EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS
Selfbuild SELFBUILD.IE
AUTUMN 2018 £3.50 / €3.75
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ALL IRELAND BEST SELLING MAGAZINE FOR SELF-BUILDERS AND HOME IMPROVERS
EDITOR'S LETTER / WELCOME
Welcome... Necessity may be the mother of invention - think of byre dwellings that had cattle downstairs to help keep the house warm - but so is ingenuity. When we asked selfbuilders to submit their projects for publication in Selfbuild magazine, see page 129, we didn’t expect to hear about cattle still playing a part in heating Irish homes. Yet that’s exactly what Matt and Denise Donoghue have achieved in Co Cork with the help of a humble heat pump. Dairy farms spend a lot of money on cooling milk and Matt, assisted by his heating systems engineer, Work, work, came up with a way to use this waste heat for their work hot water and underfloor heating. The home office The heat pump works as any other, the only difference is where the heat is extracted from instead of it being from the air or ground, it’s from the milk. Their story starts page 20. The concept is simple, as all robust designs are, which once again shows how self-builders continue to be at the forefront of innovation and embracing Sliding with sustainable alternatives, and crucially that they’re style Pocket doors willing to invest in them.
Irish design heroes The contemporaries
Lego land
Building with insulating concrete formwork
Astrid Madsen - Editor astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie
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PROJECTS
ADVICE
Learn from the Irish self-builders who have been through the process of building and home improving
72 TINY HOMES
Living in a house that’s on the small side could be a solution to mortgage debt but planning permission may be an issue.
20 ‘IT TAKES 40 COWS TO HEAT THE HOUSE IN WINTER’
94 ADDING VALUE TO YOUR HOME
See how Denise and Matt Donoghue of Co Cork are harvesting heat for their family home from the milking parlour.
A new kitchen may not necessarily add as much value as you might think, find out where to invest in your home to sell it at the best price.
32 HANDS-ON
It took Siobhan Harkin and Gerry Gormley of Co Antrim three goes, and 16 years, to get the redesign of their farmhouse right.
104 KITCHEN GARDEN HARVEST TIPS
Autumn is the time to reap the rewards of summer’s bounty, here’s how to harvest, pickle, freeze and store.
44 BACK TO BASICS Elaine and Noel O’Connor of Co Roscommon gave their architect free reign to redesign their farmhouse.
56 A GAME OF TWO HALVES
Neighbours sharing a semi-d had to apply for planning permission together to get the planners to allow them to change the appearance of their Co L’Derry seaside homes.
82 ICF BY DESIGN Architect Mel McGerr chose insulating concrete formwork for his home in Co Roscommon to guarantee a thermalbridge-free build.
88 ICF WITH DIY Sarah and Mark Ballantine of Co Antrim built up the insulating concrete formwork walls themselves.
102 DAMP BUSTERS John McIntyre’s house in Co Down was damp and mouldy; the solution was a whole house mechanised ventilation system.
110 OPEN UP TO POCKET DOORS
88 BASICS
Sliding internal doors add style and function to contemporary family homes.
114 WORK AWAY FROM WORK The home office has become a musthave feature of any home; find out how to integrate one in your bedroom or carve out a space in the living room.
Basic information about building or improving your home in any of the 32 counties
126 ASK THE EXPERT
78 INSULATING CONCRETE FORMWORK
INSIDE TRACK
A method of construction that helps you build an airtight and thermal bridge free home without the headaches.
98 SUPERSIZE ME
Nowadays a lot needs to go into the utility room, find out what there is to consider.
100 DEALING WITH DAMP
Moisture and damp are all too common in our homes, here’s a quick guide of how to tackle it.
118 METAL ROOFS Despite being more expensive than traditional roof coverings, metal can inject style to your project.
120 IRISH DESIGN HEROES Inspiration from contemporary Irish designers who aren’t afraid of using bold materials and colours.
Your self-build questions answered.
A showcase of Irish products and services from our sponsors
17 INSIDER NEWS
Product and industry news in the world of building and home improving.
31 INSIDE THE HEAT PUMP
How Denise and Matt Donoghue’s heat pump extracts heat from cow’s milk as explained by Mike Cotter of Alternative Heating & Cooling Ltd.
SELFBUILD: THE ALL-IRELAND
All articles equally cover the 32 counties; when we refer to the Republic of Ireland the abbreviation is ROI. For Northern Ireland it’s NI. AU T U M N 2 0 1 8 / S E L F B U I L D / 0 7
CONTRIBUTORS / TEAM
Contributors
EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS
Selfbuild SELFBUILD.IE
AUTUMN 2018 £3.50 / €3.75
Barry Callaghan
Jackie Carton
Mike Cotter
Caelan is a designer, artist and curator with extensive experience in ecological building design. She’s based in Co Tipperary. caelanbristow.com
Barry is the CEO of Timeless Sash Windows, a family run joinery business based in Co Meath. timelesssashwindows.ie / tel. 046 9023323
Jackie B.A. Des. is an interior designer based in Dublin 16. She is a member of the Interiors Association and of Institute Designers Ireland. stylemyroom.ie / tel. 01 494 8150
Mike is a renewable heating specialist who co-founded Alternative Heating & Cooling Ltd in 2001; he’s based in Co Cork. ahac.ie / tel. 028 23701
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Cover Photo Anders Hviid vipp.com Editor Astrid Madsen astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie Design Myles McCann myles.mccann@selfbuild.ie Shannon Quinn shannon.quinn@selfbuild.ie
Tadhg Feeney
John Flood
Tadhg runs Trustee Safes, a family business with over 40 years’ experience supplying and installing safes. trusteesafes.com / mobile ROI 0862538471 / mobile NI 07955 375213
Architect John Flood is a founder of Dublin-based DMVF Architects and holds an RIAI accreditation in sustainability. dmvf.ie / tel. 01 407 1080
Caroline Irvine
Marion McGarry
Caroline in an architect and award Dr Marion McGarry is an author, historian, winning interior designer who set up part-time Galway Mayo Insititute of her practice Irvine Nash in 2003. She’s Technology lecturer and freelance based in Co Dublin. illustrator. She is the author of The Irish irvine-nash.com / Cottage published by Orpen Press. mobile 087 2987401 @marion_mcgarry
Marketing Calum Lennon calum.lennon@selfbuild.ie Subscriptions Becca.Wilgar becca.wilgar@selfbuild.ie Business Development Manager Niamh Boyle niamh.boyle@selfbuild.ie Advertising Sales David Corry david.corry@selfbuild.ie Nicola Delacour-Dunne nicola.delacour@selfbuild.ie Lisa Killen lisa.killen@selfbuild.ie Maria Varela maria.varela@selfbuild.ie
Fiann Ó Nualláin
Paul O’Reilly
Andrew Stanway
Gerry Walsh
Award winning garden designer, author and broadcaster, Fiann has a background in fine art, ethnobotany and complementary medicine. theholisticgardener.com / @HolisticG
Paul is an award-winning energy consultant with over 25 years’ experience. He is a director of ORS consulting engineers and of Watt Footprint. ors.ie / wattfootprint.com
Andrew is a project manager with over 30 years’ experience. He is also a writer and the author of Managing Your Build published by Stobart Davies.
Gerry has over 20 years’ experience in the renewable energy sector; he is the director of Energy Superstore based in Tullamore, Co Offaly. energysuperstore.ie / tel. 057 932 4062
Come meet more experts at our events in Belfast, Dublin and Cork - turn to page 96 for details NI calling ROI prefix with 00353 and drop the first 0, ROI calling NI prefix with 048
Published by SelfBuild Ireland Ltd. 119 Cahard Rd, Saintfield, Co Down BT24 7LA. Tel: (NI 028 / ROI 048) 9751 0570 / Fax: (NI 028 / ROI 048) 9751 0576 info@selfbuild.ie / selfbuild.ie 0 8 / S E L F B U I L D / AU T U M N 2 0 1 8
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The publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions nor for the accuracy of information reproduced. Where opinions may be given, these are personal and based upon the best information to hand. At all times readers are advised to seek the appropriate professional advice. Copyright: all rights reserved.
H I G H L I G H T S / W H AT ' S N E W
More carbon taxes on the way Levies on fuel and home heating could rise in the next ROI budget, the Irish Independent reports. Carbon taxes on petrol, diesel but also home heating oil and briquettes will ramp up in the coming years as part of “profound changes” in how we live our lives, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told a Project Ireland 2040 event on climate change in June.
Towards 100 per cent renewables ROI Minister for Energy Denis Naughten has announced his proposal for a pilot scheme for homeowners to invest in photovoltaics (generating electricity from the sun) is being finalised and will include not just domestic users but also other microgenerators. Meanwhile, a report from the World Economic Forum shows that by 2050, 100 per cent renewable energy will be achievable thanks to battery storage and peer to peer trading of renewables.
Grants for rural town cottages delayed The Department of Rural and Community Development told Selfbuild in July that their much-awaited pilot scheme to encourage residential occupancy in rural towns and villages is still subject to the work of the Steering Group, which is “ongoing”. The plan for the pilot scheme at this stage is to implement it in “a small number of towns initially with a view, subject to the scheme’s success, to a wider roll-out over time.” If the pilot is successful further funding could be secured under the Project Ireland 2040’s €1 billion rural regeneration and development fund. The department said it hoped to make an announcement before the end of August.
How to add value to your home on page 94
Grenfell sparks call for independent building control in England London local authority building control officers have called for ‘renationalisation’ of building control services in light of the final report into the Grenfell fire in London, which recommended a complete overhaul of the building regulations system. The fire claimed more than 70 lives in June of last year. The government review into the tragedy, led by engineer Judith Hackitt, called for a system that would be able to catch problems at the design and construction stages, and one that would have much tougher sanctions for breaches. The London branch of local authority building control inspectors have highlighted the “fundamental problem in allowing people to choose their own regulator”. In an open letter they stated: “It becomes extremely easy for the ‘regulated person’ to apply financial and commercial pressure to the person who is supposed to be upholding the standards. In a similar case I don’t think anyone would countenance a restaurant employing their own food hygiene inspector.” Building control services in England were privatised in the 1980s and 1990s with an ‘approved inspectors’ regime which allows private companies to provide building control oversight. In NI building control is still within the purview of the local authorities.
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Compliance issues highlighted at wastewater conference
Check it’s registered
A register of competent persons to install wastewater treatment systems was mooted by the ROI Department of Housing at the 10th annual Irish Onsite Wastewater Association (IOWA) conference and exhibition THIS YEAR’S IOWA ANNUAL MEETING did not unveil the much-awaited changes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Code of Practice (CoP) for onsite wastewater systems (<10 p.e.) but instead focused on the issue of installation, certification and liability. The 2009 CoP specifies the kind of wastewater system you’re allowed to install on your selfbuild depending on your ground conditions. Changes to the CoP, which Selfbuild understands will be unveiled in 2019, are expected to make provisions for sites that score a T-value of up to 120 – as opposed to the current maximum T-value of 90. These sites with poor drainage will require specialised pumped systems such as low pressure pipe (LPP) and drip distribution (DD). Ongoing research at Trinity College on both these methods will help inform the updated CoP. Selfbuild understands the new CoP will also provide guidance
on desludging; currently only the Department of Housing has issued guidelines in the context of its onsite wastewater inspection and grant regime. The likely figure for an average family home is to desludge their septic tank every three years. Half of the septic tank failures are due to a lack of desludging, delegates heard. Eamonn Smyth of the Department of Housing argued for Part H of the Building Regulations, which deals with wastewater, to align itself to Part E which deals with sound. Part E states “sound insulation testing should be carried out by a competent person, possessing sufficient training, experience and knowledge in the measurement of sound insulation in buildings.” Furthermore: “Sound insulation tests carried out by a person certified by an independent third party to carry out this work offers a way of ensuring that such certification can be relied upon.” Even though tests must
Time to desludge! If you have an onsite wastewater treatment system and haven’t desludged your septic tank in over three years (or never have) check out the EPA website for information on who to get to do this for you. In addition to emptying the tank, as part of the desludging process the effluent filter, if installed, will have to be cleaned and the distribution boxes in the percolation area be checked. The desludging contractor must be registered for the disposal of effluent so do check that they are. In the case of a packaged system, annual maintenance is vital. Also percolation areas installed with low pressure pipe (LPP) networks must be flushed out annually to function – these aren’t that common nowadays but they do exist and there will be more to come with the Code of Practice update.
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currently be carried out on the wastewater systems, the technical guidance document doesn’t specify by whom. A competent persons register could theoretically be set up by the IOWA. Currently site assessors, who are responsible for determining the ground conditions and what type of system (if any) is suitable for it, generally set out parameters but don’t draw out percolation areas – a job often left to the builders. Builders will usually be in charge of installing the entire system according to the site assessor’s report, but there generally is very little oversight. Smyth told delegates he was aware of a case whereby a builder had installed a packaged wastewater treatment system but hadn’t plugged it in, thinking it was someone else’s responsibility to do so, leading to avoidable system failure (thankfully it was easily fixed by turning on the electricity). If your project ‘opts in’ to appoint an assigned certifier, that person is likely to oversee the installation of the percolation area by the builder, or a ‘design and install’ certificate can be issued by the site assessor if that’s the person who oversees the process. In the case of an ‘opt out’ self-build there’s no need to file a certificate of compliance on the Building Control Management System, but the responsibility rests with the self-builder to ensure the installation of the septic tank and percolation area, and packaged system or other proprietary system if one is installed, are correct and to standard.
AS SELF-BUILDERS IN ROI ARE AWARE, Part H of the building regulations makes it a requirement that all new wastewater treatment systems installed are SR66 compliant. SR66 is a standard devised by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. The Department of Housing advises homeowners and specifiers to check the official list of all SR66 compliant products on: piagmbh.com/ga/referencesirish-certificates/ If you install a proprietary system it must be listed on this website. In the case of septic tanks, a CE marking is not enough – the CE marking means it complies with EU harmonised standards but not necessarily to all Irish-specific requirements. The CE marking comes with a Declaration of Performance which is what needs to be checked to ensure compliance with the Irish building regulations.
In the case of existing sites, if you have a septic tank that has to be replaced you must replace it with one that’s SR66 compliant (see above). This does not require planning permission as you’re replacing something that was already there, however if you increase the footprint/upgrade the system or dig a new hole you will need to secure planning permission, delegates heard.
N E W S / W H AT ' S N E W
Stronger eco-concrete coming to a site near you A stronger and more durable concrete using graphene was developed by the University of Exeter using nanoengineering technology. The new composite material, which is more than twice as strong and four times more water resistant than existing concretes, can be used directly by the construction industry on building sites. All of the concrete samples tested are according to British and European standards for construction. Crucially, the new graphenereinforced concentre material also drastically reduced the carbon footprint of conventional concrete production methods, making it more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This is because by including graphene the amount of materials required to make concrete can be
The new concrete developed using graphene by experts from the University of Exeter (Dimitar Dimov / University of Exeter)
reduced by around 50 per cent, leading to a reduction of 446kg/ tonne of the carbon emissions. The research team says the new technique could pave the way for other nanomaterials to be incorporated into concrete, and so further modernise the construction industry worldwide. The researchers are getting
their product tested by the Building Research Establishment with a view to bring it closer to commercialisation. The research was published in the journal Advanced Functional Material and was supported by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Grants rolled out to test homes for radon The ROI Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will test 1,400 homes for radon levels with a view to rolling out a grant scheme to remediate homes with unsafe levels of the carcinogenic gas, the Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment announced in April. The Radon Testing and Remediation Survey will be allocated €70,000 to undertake a survey in East Galway and Roscommon high risk areas. The MidWest and West of the country are at risk of radon gas exposure yet little testing and remediation is carried out. Radon is colourless, odourless and tasteless and after smoking, it is the next biggest cause of lung cancer in ROI responsible for approximately five cases of lung cancer every week. The study will help inform the design of a new financial incentive scheme, which may be provided for in future legislation, stated Minister Naughten. The areas include Castlerea, Ballinsloes, Ballymoe, Loughrea, Tuam and Ballintober. 200 homes in each of the designated areas will be invited to test. The radon tests were to begin in June with
results by September. If high radon levels are found, the householder will be offered a grant of 50 per cent towards the cost of remediation work. Despite a high level of awareness of radon (the most recent Irish data show awareness at 75 per cent), most people underestimate the seriousness or long-term health effects of radon exposure, with only one in four concerned about radon in their home. Even when individuals are informed that their homes have high radon levels, remediation rates are low. The main barriers to action were found to be that people are “not convinced there is a risk” (35 per cent) and “concern about cost” (34 per cent). radon@epa.ie / tel. 1800 300 600
NI cheapest for energy costs In light of further energy cost hikes in ROI, the Analytical Services Division of the NI Department for the Economy released figures that show NI householders benefit from lower electricity rates than their UK or ROI counterparts. The Energy in Northern Ireland 2018 report shows that in 2017, NI domestic customers had the lowest average unit cost for electricity. Based on an annual consumption figure of 3,800kWh/year, NI had the lowest average annual electricity bill of all 15 UK regions. Electricity costs were 48 per cent cheaper in NI than ROI and 16 per cent cheaper in NI than the rest of the UK. This is in stark contrast to 2015 when NI had the highest unit costs for direct debit customers and the third highest overall unit costs of any UK region. In 2016 the average electricity energy consumption per ROI dwelling stood at 4,600kWh/year. However between 2014 and 2017, NI had the highest weekly expenditure on energy in the UK, 18 per cent higher (at £27.80 per week in the period 2014-2017) compared to the UK average of £23.60. The apparent contradiction between lowest electricity costs and highest energy bills seems to be due to the two time frames (2017 for electricity prices and 2014-2017 for expenditure), also the data for expenditure is based on sample households. There is also NI’s heavy reliance on heating oil; it remains the dominant heating fuel in both NI and ROI rural areas, with two thirds of households using the fossil fuel for central heating. AU T U M N 2 0 1 8 / S E L F B U I L D / 1 1
O N L I N E / W H AT ' S N E W
Online reads Mortgage Underdogs “As a profession we need to celebrate architecture that is within the reach of everyone, not just those with deep pockets. There is no doubt that the typical budget for a building in NI is considerably lower than in the wealthier parts of the UK and I do wonder how much that is taken into account by the [Royal Institute of British Architects – RIBA] National Award judging panel.” – Joan McCoy, Royal Society of Ulster Architects president via twitter
Mortgage rates tied to energy rating First time buyers in Wales now benefit from energy assessed mortgages, the Building Research Establishment reports. Help-to-buy loans are now adjusted according to the energy rating of the home being purchased; this means more money can be borrowed against the house if the rating suggests low energy bills. The legislation is based on research by a consortium of industry experts showing the link between energy efficiency and household bills. epcmortgage.org.uk, bregroup.com
market reins in house price inflation ROI house prices are not increasing as much as they did last year, research for the second quarter of 2018 from Davy’s and myhome.ie shows, slowing down from double digit growth to just 7.2 per cent nationally, the slowest pace since 2016. Dublin’s housing stock has also increased by 25 per cent since last year. The Central Bank’s 3.5 loan to income ratio has helped prevent excessive debt and has reined in property prices from increasing too much, commented Davy’s analyst Conall MacCoille. The average mortgage approval amount in April was €233k, up 5.6 per cent year on year. myhome.ie
3D sustainable house
Dream it. Do it. Live it
Automated ICF A 95 sqm 3D printed family home in France cost 20 per cent less to build than traditional building methods, at €195,000, according to Nantes University. The 3D printer builds the walls by ‘printing’ a layer of polyurethane then a layer of cement then another layer of polyurethane, essentially the same build up as an insulating concrete formwork (ICF - see page 78) wall but with a robotic arm. The process just took a few days but then the roof, windows and services were added with traditional methods. batiprint3d.fr
SELFBUILD LIVE
Check out how you can incorporate renewable technologies and energy saving measures into your home with this interactive tool from Codema, Dublin’s energy agency. Find out more about solar panels, heating controls and a good overview of the technologies out there but also get some low cost tips like cleaning light bulbs and unplugging your charger. codema.ie/energyefficienthouse
Back by popular demand, Selfbuild Live Dublin this September (14th to 16th) will showcase a free Bootcamp session on each of the three days, to give you an overview of the entire process of selfbuilding, from finding a site to snagging, with expert advice on how to secure planning permission, the intricacies of building control and methods of construction. FREE tickets are available on facebook.com/selfbuild
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Deep retrofit grant extended Up to a 60 per cent grant is now available for energy upgrades, the ROI Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) told delegates at this year’s Deep Retrofit Conference. The SEAI has removed the requirement for a house to be built before 2006 to qualify for a Deep Retrofit grant. Grant amounts have also been increased to help with consultancy fees, meaning homeowners now only have to pay roughly 40 per cent of the total cost. The grant is at a pilot phase (launched last year and will run to the end of 2019) but is open to all existing Irish homes that don’t have an A-rated Building Energy Rating, as long as the building work results in an uplift of at least 150 kWh/sqm/yr so this means your house needs to be rated at least a C2 to qualify (and in that case be uplifted to an A1 rating or an energy positive home). Currently three quarters of ROI homes that have a BER are rated C2 or worse. There’s a total of 1.7 million occupied homes in ROI and roughly 750,000 homes have a BER rating. To qualify you also need to group your application with four other homes (five homes need to be upgraded at the same time) and present a professionally detailed design and building plan to the SEAI. The SEAI has a list of contractors whom the agency knows are participating in deep retrofit projects or expressing an interest in the space. Each of these contractors are likely to already have other homeowners on their list and they just need five to get the ball rolling. All projects are approved on their individual merits. Individual homeowners wishing to partake can call SEAI to get list of emerging deep retrofit contractors in their area. In total there are 200 valid applications on the roster and the pace is increasing every week, with individual homeowners (as opposed to housing associations) showing particular interest.
Grant amounts
The Deep Retrofit grant can fund 50 per cent of the building cost of bringing your home up to at least an A3 on the Building Energy Rating scale. An additional 5 per cent of the total project cost, including all professional and related fees, is available for project management delivery plus another 2 per cent of the total project cost for BER and consultancy to support upstream design to ensure a minimum A3 is achieved. The grant now also offers an additional 1 per cent of the total project cost if you achieve an airtightness result of 3m3/sqm/hr — the current requirement for new builds is 7m3/sqm/hr. It is mandatory to install mechanical ventilation and preworks airtightness plans must be in place to ensure comfort and air quality in the home. In total the SEAI says this is roughly the equivalent of a 60 per cent subsidy on building costs. The cost of a deep retrofit for a pre-2006 home can be as high as €65,000 to reach an A2 but the SEAI says these figures can be misleading because each house type is different, albeit acknowledging that for houses with no insulation the figure can be higher. The SEAI is in fact working on costed case studies to give each building type an indication of how much it might cost to deep retrofit.
Stage payments
To help tackle this cash flow issue, milestone payments are available. A further split in the payments was introduced in February of this year (it was
originally a single 50 per cent payment at 50 per cent completion) with: � First 25 per cent payment on 25 per cent completion; � Second payment of a further 25 per cent at 50 per cent completion; � Third a 40 per cent payment when the works are fully completed; � A fourth final payment of 10 per cent one year after works upon satisfactory receipt of the first of three year’s post occupancy monitoring data.
Process
The way it works if for your contractor’s design team to put together the plan of what needs to be done and of what quality assurance measures will be put into place. The SEAI scrutinises the plans
to ensure they fall within the parameters set out by the pilot scheme and checks the airtightness and building energy rating results of each of the homes independently. According to Waterford Insulation, a pre-approved contractor, typical measures would include 150mm external wall insulation or cavity wall insulation with 100mm external wall insulation, 400mm roof space insulation, triple glazing, composite doors, an air-towater heat pump (fossil fuels are not eligible for funding under the scheme and cannot be included in the proposal), solar photovoltaic panels (1.2 to 2.4 kWpeak), demand control ventilation, drylining to slopes/ wallplate for a 0.16 to 0.20 W/sqmK U-value and a wood burning stove. AU T U M N 2 0 1 8 / S E L F B U I L D / 1 5
W H AT ’ S N E W / N E W S
Awards season It’s as close as self-builds get to the Oscars – architectural awards. Here’s a look at who got the 2018 NI and ROI accolades. Haddington Park
The 2018 Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) accolade for best architectural house design saw two Dublin homes scoop the awards — out of a shortlist of Dublin-only homes. The award for best house did not, as it had last year, have regional categories. The Best House category was won by GKMP Architects for its Vaulted House in Dublin. Photography by Alice Clancy. Runners up were Belgrave Mews by TAKA Architects and Ringsend House by LiD Architecture, photography by Gareth Byrne. The Best House Extension category was won by Ryan W. Kennihan Architects for St Catherine’s in Dublin. Photography by Aisling McCoy.
No. 37
Runners up were Haddington Park by Robert Bourke Architects, photography by Ste Murray and Portico by David Flynn Architects, photography by Aisling McCoy. The Royal Society of Ulster Architects’ 2018 awards, RIBA’s regional awards for Northern Ireland, saw three family homes commended for their architectural merit. The houses are part of the RIBA long list for house of the year, whose winner will be announced this autumn. A TV series revealing the detail behind these homes will air on Channel 4 later this year. Micah Jones’ barn house in Co Down was described as a “beautifully crafted building full of intelligent and delightful design play”. At a cost of £1,000 Ringsend house
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Vaulted house
The Mews
I N S I D E R N E W S / W H AT ' S N E W
Next Generation
St Catherine’s
per sqm, this family home used sustainable materials wherever possible. BGA Architects’ Maison Wedge also impressed the judges; the careful detailing hides any utilitarian aspect that would interrupt the reading of the project as two simple sculptural bocks. No 37 by FÄMILY Architects, which at a cost of £1,700 per sqm, is a 56sqm family home that addresses the need to densify Belfast’s housing stock. The architects built this home for themselves within a restricted budget. Meanwhile a €1.27 million project in Dublin won Residential Project of the Year at the 2018 Irish Construction Industry Awards. Plus Architecture‘s House on Burrow Beach project combines an extension and renovation. The back of the house boasts views out over Dublin Bay while the frontage retains the late-Victorian villa’s signature style.
Portico
Grant Engineering is well known throughout the UK and Ireland for its top of the range condensing oil boilers, air to water heat pumps and innovative heating technologies including the Grant VortexAir Hybrid. In recognition of the rapidly growing demand for environmentally-friendly home heating products, Grant’s range of highly efficient Aerona3 inverter driven air source heat pumps (ASHP), which provide both heating and hot water for a property, now have a new dedicated website grantheatpumps.com With an ErP rating of A++, the Aerona3
delivers a range of benefits including greater operating efficiencies at lower external temperatures, larger outputs to match the type of properties encountered and reduced operational noise levels. The Grant Technical Team are also offering free of charge heat loss calculations to ensure you select the correct sized unit for your existing or new building regulations compliant property. For more information visit grant.eu Grant Engineering, Crinkle, Birr, Co Offaly, R42 D788, tel. 057 9126 967 Grant NI, Unit 117, 21 Botanic Avenue, Belfast, BT7 1IJ, freephone 0800 0443 264
Seamless Back in the late 1980s sliding doors had a bad reputation, mainly justified, based on old fashioned systems of tracks hand-built into walls. They were often noisy and wobbly, they jumped off the tracks and had sticky sliding actions. Today the sliding door has come of age, no longer used out of necessity it’s become a prized architectural design feature in many contemporary homes. Leader in this field is Italian company Eclisse which recently launched its Syntesis frameless range, a seamless mechanism that removes the need for architraves and jambs.
All of Eclisse’s high quality steel pocket kits, exclusively available in Ireland from pocketdoors.ie, come with a 15-year warranty and patented technology on the track, which is extractable for ease of maintenance. Eclisse tracks and frames are so easy to install, requiring no cutting or aligning of separate parts, they’re especially well-suited to self-builders. Doorware Limited t/a www.pocketdoors.ie, Ballybane, Co Galway, tel. 091 743 100 (NI prefix with 00353 and drop the first 0), pocketdoors.ie
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On demand
Second nature
Nowadays most self-builders will specify a high level of airtightness with mechanised ventilation for their new build. The good news is that the range of ventilation products on offer is expanding, and one notable example is the Renson Edura Delta, a balanced demand-controlled heat recovery ventilation unit with built-in carbon dioxide, volatile organic compound (VOC) and humidity sensors to ventilate according to your exact needs and habits. Exclusively available in Ireland from AerHaus, the Endura Delta comes in three air flow versions (330, 380 and 450 m³/h) and provides frost protection. Coarse filters come as standard, with PM1 pollen filters also available. The heat exchanger is up to 89 per cent efficient and can be bypassed in the summer. It’s easy to install and comes with an app to control and program the system as well as monitor the indoor air quality. The app also lets you know when the filters need to be replaced or checked. AerHaus Ltd, Unit 18 Dungarvan Business Pk, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, tel. 058 20005, aerhaus.com
Smart fridges introduced us to technology in the kitchen, now the exciting news is that the Whirlpool W Collection has integrated it into cooking. Soufflés and chocolate fondants? No problem. Using the Whirlpool 6th Sense app your smart device or internet browser will get you to not only discover and download recipes but control your appliances and cooking results with unprecedented simplicity. The built-in suite pictured here features a T-Shape slim hood, 90cm induction hob that allows you to cook anywhere on the surface (eight flexible cooking zones), oven, steam oven, speed oven and microwave combi with a pocket
Spot the difference
handle. Black glass elegantly conceals cavities and the seamlessly integrated screens, which become invisible when powered off. A big bonus is that the reflective surfaces don’t leave any fingerprints. The W Collection’s ultra-modern looks, futuristic features and interaction also won two coveted iF Labels at the iF Design Awards 2018, one of the world’s foremost design competitions. whirpool.ie / whirlpool.co.uk
When choosing your roof covering, you’ll no doubt be looking for a cost effective, long lasting solution that looks the part. If that’s the case, make sure to check out the Imerys Clay Beauvoise Graphite – new to the Irish market, it’s not only more cost effective than buying natural slate but also reduces installation time on site. For many projects the company says the cost is also comparable to fibre cement slates. By specifying a clay product, the designer and roofer can be safe in the knowledge that the life expectancy of the roof tiles is at least equal to that of slates and the surface colour will remain for the life of the product; again, just like natural slate. The manufacturing process of Graphite enables aesthetic features such as riven lower and side edges, as well as the riven pattern on the top surfaces to emulate natural slate. A coloured protective coating is applied to the tile surface before firing, producing a strong vitrified, hard-wearing and permanent surface finish. imerys-rooftiles.com AU T U M N 2 0 1 8 / S E L F B U I L D / 1 9
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NEW BUILD
‘It takes 40 cows to heat the house in winter’ How Denise and Matt Donoghue’s research led them to devise an innovative heating and hot water system
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hen Denise and Matt got married over a decade ago they set up their base on Matt’s family agricultural holdings, and lived in the farmhouse that had been on the land for over 100 years. The couple carried out an energy upgrade by adding insulation and solar thermal panels. But to make it really work as a functioning family home, they knew they needed to do some substantial work. “The house was cosy and warm for us but it was pretty dark because the windows were quite low,” explains Denise. They already knew an engineer who did architectural design so they contacted him to help with the overhaul. “A driving force behind the renovation was to turn it into a family home, we had two kids at the time,” says Denise. “Chatting about the project we realised how nervous we were about being so close to the farm, as soon as the children would get out the door they were in close proximity to the livestock and to the machinery. My heart would skip a beat if I realised they’d made their way outside.” So their engineer suggested building new instead. “He told us we had an ideal site to build on, as it was overlooking the farm but far enough to keep the children away. Building new also meant it would be easier to insulate it well.” “We thought it would be difficult to get planning permission but he told us it
was worth putting it in to see if we’d get it, so he asked how many bedrooms we’d like and quickly threw together plans. We were stunned when, six months later, our application was approved.” This was in 2009. “Then the downturn hit and we postponed the build; I was keen to get started but the timing wasn’t right for us. It was only in 2015 that we revived the project,” adds Denise. At this stage they’d sat down to revise the planning drawings. “We kept the shape but reconfigured the inside, we also only kept some of the stone that was originally
‘We had an ideal site to build on, as it was overlooking the farm but far enough to keep the children away.‘
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use the waste heat from the parlour,” explains Matt. “A dairy farm’s biggest cost is cooling the milk, it needs to be stored at 3.5 degC and comes out at 36 degC.” The premise is simple: the house cools the water that cools the milk, and vice versa, the milk heats the water that heats the house. The set up consists of a heat pump with a 10,000 litre cold water cylinder; the return temperature from the house is 7 degC which helps cool the milk. (See page 35.) There are monitors for the flow and return temperatures, and the tank
specified to go all around the house, and we got rid of the cedar cladding due to upkeep.” By 2015 Denise and Matt had four children. “We got to really know what we wanted, the older three were past the stage of destroying the place and presented new needs for the family.” They broke ground in August.
Heating courtesy of the milking parlour
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the design stage. “When it came to deciding what heating system to go for we were told oil wasn’t an option – too expensive to run and outdated – so we looked at heat pumps, air source and geothermal,” says Denise. “In the farmhouse we had an oil boiler, a stove with a back boiler and solar thermal panels. In the new build the most important thing for me was to feel warm in the house.” “We were concerned whether or not a conventional heat pump would actually work and then our heating engineer suggested we look into a system that would
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Denise’s Tips Check credentials. We didn’t check the references the first painter we hired gave us, and that was the only person we had trouble with. He was very impatient when it came to the second fix because he had to wait for others to finish before he could come in. I contacted him when the house was ready but he failed to show up. We had to get someone else. Don’t rush. With a young family we had to get all the wardrobes and bathrooms fully kitted out before we moved in, and the kids had a lot of fun choosing colours and decorating their spaces. Despite this aspect, I’d say take your time wherever you can with the finishes. A lot of things fall into place, I tried to pick out blinds before the build and I was overwhelmed by the variety of colours and styles. I only just got them the other day and I’m really happy I waited. There are things to pick out in advance of course like the kitchen and bathroom but the softer stuff can and should wait. The finer details take time, get a feel for the place first. Gather as you go along. Have some fun. We thought of the kids a lot during the design stage with the benches, bar stools and the L shape of the kitchen. Think of where you’ll be charging devices. If I could I would add more sockets in most of the rooms, or change their location. The kitchen is ok but the rest of the house needs more, especially to charge devices. I might also change the placement of some of the light switches so think long and hard about your lighting plan before you sign off on it.
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temperature, all of which are connected to broadband. “I worked out the heating with the heating engineers, I wanted to use the cooled water back to the parlour which wasn’t originally specified to be used to cool the milk. We looked at our drawings and it seemed like it should work. And it did, we haven’t had any problems,” says Matt. “At the moment we’re only using half the heat that’s produced, we have too much, in December we only needed about 40 cows to supply the house with heat and hot water, we’re currently milking 150. You need very little energy for the hot water in the summer time.” In May 2016 they dug the trenches for the innovative system, by August 2016 it was up and running. “We turned on the heating to dry the house out for plastering and painting, it served as a test run too and we were happy to find it worked really well.” Their heating and hot water bill for a full calendar year is €280. But the system’s reliance on broadband meant it had to be shut down temporarily when work was being done on the phone line over a year and a half ago. “The heating had to be turned off during the maintenance work. What that tested there was the strategy we went for with the walls,”
adds Matt. “We insulated on the outside and the internal walls are concrete to store heat. This was in September and the house kept the heat for a surprising long time.” There’s underfloor heating upstairs and down, with solid concrete floors throughout. “I thought I’d never be able to live without radiators, I’ve always had them and relied on them to dry laundry,” says Denise. “Matt joked that we’d put the clothes on the floor for drying but actually, if I hang a towel on the back of the chair it dries overnight.” “I’m sure the heat recovery ventilation system we put in helps. Another benefit of underfloor heating is the floor drying 20 seconds after a good mop. I certainly don’t
‘The finer details take time, get a feel for the place first. Gather as you go along.’
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miss the rads.” Denise says she finds they are still getting used to the ventilation system as they had some trouble switching from winter to summer mode. “With the warm weather we keep all of the windows open as the ventilation system doesn’t do enough to cool the air coming in, which means it can get very hot at night. We have had the company out a few times and we’re now waiting on a system upgrade.” The plumbing was done by Denise’s brother and the tiling they arranged on their own, hiring someone that had been recommended. “All of the rest was done by the builder who came highly recommended, he had built Matt’s parents’ house down the road and pretty much every other house down our laneway so we knew he could deliver,” says Denise. “It was the first time he did an external wall insulation new build, he wasn’t too keen to try something new but eventually came around to it.”
Kitchen at the heart of the home
Their engineer drew up the plans for the kitchen and Denise did the legwork, she went to two different companies to have a
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