ᐅ Parapet Height for Windows, Balconies & Railings – What to Consider?

@Lanini I have the same concerns. Is 94.5cm (37 inches) too high or 82cm (32 inches) too low? According to our planner, the shell construction height is planned to be 1.25m (4 feet 1 inch) and the floor structure would be about 18cm (7 inches). However, the windowsill of around 2cm (0.8 inches) would also be added, making it 96.5cm (38 inches). Does anyone have such high window sills?

Regards
Sabine

That height would be too high for me. However, it also depends on the total window area you have, and whether the room still needs the extra light that results from a lowered sill height. Usually, the windows get larger because of that. Another point, in my opinion, is that with a relatively low sill height you can still comfortably look out of the window while sitting on the sofa, whereas high sills tend to feel less cozy.

Clearly over 90 cm (window sill height relative to the finished floor surface) would feel too high in children's rooms, bedrooms, and living areas. Otherwise, see fireworks --> It's not only the viewing or fall height (on the upper floor) that matters, but also the entire window area (which can be related to the floor area; reference values can be found).

On the internet, I found a general guideline suggesting a minimum window area of at least 1/8 of the floor area, but I have also read that nowadays larger window sizes than 1/8 of the floor area are recommended. Does anyone perhaps have a more updated guideline?

I calculated all the windows in our planned house. In the hallways on the ground floor and upper floor, as well as in the utility room, we do not reach the 1/8 guideline—we fall slightly below it. In all other rooms, our window areas exceed the guideline significantly; in the living-dining-kitchen area, the window area is almost three times as large. In the hallways, we will use glass doors anyway, since larger windows are not possible there, and in the utility room, I don’t think the window area matters much since it is not a living space. The windows with the questionable sill height are all on the upper floor, where the window areas in the rooms all exceed the guideline by a wide margin, so this is not really relevant for this thread.

Last night, I measured the sill heights in our current apartment; they are 82 cm (32 inches) to the bottom edge of the windowsill. In my office at work, the sill height is 101 cm (40 inches). Honestly, I find both sill heights perfectly acceptable. In our house, the current plan would be a middle ground between these two, leaning towards the sill height in my office. The advantage of the “higher” sill is, of course, that a desk, dresser, or similar furniture can be placed underneath more easily (for the children’s room). The advantage of the “lower” sill would be that when lying in bed, you can see out of the window better, and smaller children can also look outside (this applies to at least one children’s room and the master bedroom; the second children’s room also has a floor-to-ceiling window). I think we will visit a model home center again this weekend to measure sill heights in different houses and see which height feels most comfortable, then decide whether to lower the sill height or keep it as is. Ultimately, I think both heights are fine and just a matter of preference—we’re only talking about a difference of 12.5 cm (5 inches)!

@ Curly: Sorry for hijacking your thread with my question ops:.