Building and structure

Clear height (UKB)

The usable height of a warehouse up to the underside of the roof girders.

Clear height determines how high goods can be stacked and therefore how many pallet positions a floor holds. Modern logistics buildings typically offer 10 to 12 m, high-bay and automated warehouses considerably more. Sprinklers, lights and ducts hang below the girders and reduce the height that can actually be used.

Technical context

Clear height is measured from the finished floor to the underside of the main girders, at the lowest point where roofs are pitched. In new buildings with precast concrete or glulam girders it is largely uniform across the floor, while in older buildings with pitched roofs or trusses it can vary by several metres. Comparisons should therefore rely on the minimum height, not the peak figure in a brochure.

Relevance for use and value

With pallet racking, each additional metre of height usually allows one more racking level. A 12 m building can therefore hold noticeably more pallet positions on the same footprint than an 8 m building. For investors, height is a key driver of alternative-use potential, because modern occupiers design their storage concepts around heights of at least 10 m. Lower buildings remain attractive for production, trades and light industrial, but lose out in competition for high-volume warehousing.

Modern logistics building: 10 to 12 m
Buildings from the 1990s: often 7 to 9 m
High-bay warehouse: over 20 m, up to 40 m

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