Knee wall according to the development plan

Hello,

we are now almost at the end of the preparation planning for our duplex and are now going into the sampling phase.
We have redesigned the architect's plan a bit according to our wishes as far as the development permits.
Until now, the architect always spoke of a knee wall height of 1.69 (gable roof 28 degrees). Now the final plan for our sampling appointment has arrived, along with the cost estimate; here a knee wall of 1.30 was drawn. In response to my question (to the architect), he told us that yes, the knee wall refers to the exterior knee wall. There was never any mention of it being an exterior knee wall in all the personal conversations. We assumed it was an interior knee wall (which was also noted on our builder’s cost calculation). Now a credit (builder) has come for the lower knee wall. Do we have to accept this? We now have a cost increase of about €44,000, however, the balcony was not as plannable as we would have liked, the knee wall is lower, etc. According to the contract of work, we signed for a house with 154 sqm and a 160 knee wall, but according to building regulations, this cannot be planned this way, and due to this entire redesign (statics, etc.), we are now €44,000 more expensive.

Hello,

we are now in the preparatory planning for our semi-detached house

Entire semi-detached house or semi-detached house half?

In response to my question (to the architect), he told us yes, the knee wall refers to the external knee wall. This was never mentioned in all the personal conversations that it is an external knee wall.

There is no "external knee wall"; here in the Rhineland, we distinguish between knee wall (inside) and dwarf wall (outside); however: "dwarf wall" as well as "knee wall" are not firmly defined terms within the state building regulations and are therefore interpreted differently from state to state.

But however your building authority decides - knee wall or dwarf wall - all states agree on one thing: it is always measured from the outside and usually at the intersection of dwarf wall and roof covering.

We now have a cost increase of approx. €44,000, but the balcony was not as plannable as we would have liked, the knee wall is lower etc.. According to the construction contract, we signed up for a house with 154 sqm and a 160 knee wall, but according to the building regulations, this cannot be planned this way and due to the entire replanning (statics etc.) we are now €44,000 more expensive

That is formulated rather confusingly - could you please express yourself more clearly? Why is a balcony so expensive and for what reason, and how do the €44,000 break down?

Kind regards

Hi,

this cannot be planned like that according to the building regulations and because of this whole re-planning (statics etc.) we are now
44,000,-- € more expensive

Well, I don’t really understand the whole thing either. How can a reduction of the knee wall cause additional costs?
Or did you sign a contract for a house that is not even approvable? And now you have to pay extra costs for minor static calculations?

Regards

So, everything is going wrong for us. The knee wall can only be 1.30 meters due to the height of the house (it may only be 9 meters). Signed according to the contract for work with a 1.60 meter knee wall (the seller and architect had the building plan in front of them), shouldn’t we have been told here already, "Attention, the knee wall can only be 1.30"? At the house, we have a gable with a balcony (additional costs €11,000), as well as additional costs for floor-to-ceiling windows, etc., but the biggest cost factor is probably that the structural calculation for the house must be done differently. According to the contract for work, we signed a house with the dimensions 10.04 by 9.42 meters. That is not possible for a semi-detached house design. Now we have 6.50 by 14.50 meters (the other house is the same). So, we were at a price of "ready for finishing" of €214,000 (according to the contract for work with 154 sqm = €176,000). But now it turns out that we are not allowed to build a knee wall of 1.60, but only 1.30 (based on the width of 6.50 meters). The credit here amounts to €2,100. My question now is how do they calculate the €2,100?

Why are you signing a contract for a house that you cannot build?

Hello,

Why are you signing a contract for a house that you cannot build?

I would phrase the question a little differently: Why does the developer sell an ignorant customer a house that he is not even allowed to build?

In my eyes, that is gross negligence and, according to my legal understanding (and I mean only according to my legal understanding), an invalid contract.
So I would really consult a lawyer to see if something can be done about it........

Does the contract actually state on which plot the purchased house is supposed to be built?

oh yes, and once again an argument in favor of architect-designed houses.
The architect has to provide you with a house that can get approval. If he designs a house that cannot be approved, and any additional or reduced costs arise, he naturally passes them on 1:1. Everything is transparent and comprehensible because the architect has no financial loss or gain from it.

Regards