ᐅ Bavarian Building Regulations – Are Dormers Not Allowed in Low-Slope Roofs?

Hello, we want to build a dormer on a roof with a 25° pitch. An architect told me that the Bavarian building code does not allow this because the roof is too flat; it would need to be at least 35°.
As a layperson reading the regulation, I couldn’t find anything about this. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for any tips.

I believe it is regulated in the building plans.

To ask it differently: what do you want to achieve with the dormer? Either you have a low ceiling height with a shallow roof, in which case the dormer will not be subordinate, or you have a high knee wall, so you won’t be able to use the dormer within a standing-height area. I can understand how someone might consider the first option. However, from a construction standpoint, the dormer would have to be built much too long. I don’t even want to imagine how that would look.

Bienenwabe schrieb:

Hello, we want to build a dormer on a roof with a 25° pitch. An architect told me that the Bavarian building regulations do not allow this because the roof is too shallow and that the minimum pitch must be 35°.
As a layperson, when I read through the regulations, I can’t find anything about this. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks for any advice.

Basically, any protractor can explain this to you: the flatter the roof pitch, the longer the dormer must be to achieve the same height gain. A window 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high results in a dormer about 2.14 m (7 ft) long (assuming you actually mean a “dormer” or a “gable dormer”). Additionally, dormers usually have a lean-to roof with a pitch often not far from 20°, which means the dormer could become infinitely long, requiring a very deep building to still end before the ridge.

I think you should at least discuss a concrete building form first; otherwise, you won’t get anywhere.

By the way, as far as I know, your site development plan only includes the comment

Bienenwabe schrieb:

“We support anything that creates additional building area”

as the community’s position, which the district office usually agrees with.

ypg schrieb:

To ask differently: what exactly do you want to achieve with the dormer?

I can only agree with that.

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Thank you for your comments. What I want to achieve with this is to create space for a desk where it is needed but currently isn’t available.
Appearance and similar aspects are not really important to me.
The trusted carpenter said that structurally it is possible to add a "dormer," as he has seen the plans. Whether it is a cross dormer or a standard dormer is for him to decide.
There is no building plan / planning permission in the area, and there are various types of houses.
As I mentioned, I’m wondering if the Bavarian building regulations include any rules regarding this.

Bienenwabe schrieb:

Thanks for your comments. What I want to achieve is to create space for a desk where it is needed and there isn’t one currently.
The appearance and so on don’t really matter to me.

Oh, have you built in the meantime (and planned with limited standing height)? – show us what would need to be fixed.

Bienenwabe schrieb:

The carpenter I trust said that structurally, you can install a "dormer," he has seen the plans. Whether it’s a gable dormer or a dormer projection, he should decide.

Whether the roof structure is a dormer or a gable dormer depends on its location: if it’s placed on a (lower) purlin or the knee wall, it is a dormer; if it’s set on the exterior wall or the wall plate (knee wall), it’s a gable dormer.

Bienenwabe schrieb:

There is no zoning plan in the area; there are various types of houses around.
As I said, I wonder whether the Bavarian building code includes any regulations on this.

If there is no zoning plan, I don’t see any rejection of the dormer derived from the integration requirement, and I wouldn’t expect the building authority to reject the renovation or even to check compliance with the state building code at all.

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

This is not a building defect, but rather an improvement after purchase. We bought a house, and since the renovation turned out to be less expensive than expected, we are considering moving the home office from the basement to the attic. Unfortunately, a standing desk doesn’t fit there at the moment.

The house has a pyramidal roof with a 1m (3.3 ft) knee wall, and now we are thinking about extending the space slightly on the east and west sides. Appearance is secondary, as mentioned.