ᐅ House Construction – Low Ceiling Height with a Maximum Wall Height of 4.50 m

Hello everyone,

According to the zoning plan, the following guidelines apply in our building area:

The height of buildings (§ 16 of the Land Use Ordinance) is defined by the maximum allowable wall height (WH) and the maximum allowable total building height (GH). For "General Residential Areas," the following apply: (WA1) maximum WH 4.50 meters (15 feet) and maximum GH 8.50 meters (28 feet) The lower reference point is the averaged height of the road surface edge parallel to the street boundary line of the respective building plot. For plots with more than one street boundary line, the reference is the one where the driveway is located. The heights specified by the street development plan are decisive. The upper reference point for the maximum wall height is the intersection of the rising masonry with the top edge of the uppermost roof covering. The specified maximum wall height does not apply to the gable sides of buildings with a pitched roof, (half-)hip roof, or staggered shed roof, as well as the gable side of dormers.

maximum WH 4.50 meters (15 feet) and GH 8.50 meters (28 feet)

Now, our architect says that for a two-story house with a pitched roof, the heights could be divided as follows:
Ground floor ceiling height – 2.58 meters (8 feet 6 inches)
Knee wall height upper floor – 1.19 meters (3 feet 11 inches)

Isn’t that a bit low?
He was also quite certain that this cannot be done differently.

We were assuming a ceiling height on the ground floor of 2.75 meters (9 feet) and a knee wall height of 1.4 meters (4 feet 7 inches).

How are we supposed to know?
At what height is your house situated? How thick are the ceilings? How high is the floor construction? Will the foundation slab be recessed?
Before we spend a long time guessing about your plot, it would probably be easiest if your architect sends you an elevation drawing of a simple gable roof house as an example with the corresponding measurements included.

eNdless2k schrieb:

Ground floor ceiling height – 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in)
Knee wall height upper floor – 1.19 m (3 ft 11 in)

Isn’t that a bit low?

We also have a ceiling height of 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) on the ground floor and a knee wall height of 1.08 m (3 ft 6 in) on the upper floor, and we’re very comfortable with it :p
The first time we ran into an issue was this year with our new box spring bed. Usually, the headboards of box spring beds are about 115 cm (45 inches) tall, so it didn’t fit under the sloping roof. I just shortened the headboard by a few centimeters and that solved the problem.

eNdless2k schrieb:

We have a ceiling height downstairs of 2.75m (9 feet).

That is pure luxury and far from standard. Unless you are referring to the rough construction ceiling height.

eNdless2k schrieb:

Maximum ceiling height 4.50m (14 ft 9 in)

eNdless2k schrieb:

We assumed a room height of 2.75m (9 ft) at the bottom and a knee wall height of 1.4m (4 ft 7 in).

However, this conflicts and is therefore not feasible. You also have to include the intermediate ceiling and floor slab.
And no: 2.58m (8 ft 6 in) is not too low; it is standard.

eNdless2k schrieb:

Maximum wall height 4.50m (15 feet) and maximum ridge height 8.50m (28 feet)

Now our architect says that for a two-story house with a gable roof, the heights could be distributed as follows:
Ground floor ceiling height – 2.58m (8 feet 6 inches)
Knee wall on upper floor – 1.19m (3 feet 11 inches)

We were assuming a ground floor ceiling height of 2.75m (9 feet) and a knee wall of 1.4m (4 feet 7 inches).

Aside from doubting that even the minimum heights mentioned will be met once all details are considered, the heights of 2.58m and 1.19m are perfectly fine.

We faced the same maximum wall height limit of 4.5m and ended up with 2.55m (8 feet 4 inches) floor-to-ceiling height and a 1.03m (3 feet 5 inches) knee wall. Possibly, we could have squeezed out 1.10m (3 feet 7 inches), but 1.4m is unrealistic. Ultimately, though, we don’t really miss the extra height.