Garage floor higher than in building permit, Bavaria

Hello everyone,

we are currently thinking about our driveway and garage.

We are building a steel garage on paving next to our single-family house.

From our point of view, it would be great if the garage floor is about 9cm higher than in the site plan of the building permit. The overall garage height will still be significantly lower than in the plan (our architect simply assumed a garage with a maximum of 3m for the building permit).

Our architect says that as long as we stay under 3m, it doesn’t matter. The garage itself is not excessively large and, according to our architect and the garage builder, does not require approval (as long as I stay under 3m).

I will also inquire with the municipality. Nevertheless, I wanted to get an opinion here as well.

Thank you very much in advance and best regards.

If the architect says no problem, that is enough for me.

The surveyors only check the position of the house and the outbuildings anyway, in my opinion. No one will notice the garage is 9cm higher.

We are building a steel garage on paving next to our single-family house. From our point of view, it would be great if the floor of the garage is about 9cm higher than in the site plan of the building permit.

So you have apparently switched from a "construction-side" concrete garage to steel, with essentially the same size. Legally, I consider this too insignificant to initiate a modification to the approved plan for that reason alone. However, it might be necessary to check the development plan regarding how the thing should look (the wall thickness is none of the municipality’s business, but plaster might possibly be required). Technically, I wonder what your concern is: do you want to place the walls of the garage "in" the paving rather than "on" it?

So you apparently opted from concrete to steel for a "builder-provided" prefabricated garage, with essentially the same size. Legally, I consider that too insignificant to require a separate amendment to the approved planning. However, it might be necessary to check with the development plan how the thing is supposed to look (the wall thickness is not the municipality’s concern, but possibly plastering can be required). Technically, I wonder what your goal is: do you want to place the walls of the garage "in" instead of "on" the paving?

The steel garage is plastered on the outside and from the outside you can't see any difference compared to other garages. Background: Our architect didn’t quite plan the driveway correctly. According to the drawing in the construction plan, we have a slight slope towards the garage, actually we have a slight decline towards the garage.

This is probably because he took the street with the canal as the reference height for our corner lot, the street on the driveway side, but it is somewhat higher. Basically, that’s okay since otherwise we would have to fill in a lot (we already have to do some filling, old plot).

My thought: If we now lay the garage 9 cm higher, the driveway could be almost laid straight. The slope for drainage would then have to run toward the middle of the driveway. ADVANTAGE: we would have only a shallow step to the front door.

I have recalculated it now: over 7.7 m, we have a height difference curb -> garage of 13 cm. That is a slope of 1.69%. That seems quite low to me. Is it possible to plan the driveway (length 7.7 m; width 6 m) so that it rises slightly towards the front door? Then my problem with the step might be nicely solved and the floor of the garage could be built as planned.

I should sit down with our garden landscaper. Unfortunately, he is very busy and hard to reach. What would you recommend? Am I maybe overthinking this too much?

Normally, you are not allowed to drain the driveway onto the street. Drainage towards the center is generally okay, but do not rely solely on one channel. It can become clogged or simply be overloaded during extreme weather. In that case, the water should be able to flow in a direction where it does no damage. This specifically means not towards the front door, which should always be slightly above the other surfaces.

The steel garage is plastered on the outside and from the outside you cannot see any difference from other garages.

Excuse me, but I’m not inexperienced enough to believe that. How do you want to permanently bridge the valleys of the grooving? Much "more" than a stracciatella sand dressing can hardly fake a plaster. We also have plenty of threads here about that.

Background: Our architect did not plan the driveway quite correctly.

You put that very "diplomatically." Your "architect" (= more likely here someone fitting drawings into a building application) seems to be at odds with two issues: with heights in general, and with approval dummies for "construction-side" garages.

Is it possible to plan the driveway (length 7.7m; width 6m) so that it gently slopes up towards the front door? Then my problem with the step might also be nicely solved and the garage floor could be built as planned. I would have to sit down with our garden landscaper. Unfortunately, he is very busy and hard to reach. What would you recommend? Am I perhaps worrying too much about this?

I would recommend that you arm the more accessible forum community to help you with this thinking process. And/or discuss it with a Bircorinnen dealer ;-)