The rule check
See whether each room has the height, the escape window and the daylight the rules ask for: in Norway, Germany and Denmark.
In the video0:38
How to do it
Draw the rooms and give each one its type – bedroom, living room, kitchen – in the panel on the right. Rooms without a type are not checked.
Open the Rule check tab. Choose whether to check as a conversion (a loft or basement made into rooms) or as a new build.
Every room for longer stays gets three results – room height, escape window and daylight – each with a tick, a warning or a cross, one sentence and the rule it comes from.
In the plan, rooms with something to look at get an amber badge, and a red one when a rule isn’t met. The stairs are summed up too.
Change the roof, add a dormer or a bigger window, and watch the results change.
Good to know
- The rule check covers Norway (TEK17), Germany (the Bavarian building code’s room height and daylight, the model code’s rescue window) and Denmark (BR18’s rescue openings and daylight; room height is not checked there yet). Choose the country in the project settings; elsewhere it says what is not checked.
- Escape windows are judged by the clear opening, estimated from the window’s size and frame, by the sill height and by the height above the ground. In Norway a roof window is never rated better than “To check”, and in Germany a window in the roof or in a dormer must be at most 1 m from the eaves.
- The results are notes to check, not decisions. The building authority decides.
Questions and answers
How high must a room be?
It depends on the country. In Norway (TEK17 § 12-7) a room for longer stays needs 2.4 m, or 2.2 m when a loft or basement is converted, and under a roof the check says how much of the floor reaches that height. Germany and Denmark have their own heights, and the app checks against the country you choose.
Does my bedroom need an escape window?
In Norway, away from the entrance floor at least every other room for longer stays needs one, and one is safest where people sleep. The opening must be at least 0.5 × 0.6 m clear, width and height together at least 1.5 m, and at most 1 m above the floor. The rule check estimates this for every window.
Can I rely on the result?
Use it to find problems early, not as an approval. The clear openings and glass areas are estimates, and some rules have exceptions the app cannot see. Your building authority decides.