Kneewalls in Victoria's Cottage.

[CREATIVE1]

I'm a little confused about the kneewall height in the Victoria's Cottage plans.  It looks like they are at least 42 inches, although I can't find any direct measurements in the plans  Is it true that the maximum kneewall height is 48 inches for a 1 1/2 story??

[PEG688]

C 1 Look on page 1/3 "alternative cross section",  you'll see over all OL wall hieght of 12' 4 1/2" , which is a 12 ' stud and 3 ea.  1 1/2" plates  , Then note the 7' 6" under loft sub floor , assuming your using 1 1/2" T&G subfloor you'd be looking at 4' 9" from the top of the loft subfloor to top of top plate.

I don't know if there is a hard and fast rule for the height of the knee wall, but if it got higher than 5' or 6 ' you'd be starting to become a two storey house and rules then would change .  So as long as you stick with the 12' 4 1/2" number and either the 7'6" or 8' number to top of joist in the other detail you'll be ok I would think.

 Hope that helps .

G/L PEG

[John Raabe]

That's right. You can also find these on section A-A. The top of the wall says T.P. 12'- 4 1/2" (12' stud and three plates). Then you set the height of the beams to determine the ceiling height below and the kneewall height above. Section A-A has the 5' Dia. spiral stair and the tops of the beams are at 8' - 0". The "Alternative Cross Section with Steep Stair" has the beams set lower on the main floor which makes the short stair work better and gives you a higher kneewall with more headroom in the loft.