Hello,
There is a development plan for a plot of land to be built on, which does not specify a maximum building height but requires that a new house be adapted to the surrounding buildings. These are typical single-family houses with pitched roofs, built around forty years ago.
Now, a so-called townhouse (or urban villa) with the so-called two-thirds compensatory area is preferred. A construction company has already indicated that this would not be a problem. However, if you sign something here and it later turns out that the building authority does not allow such a house to be built, you are tied to that company—even though you might prefer to build a different, approved house with another company.
Therefore, here are my questions:
1) Is the roof of a so-called townhouse officially also classified as a "pitched roof," or is this term reserved only for the aforementioned single-family houses?
2) If a townhouse is approved, could the single-story two-thirds compensatory area be covered with a pitched roof (to allow a possible later conversion, currently just to be used as an attic storage)? Or would it have to be a flat roof?
Thank you very much for all professional answers and personal experiences!
There is a development plan for a plot of land to be built on, which does not specify a maximum building height but requires that a new house be adapted to the surrounding buildings. These are typical single-family houses with pitched roofs, built around forty years ago.
Now, a so-called townhouse (or urban villa) with the so-called two-thirds compensatory area is preferred. A construction company has already indicated that this would not be a problem. However, if you sign something here and it later turns out that the building authority does not allow such a house to be built, you are tied to that company—even though you might prefer to build a different, approved house with another company.
Therefore, here are my questions:
1) Is the roof of a so-called townhouse officially also classified as a "pitched roof," or is this term reserved only for the aforementioned single-family houses?
2) If a townhouse is approved, could the single-story two-thirds compensatory area be covered with a pitched roof (to allow a possible later conversion, currently just to be used as an attic storage)? Or would it have to be a flat roof?
Thank you very much for all professional answers and personal experiences!
Bauexperte schrieb:
I’ve been stumbling over this for a while. What exactly do you mean by that? Possibly a recessed top floor?
Best regards, BauexperteTo be able to have straight walls and deep windows on the upper floor in a single-story surrounding area (in Lower Saxony), there is a regulation that at least one-third of the building must be single-story? – that’s how I understand it, at least.
ypg schrieb:
*clears throat* ......
A reversed shed roof can be described as an offset gable roof – is the building authority lenient in that regard?
However, I have to disagree with the last sentence, because if you orient the roof surfaces in a north-south direction (if allowed), then you actually have a south-facing side for the solar thermal system, right?!
With a hip roof, the roof surface available for a sufficient solar thermal system looks quite limited, since the hip roof tapers sharply and the south-facing roof barely has the minimum area needed for a solar thermal system.
Winsen... Aller or Luhe? Happy to discuss the street by private message... maybe I used to live there I do think that a reversed shed roof would be feasible.
However, the main idea is to build the large window façade facing south for better daylight.
Would that then make planning for a (possibly future) solar system unnecessary?
PS "Luhe"
toxicmolotow schrieb:
I strongly suspect that.
Let’s just leave out the term townhouse... because it won’t be a villa, not even in the city.
I assume it will be a two-story house or possibly a single-story with a recessed upper floor.
Why do you think a shed roof has disadvantages with solar? What do you mean by solar? Solar thermal heating support or photovoltaics?
In the latter case, I find a pyramid roof even less optimal (does that word exist?) than a properly oriented shed roof.Yes, the idea was a house with straight walls on the upper floor and as high ceilings as possible – and to compensate by building a single-story extension on the side – ideally with an unfinished pitched roof for an attic.
Is this possible, or would the extension have to have a flat roof?
The disadvantage of the shed roof would be that (with the planned southwest orientation of the tall window façade) it would hardly be possible to install a meaningful solar system later on the roof area sloping north.
B
Bauexperte7 Apr 2016 10:56hb-julia schrieb:
To have straight walls and deep windows on the upper floor in a one-story surrounding area (in Lower Saxony), there is a rule that at least one-third of the building must be single-story? – at least that’s how I understood it. This has little to do with Lower Saxony specifically but corresponds to nationwide state building codes.
Where the development plan requires gable-roofed houses _and_ a recessed top floor (also called a setback floor) is not explicitly excluded, this option is advisable and generally can be approved. Provided it is actually a recessed top floor; among other things, the exterior walls of the top floor must not be aligned with the exterior walls of the ground floor.
A building with a recessed top floor is not a townhouse in the usual sense, but rather a cube with approximately half a story (about 66% of the ground floor area) as the last full floor. Some have a shed roof, others a double-pitched roof, and others a flat, tent-shaped, or hipped roof. In one of our recent building projects, because a recessed top floor did not provide enough space, we basically built a half attic with a gable roof; however, this was on a two-story building. What I want to emphasize is that not only the development plan matters but also the willingness of the case officer at the responsible building authority _and_ how you approach them.
Best regards, Bauexperte
B
Bauexperte7 Apr 2016 11:05hb-julia schrieb:
Yes, the idea was a house with straight walls on the upper floor and as high ceilings as possible – and as a balance, to build a single-story extension on the side, ideally with an (unfinished) pitched roof used as attic space. Do you mean something like the attached example? Otherwise, please share a picture (with source) so it’s clear exactly what you have in mind.
Source: bbschenk
Regards, Bauexperte
Our house – see the picture – was originally planned as an urban villa with a pitched roof because we knew from the start that photovoltaic panels would be installed on it sooner or later. However, we absolutely wanted two full floors.
With some adjustments to the initial designs (for example, lengthening one side) and fitting it into a sloped site, the result was more of a traditional house – but still with two full floors. The back of the house, by the way, looks like a single-story building due to its position on the slope.
Many options are possible. By the way, I have often read here that a hipped roof isn’t necessarily a bad choice for photovoltaics. You get three sides for panels – east, south, and west – which can potentially provide better energy yield in the morning and evening compared to a purely south-facing roof.
With some adjustments to the initial designs (for example, lengthening one side) and fitting it into a sloped site, the result was more of a traditional house – but still with two full floors. The back of the house, by the way, looks like a single-story building due to its position on the slope.
Many options are possible. By the way, I have often read here that a hipped roof isn’t necessarily a bad choice for photovoltaics. You get three sides for panels – east, south, and west – which can potentially provide better energy yield in the morning and evening compared to a purely south-facing roof.
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