ᐅ Single-family house without a basement – creating additional usable space elsewhere

Hello everyone,

We are building our single-family house without a basement with the following specifications:

Gable roof with a 45° pitch
Knee wall 1m (3.3 ft)
Living area: 148 m² (1,593 sq ft)
House dimensions: 8.95m x 11.32m (29.4 ft x 37.2 ft)

We want to compensate for the lack of storage space from the missing basement through the following measures:

• Make the attic accessible
• Build an extended single garage
• Build a spacious garden shed

I have questions regarding the following points:

1 - Attic:

This is a cold roof, meaning the floor between the upper floor and attic is insulated with mineral wool and has a vapor barrier in between.

The goal is to create more storage space. The attic is not intended to be used as living space.

For this purpose, I want to use tongue-and-groove boards, as these are vapor permeable compared to OSB panels and therefore prevent issues with rising moisture from the upper floor.

Questions:

• So far, a pull-down attic ladder is planned. My wife prefers a fixed space-saving staircase with a railing for easier access. In my view, this should be no problem as long as the access hatch to the attic remains insulated. Are there suitable solutions for this?
• We would also like to dry wet laundry in the attic. In our case, is this unproblematic? I believe the evaporated moisture could easily escape.
• What do you think, how much effectively usable floor area would this create?
• Do you have any personal experience with this?

The attached picture is provided as an example.

2 - Garage

The garage is planned to be 3.45m (11.3 ft) wide and 9m (29.5 ft) long. Inside the garage, a partition wall will be installed to separate the parking space from a storage area. Do you have recommendations for manufacturers or personal experience with this?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards,
Enno