Hello everyone,
I’m asking out of curiosity if there are any homeowners here who have built a gable roof and deliberately chose not to make the knee wall as high as possible? Many are restricted by zoning regulations or planning permission, but some are not.
We built a gable roof in 2018/2019 with a knee wall height of 1.30 m (4 feet 3 inches) interior measurement, a roof pitch of 38 degrees, and just under 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft) of living space. Since we don’t have any specific zoning restrictions here, we could have built it differently or higher. However, we decided against it for the following reasons:
- We actually like sloped ceilings, as long as we’re not talking about a knee wall of only 40 cm (16 inches). It feels particularly cozy in the bedrooms.
- We are both only 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall and therefore hardly feel restricted. If we were taller, it would probably be a different story.
- At the time, a gable roof with a very high knee wall didn’t appeal to us visually at all (it somehow looked too “leggy”); meanwhile, I (my partner does not) also find houses with a high knee wall and a shallower roof pitch very stylish. The only downside is that it reduces the size of the attic.
I’m really looking forward to your replies.
Best regards
I’m asking out of curiosity if there are any homeowners here who have built a gable roof and deliberately chose not to make the knee wall as high as possible? Many are restricted by zoning regulations or planning permission, but some are not.
We built a gable roof in 2018/2019 with a knee wall height of 1.30 m (4 feet 3 inches) interior measurement, a roof pitch of 38 degrees, and just under 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft) of living space. Since we don’t have any specific zoning restrictions here, we could have built it differently or higher. However, we decided against it for the following reasons:
- We actually like sloped ceilings, as long as we’re not talking about a knee wall of only 40 cm (16 inches). It feels particularly cozy in the bedrooms.
- We are both only 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall and therefore hardly feel restricted. If we were taller, it would probably be a different story.
- At the time, a gable roof with a very high knee wall didn’t appeal to us visually at all (it somehow looked too “leggy”); meanwhile, I (my partner does not) also find houses with a high knee wall and a shallower roof pitch very stylish. The only downside is that it reduces the size of the attic.
I’m really looking forward to your replies.
Best regards
@Deadree Well, the word "wuchtig" can be perceived as having a negative connotation – but that’s certainly not the intention. Of course, an exterior wall that is 6.5 meters (21 feet) high is initially more massive than a 4-meter (13 feet) wall. How it appears naturally depends on the architecture and the overall context (landscape, neighboring buildings, possibly tree cover, etc.). I can also easily imagine the effect at 22° (22 degrees Celsius).
Deadree schrieb:
I find the exterior of our house quite charmingI don’t think so at all... is it posted anywhere here in the house photo thread or similar?https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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bauherr2019_he17 Dec 2021 20:45ypg schrieb:
Yes, it’s funny… that’s what happens when you ask someone directly but someone else (in this case the original poster) answers instead. Sorry for joining the discussion here ;-) now you have two answers on the topic, which isn’t a bad thing.
ypg schrieb:
If I have a gable roof house of 160 sqm (1722 sq ft), I basically have two floors with 91 sqm (979 sq ft), but only 69 sqm (743 sq ft) of actual living space upstairs. The remaining 22 sqm (237 sq ft) belongs to a larger attic area, which is still usable. That’s why we always compared the floor area back then, because for us the living space alone was not the only relevant factor for exactly this reason.
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bauherr2019_he17 Dec 2021 20:55Deadree schrieb:
Why is a house with 2 full floors and a gable roof automatically considered "massive"?
I honestly have never heard that before.I have actually seen or heard that quite often. But of course, it’s not automatically the case. It also depends a lot on the roof pitch. If it’s relatively shallow, a gable roof can look really attractive. And in the end, it’s a matter of personal taste what appeals more. In my opinion, a house with a lower knee wall looks more pleasing, but as I said, that’s entirely subjective :-) I would also be interested in seeing a photo of the house.
11ant schrieb:
I don’t think so... is it posted anywhere in the house pictures thread or similar?Not yet. My husband isn’t a fan of me putting pictures of it online.
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bauherr2019_he17 Dec 2021 21:1911ant schrieb:
No, I meant it differently. Yvonne said so.
And that’s why I meant that the larger part of the knee wall is the part added beyond the dimension “used” for practical purposes. Luxury is always anything beyond actual need.
On the contrary: substitute villas are popular because of the profit margin: if the attic is designed as a full upper floor with the desired ceiling height, more courses of bricks are needed for the higher straight walls, and as a builder you can pocket some of the savings because instead of an elaborate roof structure, you can put a cheap flat roof on top. The same trick is done again with the staircase: the straight stair for budget buyers is cheaper in design, construction, manufacturing, and installation (profit booster phase 1 a to d) and is also so simple that the customer gladly compensates with an upgrade of the floor covering – this upgrade then becomes profit booster phase 2). But as the builder of a gable roof house, don’t I pay more if I build, for example, 20 sqm (215 sq ft) more floor area (above and below) than if I significantly raise my knee wall?
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