the goal is to create a uniform appearance, but why restrict homeowners so much with a 1 meter (3 feet) knee wall? The definition of a full story should already set clear limits. But not at just one meter (3 feet)... The often permitted ridge height of 9 to 10 meters (30 to 33 feet) would allow much simpler planning.
Yet no... People are often forced to use skylights, dormers, and similar features to create sufficiently bright and usable space in the upper floor. Sometimes, there is no other choice but to increase the ground floor area to accommodate this upper-floor space. All of this only drives up building costs unnecessarily.
I’ve always disliked sloped ceilings, but honestly, you can’t really make a 1 meter (3 feet) knee wall look good...
What are your thoughts?
11ant schrieb:
Correct. But the same roof pitch with a higher eaves height results in a greater overall height.With a higher eaves height, the roof does not have to be as steep to create living space.
11ant schrieb:
Increasing the eaves height does give the building a more "massive" volume; the term "high-rise" was, of course, meant figuratively.Does a dormer that extends the eaves-side facade upwards by 50% of its length appear noticeably less "massive"?
KEVST schrieb:
Does a dormer that extends the eaves-side facade upward by 50% of its length appear significantly less bulky? The limit is usually one third, and even that often leads to complaints. I find any bulge unnecessary if it mainly looks like a hump, wart, or bump. But I admit I am a self-proclaimed half-hipped dormer "hater."
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Aside from that, the eaves height also marks a dividing line between facade windows and roof windows, and having very high knee walls can actually be quite counterproductive. Practical knee walls for height windows are typically between about (clear) 1.0 and 1.2 m (3.3 and 4.0 ft) above the finished floor level of the attic.
Hello 11ant,
could you perhaps briefly explain what you mean by "quite counterproductive"?
In what way might we be doing ourselves a disservice with the planned use of up to 1.3 m (4.3 ft)?
You have included the content of the well-intentioned but unhelpful comment in your quotation of my post: Eaves height is always a crucial and dividing factor: a window on the eaves side either has its bottom edge above the eaves line (as a roof window) or (as a facade window) its top edge below it, or it is located in a dormer. Based on my additional experience as a former window manufacturer, I also advise against running windows continuously across the junction between facade and roof. Interestingly, on this point the mainstream opinion and I agree once—in the past, windows spanning the knee wall were a fad about forty years ago and went out of fashion even before shoulder pads did thirty years ago.
With a knee wall height of 130cm (51 inches), I do not see the issue of having the eaves line appear as a “beam in the view” as dramatic; depending on the viewer’s position in the room, this remains fairly acceptable even with a knee wall of 150cm (59 inches). However, knee wall heights in the “window” range of 160 to 200cm (63 to 79 inches) are, in my opinion, in an unfavorable zone.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
With a knee wall height of 130cm (51 inches), I do not see the issue of having the eaves line appear as a “beam in the view” as dramatic; depending on the viewer’s position in the room, this remains fairly acceptable even with a knee wall of 150cm (59 inches). However, knee wall heights in the “window” range of 160 to 200cm (63 to 79 inches) are, in my opinion, in an unfavorable zone.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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