EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS
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10 ALL IRELAND IN DEPTH PROJECTS:
FROM HOME OF THE YEAR TO ENERGY RATING NIGHTMARE
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EDITOR'S LETTER / WELCOME
Welcome... Amidst efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, oddly it seems there remains one matter open for debate. Whether or not building sites, of all sizes, should stay open or closed. In NI the government admitted its own guidance was confusing and, in ROI, builder’s merchants still somewhat fall between two stools, having to close up shop to the public yet be available to supply tradesmen. The decision to shut building sites has now, in large part, been taken but at the cost of job losses and livelihoods threatened. When work on site stops, eventually everything that supports it does too. This force majeure has led self-build mortgage providers to offer a three month pause on repayments, but interest accrues during this time, which means this ‘holiday’ too comes at a cost. What’s clear is that for self-builders, containment measures now well and truly mean locking up your site. Even if some tradesmen ring you asking to come to work. Stay home, stay safe.
Certification
You need certificates of compliance to finance, sell or insure your house
Budget
Costing doors and woodwork
PV
Electricity from the sun
Repair or replace?
Choosing between demolition and renovation
Astrid Madsen - Editor astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie
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PROJECTS Learn from the Irish self-builders who have been through the process of building and home improving
20 TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT Elaine Donaghy McCrory’s house in Co Tyrone boasts a tower and fairy tale interiors.
32 A BOYHOOD DREAM COMES TRUE Brendan and Sarah Cullinane’s Georgian inspired home was built to a budget in Co Waterford.
44 PERSEVERANCE Peter and Donna Hughes’ Co Antrim seaside renovation project made the most of the views and family living.
56 HEART AND MIND
Denise Fitzpatrick’s renovation and extension project was a means to go mortgage-free.
92 WELCOME TO HOLYWOOD A bells and whistles renovation in Co Down that showcases the latest interior design trends.
100 NERVES OF STEEL This Co Wicklow suburban new build had to make the most of the light, yet prevent overlooking, and contend with costly utility connections.
112 DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE Find out why this Co Cork new build chose to install a heat pump and PV panels.
127 THE RAINWATER POOL A DIY approach to rainwater harvesting and fresh water bathing rolled into one, in Co Leitrim.
118 ADVICE 68 SELFBUILD LIVE BELFAST Come meet the experts who were at Selfbuild Live Belfast this past February; a wealth of information at your fingertips!
73 ASK THE EXPERT This issue we look at alternatives to polished concrete and tips to keep your patio clean.
74 HOW MUCH DOES JOINERY COST? From doors to skirting boards to in-built units, find out what the cost factors are.
79 REPAIR OR REPLACE?
Making the decision between knocking down the house that’s on your dream site, or carrying out a renovation project.
82 CHECKS AND BALANCES To finance, insure or sell your house you need to prove you’ve built it to standard, and that’s done with certificates of compliance.
86 WHEN THE TIME COMES TO SELL… If you are planning on doing an energy upgrade, make sure to document the work you get done. Otherwise you could get an energy rating that’s worse than what the house deserves.
90 DIY THERAPY Working with wood can be a fantastic therapeutic outlet; find out how to embrace it.
110 PLUG AND PLAY ROOF
The cost of PV panels, which generate electricity from the sun, has come down drastically in recent years, now making it a real option for self-builders.
114 SO NEAR YET SO FAR
Advances in charging technology and infrastructure have yet to make it easier, or cheaper, to own an electric vehicle.
116 GASPING FOR IT How to use your garden’s most precious resource, water.
118 BIG IDEAS
How to build a tiny house on wheels from a self-builder who’s done it all himself in Co Down.
124 BACK TO NATURE
Swimming ponds are all the rage in Nordic countries but they are also very much suited to our wet and overcast climate.
130 SCRAPBOOK Outdoor lighting inspiration for those lazy summer evenings.
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.
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CONTRIBUTORS / TEAM
Contributors
EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS
Selfbuild SELFBUILD.IE
SUMMER 2020 £3.90 / €4.50
Dream it . Do it . Live it
10 ALL-IRELAND IN DEPTH PROJECTS:
FROM HOME OF THE YEAR TO ENERGY RATING NIGHTMARE
Peter Dorman
Heather is a freelance writer and editor who writes about property, construction, travel and living overseas – when she’s not mixing cement for her home renovation project in Co Kilkenny. heathercampbell@crafted-copy.com
Peter is the founder of Enexis, an independent hub for the Irish construction industry specialising in innovative building systems at a direct local level. peter@enexis.org.uk
Vanessa Drew
Ciaran Hegarty
Vanessa is a qualified landscape designer Ciaran is a woodwork and construction studies teacher in Moyle Park with Tobermore; she is a keen gardener College, Clondalkin, Dublin. who grows her own fruit and vegetables and keeps chickens, goats and bees. tobermore.co.uk / NI tel. 7964 2411
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Heather Campbell
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Cover Photo Paul Lindsay Christopher Hill Photographic, scenicireland.com Editor Astrid Madsen astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie Design Myles McCann myles.mccann@selfbuild.ie Shannon Quinn shannon.quinn@selfbuild.ie
Keith Kelliher
Gordon Le Moignan
Leslie O’Donnell
Fiann Ó Nualláin
Keith is a quantity surveyor with over 20 years’ experience and is the founder of Kelliher & Associates Quantity Surveyors. quantitysurveyor.ie
Gordon is a retired multi skilled engineer, contract manager, family support worker, still a sailor and never-give-up renovator.
Les is an engineer and architectural designer who runs Landmark Designs, a CIAT registered practice in Co Tyrone. landmarkdesigns.org.uk / NI tel. 8224 1831
Award winning garden designer, author and broadcaster, Fiann has a background in fine art, ethnobotany and complementary medicine. theholisticgardener.com / twitter @HolisticG
Marketing Calum Lennon calum.lennon@selfbuild.ie Subscriptions Becca.Wilgar becca.wilgar@selfbuild.ie Business Development Manager Niamh Whelan niamh.whelan@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
Debbie Orme
Marcus Patton
Michael Rauch
Andrew Stanway
Debbie is a freelance writer and editor, who writes about business, healthcare, property, maternity and the over 50s. She also ghost writes autobiographies. debbie.orme@talk21.com / NI mobile 077 393 56915
Marcus is torn between being an illustrator, an architect, an historian and a musician.
Michael is a design engineering graduate with a passion for sustainable and self-sufficient living. Instagram @michael_rauch / mrauch598@gmail.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.
Patrick is an engineer and energy consultant based in Belfast. tel. 906 41241 / patrick.waterfield@ntlworld.com
Sales Director Mark Duffin mark.duffin@selfbuild.ie Managing Director Brian Corry brian.corry@selfbuild.ie
Come meet more experts at our Selfbuild Live event in DUBLIN in September - turn to page 108 for more details and FREE tickets Patrick Waterfield
Accounts Karen Kelly karen.kelly@selfbuild.ie
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 08 / SELFBUILD / SUMMER 2020
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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
Get great advice and help a good cause… IF you are thinking about building or home improving, why not donate to a good cause and at the same time benefit from the knowledge and experience an architect brings to the table? In ROI the RIAI Simon Open Door event is running from Tuesday 5 May to Friday 15 May. It’s a partnership between the Simon Communities of Ireland and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). In return for a €95 donation to the Simon Community, you will receive an hour-long consultation with a RIAI registered architect. Consultations usually take place in the architect’s own office. In NI Ask An Architect runs a similar campaign but it is in aid of cancer research through Friends of the Cancer Centre. The minimum donation amount is £40 and bookings are now open with consultations taking place from now until the end of May 2020. The organisers are the Jill Todd Trust, PLACE, The Royal Society of Ulster Architects and Friends of the Cancer Centre.
Building energy ratings and why you need to care about them on page 86
Most construction sites shut down AT the start of the COVID-19 lockdown measures introduced mid-March, a lack of guidance on social distancing rules for small building sites originally led to confusion, as job losses amongst small building firms were taking hold, according to a Federation of Master Builders (FMB) survey published on the 19th March 2020 (left). NI director Gavin McGuire said that these UKwide survey results reflected the concerns of the NI membership “in very similar numbers”. The survey gives an indication of what impact the virus is having on the residential construction sector. The FMB represents small and medium sized builders with 7,500 members UK-wide including 300 in NI. Larger building sites, however, appeared to remain open in most cases. However further lockdown measures brought into force late March indicate they are closing as well, as the two meter personal distancing rules are nearly impossible to enforce. Meanwhile government support packages
for the self-employed have allowed building sites to close without having to worry about financial losses for the workers. In ROI building sites of all sizes continued to operate up until late March, with the Construction Industry Federation stating that many construction companies had embedded personal distancing into their daily routines including measures such as staggered work, social distancing in canteens, employees taking lunch individually and individual travel. However on the 28th of March the ROI Minister for Health confirmed that most construction workers would not be considered essential through the COVID-19 lockdown. The lockdown was put in place by the Taoiseach on March 27th, asking everyone to stay home with the exception of shopping for food or medicine, or exercising within a 2km radius. More about how COVID-19 has hit self-builds overleaf.
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How the coronavirus is affecting self-builders Updates from the coronavirus coalface THE coronavirus outbreak had, at the time of going to print, brought much of the economy to a standstill. The first case of the coronavirus was detected on February 27th in NI and February 29th in ROI; government measures on both sides of the border to stop the spread of the virus have been increasingly restrictive with penalties introduced for non-compliance. How this has been affecting self-builders has been a bit of a moving target but long story short, all building sites have been shut down as delivery of materials from builder’s merchants are no longer possible. The situation in ROI caused some confusion but at the time of going to print, the government’s guidance was that deliveries should only be done in the case of emergencies, e.g. for essential repairs. As of the 30th March 2020 the situation for self-builders could be summarised as follows.
Builder’s merchants
After the UK’s prime minister’s call to stop all non essential work on the evening of the 23rd of March, most self-build sites ground to a halt as of the 25th as builder’s merchants closed their doors to the public. In ROI hardware outlets remained open until the 27th of March with personal distancing rules which included customers waiting outside two meters apart until a member of staff signalled the occupancy level indoors was acceptable. The stores were asking that customers pay by credit card, with contactless payments having been increased to €50 from €30. Stores also encouraged customers to order over the phone for delivery on site or at the home. Builder’s merchants in ROI were one of 14 on the government’s list of “essential retail outlets” which included food suppliers, petrol 12 / SELFBUILD / SUMMER 2020
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stations, dry cleaners and banks. Twelfth on the list were “hardware stores, builders’ merchants and stores that provide hardware products necessary for home and business maintenance, sanitation and farm equipment, supplies and tools essential for gardening / farming / agriculture.” However as of the 27th of March the list of essential retail outlets in ROI was reduced, with hardware stores expected to make deliveries only in the context of emergency call-outs. Leading DIY retailer Woodies closed its doors and stopped deliveries as of the 28th of March. The builder’s merchant McMahon’s, meanwhile, is operating a delivery service for trade emergencies.
developments. “Many of the systems including the Building Control Management System can be accessed remotely over the local authority network, while in the case of planning, there are established systems in place that enable people to view
Contracts
planning applications and make submissions on-line in many planning authorities, which can be maximised,” read the press release.
According to law firm Dillon Eustace, many private construction contracts in ROI are based on the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) construction contract, with or without amendments. The solicitors point out that even though most internationally used construction contracts include a clause of force majeure, there is no standard legal definition of what such an eventuality means. Relying on this clause would mean having to show that “the impact of the pandemic is the sole reason” for not meeting obligations under the contract. Other clauses have to do with an inability to secure essential labour and materials. “A collaborative approach could potentially result in a more mutually commercially acceptable and less strictly contractual and possibly adversarial response to problems arising of a Covid-19 delay,” reads the firm’s briefing report released early April.
Building control
In ROI as of the 26th March 2020, planning and building control systems remained open for business with local authority public offices and the Offices of An Bord Pleanála remaining open. However measures may be introduced to delay applications, for example, to allow people to make objections or submissions to proposed
seems to be a way to get any kind of goods delivered. Online retailers in general do not seem to be significantly affected; for example clothing and accessories vendor Life Style Sports indicated their online sales were up 50 per cent as of the 23rd of March. As of the 29th the store’s website said their warehouses remained open for deliveries.
‘How this has been affecting self-builders has been a bit of a moving target’
Real estate
New house prices in ROI are expected to fall by 20 per cent due to the coronavirus, according to a report from Davy Stockbrokers. The economy, meanwhile, could contract by over 7 per cent this year and unemployment could soar to 18 per cent, the Economic and Social Research Institute has
warned. Selling your home now may seem incongruous but if you are already in the process, conveyancing firm JMP Solicitors says much of the process can continue as banks remain open.
Serenity now Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2020 is the Classic Blue, which apparently “highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era”. According to Pantone, as technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, the trusted and easily relatable Classic Blue lends itself to relaxed interaction, tranquillity, resilience and concentration. Just what we need in these uncertain times.
Bills
Mortgage providers are offering three month holidays, whereby repayments are paused for three months if you are financially affected by COVID-19. However, interest will accrue over this three month period, so this measure is not like hitting the pause button. Then, with the family at home 24/7 and computers working all day, self isolation is fast translating into a high demand for power and heat. Tax breaks are available for people working from home to cover utility bills, which could help ease the burden. A survey from UK price comparison website USwitch indicates that the 16.8 million peoples working from home could cost the £195 more per household per year due to a 25 per cent increase in electricity demand and a 17 per cent increase in gas demand. An analysis by UCC, meanwhile, shows that households are now consuming electricity as they would at the weekends.
Online shopping
Leading online retail platform Amazon continued to make deliveries, and with the postal service still operating, this avenue SUMMER 2020 / SELFBUILD / 11
N E W S / W H AT ’ S N E W
Struggle to get planning for log cabin in Co Kildare Mobile homes proliferate as planning restrictions prevent log cabins from getting the green light, according to aspiring self-builder Becky Byrne. BECKY Byrne has been living for seven years in a mobile home behind her parents’ house and aspires to build her own home; her partner and his child moved into the mobile home last year. “Even though we have both worked full time since finishing school/college, neither of us have been in a position to save for a deposit for a house due to unavoidable circumstances in our lives,” explains Becky. “We can get a loan for up to €70,000 off our credit union without a deposit, but they won’t give it to us unless we have planning permission.” “My parents have an acre of land behind their house; you can drive all the way around so we have access for cars and can put our own entrance in,” says Becky. “They have offered to give us half of this land or more if we need more depending on septic tank requirements for a percolation area.” “We’re not looking to build a mansion or a two storey or even a dormer, just a bungalow, so our family can have a home.” “Because they are more affordable we are hoping to build a standard log cabin about 1,000-1,200 sqft in size. You can get a three-bed log cabin that is turnkey for less than €60,000.” “We can’t afford to build a block house but we can get planning permission for one. The next best thing to a log home that we could find was timber frame, but you’re still looking at €100/€120k for a similar house and a longer build period. We can’t currently get a loan for that much so that’s not an option for us
either.”
Becky’s experience “I have previously approached Kildare County Council (on more than one occasion), to ask about applying for planning permission for a residential log cabin and I have been told each time to not bother as they won’t approve
my parents’ house and our neighbours’ houses (bearing in mind that our neighbours have no issues with us living here).” “Right down the very back of the field is where we want to build. At the moment the mobile is just to the left of this photo, near my mam and dad’s and the neighbours.” Becky has set up a petition to change planning policies to allow for log cabin homes to be built on change.org, with a target of 50,000 signatures. At the moment the online petition is capped at a 5,000 signature target but it will increase as more people sign it. Becky also plans to start
‘More and more young families are being forced to live in mobiles and unsuitable/tiny houses...’
planning permission for log cabins.” “Our log cabin would be even further back than a bricksand-mortar house would have to be, and further away from
contacting politicians to garner further support. In it she says: “More and more young families are being forced to live in mobiles and unsuitable/tiny houses or are still living with their parents when they have children of their own.” “I know we are not alone in this struggle, I have seen mobile after mobile pop up in people’s gardens over the last number of years since I got mine and I know this would provide so many young families with their permanent home, including mine.” Section 16.4.1 of the Kildare County Development Plan suggests that log cabins are not “vernacular typologies” of the Kildare countryside and are therefore not generally considered appropriate, the planners told Selfbuild. SUMMER 2020 / SELFBUILD / 13
W H AT ’ S N E W / B O O K R E V I E W
The Art of Earth Architecture The Rauch House, birkhauser.com
© Nic LeHous / DIALOG
as it is non toxic and regulates both humidity and temperature. In fact most of the island of Ireland, despite the wet weather, used raw earth for generations as a construction material to great success. As the book laments, building regulations and industrialisation have made commercially produced products the norm. Yet earth walls, when built thick enough, have good insulation properties and of course, can store heat in the walls thanks to its thermal mass. A contemporary advocate of raw earth, Martin Rauch, says in the book: “If everybody lived in housing typical of industrialised countries, three planet Earths would barely be sufficient
14 / SELFBUILD / SUMMER 2020
© James Wang
THIS massive compendium of earthen architecture is as big in size, and weight, as it is ambitious. It aims to shake the misperception that building with mud is less robust than building with any other material. In fact it posits that building with raw earth should become a cornerstone in the fight against climate change. The book covers the history and world reach, from 75 countries across five continents, of this humble material, from antiquity to the present day. Stunning images and illustrations are complemented by 35 articles, written by 15 renowned researchers and practitioners, which provide a radical yet realistic ecological manifesto. As a substitute for cement and concrete in small or medium sized buildings, raw earth has a lot of advantages: it requires little transport, it is low cost and makes for a very healthy home,
to provide all the materials necessary.” Dominque Gauzin-Müller, meanwhile, reminds us that the construction industry is responsible for 40 per cent of the world’s consumption of energy and natural resources, 40 per cent of its waste products and 40 per cent of its greenhouse emissions. “True environmental responsibility means using the right materials in the right quantities in the right place,” he writes. What would a raw earth house built to the current building regulations in Ireland be
made up of? How thick would the walls need to be and what additional insulation would be required? Answering these questions can be difficult, which is perhaps why in Ireland the ecological market has turned to hemp, as it boasts better thermal properties.
The Art of Earth Architecture: Past, Present, Future by Jean Dethier, Thames & Hudson, thameshudson.co.uk, hardback, 512 pages with 800 illustrations, full colour, 31 x 24cm, ISBN 9780500343579, £98
N E W S / W H AT ’ S N E W
Changes to PPS21 New planning policies in NI could make it easier, or more difficult, for self-builders to secure planning permission in the countryside, all depending on where you live, says planning expert Mervyn McNeill. CHANGES to Local Development Plans and Strategy documents (LDPS) are underway in Northern Ireland, and if they take effect each one of NI’s 11 local Councils will have a different policy in relation to granting planning permission to one-off houses in the countryside. If approved, the 11 LDPS would supersede the current Planning Policy Statement 21 (PPS21). The current PPS21 policy for
Northern Ireland is the exact same for the 11 Councils, laying out the rules to building the countryside. At the moment to get planning permission in NI you usually need to make a planning statement (known as a Concept Statement or Design Statement) to persuade the planners your proposal is compliant with PPS21. Many of the councils with published LDPS documents are now in the process of being examined by the Department of
Infrastructure (Dfi) to supersede PPS21. Some councils have scheduled the adoption of their new policies as early as July 2020 subject to Dfi approval. These changes would result in a similar system that is in operation in ROI, whereby the same notional applicant in one council may receive approval and in another, refusal.
In brief Planning appeal in NI A Lisburn family wanting to build a new one-and-a-half storey dwelling from the ruins of their ancestral home was rejected planning permission because the surviving structure didn’t have the “essential characteristics” of a home, the Belfast Telegraph reports. The family wants to build a home in the style of the original farmhouse, with stables incorporating the existing stone walls, but the Lisburn and Castlereagh authorities have denied the application despite the family being able to trace their connection to the farm back 200 years. The case is being appealed.
Serviced self-build sites could become available in ROI AT the time of going to print, government formation seemed to be taking shape between the two main political parties. If this were to come to fruition, Fine Gael’s plan to roll out a Rural Serviced Sites scheme could become reality. The plan aims to discourage one-off housing in the countryside, instead clustering houses in rural towns and villages to mimic the way our ancestors built clachan settlements in the past. The scheme would see local authorities selling serviced sites (with utility connections and ready road access) at cost price to people wishing to build their own home, very similar to what is in place in mainland UK. According to the Irish Independent, self-builders buying the sites will be asked to contract
a developer to build their home, with the sites large enough to accommodate between four and six new houses. At the moment it seems that are at least 1,400 sites in rural communities earmarked for around 8,000 new homes. The sites would be available to owner-occupiers only, (first-time buyers or downsizers), and the planning application process would have to be initiated by the self-builders themselves.
Cluster housing
The Rural Serviced Sites scheme is modelled on Tipperary County Council’s Design and Best Practice Guidelines for Cluster
Housing Schemes in Rural Villages planning document (extract above). The document presents design options for those who wish to build and design their own homes in existing rural communities, within town boundaries. The aim is to “strengthen our villages for generations to come.”
The document provides some very specific design guidance, including on wall finishes where it discourages the use of stone on all elevations, favouring light colours to the detriment of “engineered cladding effects”. Guidelines in relation to planting are also clear, specifying heights for hedgerows for example. Specific case studies are also given as best practice guides. What is unclear is whether this policy, if rolled out nationally, might replace the infamous locals-only rule whereby prospective self-builders have to prove a connection to the land before building. If that is the case, cluster housing zoning laws could spell the end of one-off housing in the open countryside. SUMMER 2020 / SELFBUILD / 15
W H AT ’ S N E W / N E W S
Local musician defies planners
In brief Time to build floating houses IMFS - floatingstructures.com
A well known Kerry musician has been asked to remove his temporary mobile timber home from his site, which he has refused to do despite threats of jail and hefty fines. Over the past 13 years Breanndán Begley has been applying to build his permanent home on family land and has been consistently refused planning permission. He expects that under his current application, the planners will allow him to keep the temporary dwelling, sitting on a 35x8 trailer, until he builds the 730sqft house he applied for. He told Selfbuild that sheds are cropping up all over the countryside and that plenty of holiday homes get planning permission, to be lived in by the crows. “It’s about more than houses, it’s about heritage, language, culture, music. The house I plan to build would be unobtrusive,” he said. “The laws that are in place need to be changed; there is a lack of accountability in the planning department and that’s the real problem.” 16 / SELFBUILD / SUMMER 2020
FLOOD prone areas need amphibious houses, not walls, argued Mark Keenan in the Irish Independent late March. After decades of building walls that have proved inefficient in the face of ever more frequent flood events, the planning authorities should specify building houses that can cope with water rises such as amphibious homes or houses on stilts, argued the pundit. Describing the work of architect Richard Coutts, Keenan explained amphibious homes are attached via sliders to four stout posts (called dolphins) that rise 13 feet above the ground. When the floods come, the water spills into the rectangular basin built around the house. When the water recedes, the house floats back down to its original position. Flexible piping and wiring mean the design has a capacity to deal with a 9ft or 2.7m rise in the water levels. The cost may be roughly 20 per cent more to build amphibious than a landlocked house, but in flood prone areas this is likely to be more cost effective than incurring structural damage due to high tides.
N E W S / W H AT ’ S N E W
Designer house for mass consumption Leather designer and furniture maker Garvan de Bruir has come up with a two-bedroom house design he plans to offer as an off-site building solution. AFTER having created a series of self-build structures that are the workshops for his design studio in Kildare, Gavin de Bruir is now working on a full-sized, two-bedroom dwelling which is all prefabricated in SMARTPLY OSB3. The unique design of each building is inspired by a monocoque: a structural system where heavy loads are able to be supported through an object’s external skin, similar to an egg shell. In Garvan’s design, the outer walls curve up and over to become the roof, as a single seamless arch. The word monocoque is derived from a
French term meaning ‘single’ and ‘shell’, and is traditionally used in the design of aircrafts. Their benefits of a monocoque is that it is very lightweight, but extremely rigid and able to bear heavy loads. These are important design criteria for modular buildings, sections of which would have to be transported from factory to site and craned into place. “The intention is to refine the design of these buildings into something suitable for large scale, offsite production. Each component is able to be reproduced, and the building put together like a simple jigsaw,” Garvan explains.
Using digital design and manufacturing methods, the objective was to design and build a modular building that could be replicated over and over again; a building that would offer warm, energy efficient living spaces, built from sustainably produced timber that is entirely locally sourced. According to Garvan: “With wood as the common material, it is easy to simply scale up techniques and construction methods from furniture and cabinet-making into building design.” “Some years ago, I built a small singlestory building to try out the technique. After that proved successful, I moved on to building a larger two-storey version and created the first prototype prefabricated building.” Garvan hopes to complete the house towards the spring of 2020.
Building in Dublin still too expensive for most ACCESS to mortgages and levies outside of construction costs make it difficult to selfbuild in the capital. A new 100sqm townhouse would cost, all in, €330,000 to build in Dublin, according to a report for Irish Institutional Property into what it would cost a developer to build housing in the capital. The IIP is a lobby group for institutional investors. The construction costs themselves are much more modest, however, at €158,000. The discrepancy is due to the cost of the site,
planning, finance and VAT, among others. For a city centre or complex build, the report indicates cost may be up to 20 to 40 per cent higher depending on site conditions, height, specification and the like. The report also states costs may vary from five to 10 per cent depending on whether the developer uses a third party builder or manages the construction directly. For a developer, a two bed apartment would cost even more, at €460,000 of which €225,000 represents
the construction costs, higher due to larger foundations, parking, lifts, etc. Meanwhile, the Irish Times reported in March that typical asking prices in the capital were more than nine times the average salary, and that a first-time buyer or a dual-income first-time buyer household availing of a 90 per cent loan-to-mortgage would typically need an income of €98,000 to qualify. Quoting a KBC Bank report, the paper said the price of new homes purchased by first-time buyers jumped from €200,000 to €380,000 since 2012, with a corresponding drop in purchases of new homes in Dublin by first-time buyers last year. During this period there has also been an acceleration in new home prices relative to existing home prices, the paper added, as purchases by households fell for the first time in seven years, driven by a 15 per cent drop in the purchases of new builds.
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The road to Alexa, tell my shower knowledge to turn on In response to an increased requirement for technical information on products and standards, Roadstone is now offering self-builders and professionals the opportunity to sign up to new online seminars. Roadstone LEARN is free to use and can be accessed from the Roadstone website or through cpd.roadstone.ie The seminars are video based and structured to allow participants gain in-depth knowledge on specific topics presented by Roadstone’s key technical managers. Following each course a certificate of completion is available for download. There is a wide selection of seminars available on the platform covering topics that pertain to Roadstone products including Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) and ROI Part L compliance, Sustainable Drainage Solutions (SuDS) and paving, masonry essentials and an intriguing and informative seminar on stone and associated standards. New seminars will be added to the platform regularly to ensure participants are kept up to date on relevant developments within the Irish construction environment and also on specific products offered by Roadstone. For more information visit cpd.roadstone.ie
It was only a matter of time before smart showers entered our lives, and thanks to the new Smart Quartz Collection from Aqualisa they’ve become reality. The voice control functionality is activated through Amazon’s Alexa so you can easily send commands to the shower. Not only that, every member of the family can activate their own personal shower requirement, created and saved on the app for the perfect, consistently repeated showering experience. The Aqualisa Smart Valve (ASV) is the brains of the new smart collection and can be located up to 10 metres away from the shower itself, providing flexibility in installation. Integrating it to your existing smart home eco-system is also a cinch, all done through wifi. The new smart range consists of Quartz Blue, the introduction to the smart showering revolution for the new
collection, Quartz Classic, an already proven best seller now with added smart technology and top of the range Quartz Touch, which offers the most personal showering experience yet and to which devotees of the smart home will aspire. aqualisa.co.uk
Get free heating for six months! Choosing what building method to go for can be daunting, between the more traditional options and the fact that some eco-friendly routes can be difficult to certify. This is why Clayblock Ireland is aiming to make the selection process easy for you by not only guaranteeing low heating bills, but by paying them for the first six months after you move in. The offer only applies to full builds (not extensions) detached domestic houses, which you commission Clayblock to build for you, and as long as you sign the
contract in 2020 you will automatically qualify. Clayblock’s certified building method uses Porotherm blocks, a lightweight, breathable and natural material, built as a monolithic (single leaf) wall. In other words there is no cavity wall which eliminates issues such as the possibility of thermal looping. Clay regulates humidity and acts as a thermal store, which means it retains heat and slowly releases it. The Porotherm blocks achieve an NZEB ready (current ROI building regulations) U-value of 0.18 W/sqmK with a 365mm wide insulated to block or with a 425mm uninsulated block, but there are many other combinations to choose from. Benefits of clay blocks, project calculator and web shop available on clayblock.ie Email your plans for a free quote to: office@clayblock.ie or ring ROI mobile 087 451 3278, NI 00353 87 451 3278, for more information
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Towards a hydrogen future Hydrogen is an eco-friendly alternative to oil or gas in that, when you burn it, the only by-product is water. There are two potential sources of hydrogen, the most eco-friendly being electrolysis of water which, if energised from a renewable source such as wind power is carbon-free at both the point of manufacture and use. Steam reformation of natural gas (methane) is the other option but it emits carbon and would therefore require some means of storing it such as Carbon Capture Use and Storage. Furthermore, even though the current gas network could theoretically switch to hydrogen overnight, gas boilers in people’s homes aren’t made to burn 100 per cent
hydrogen and would need to be replaced. An existing boiler installed post 1996 can substitute hydrogen for natural gas to a maximum of about 20 per cent. Another solution to this issue comes from Worcester Bosch which recently revealed its new and unique boiler prototype which can run on 100 per cent hydrogen or natural gas, making it a hydrogen-ready gas boiler. The hydrogen-ready Worcester Bosch model has a similar build to existing gas boilers so installers will have most of the skills necessary to fit and service the new product.
Seal of approval
worcester-bosch.co.uk
Keith McGrath receiving the BBA Certificate on behalf of Cemfloor.
Interior design trends tend to focus on living and sleeping quarters, but bathrooms have a lot of heavy lifting to do in terms of how your home will feel and function. Keeping up to date with the latest trends is Bathshack, the all Ireland bathroom company which recently fitted brand new displays in all of their other showrooms in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Ballymena. A new showroom was also opened last year in Lisburn showcasing the company’s extensive range of showers, baths, toilets, basins, heating and more including hundreds of tiles and flooring options on display.
The British Board of Agrément (BBA) is recognised throughout the construction industry as a symbol of quality and reassurance through its certification process, and one of the latest products to make the cut is Cemfloor by McGraths. Padraic McGrath, Head of Research & Development said that the certification was “the result of a continuous commitment to ensure that Cemfloor is of the highest standard. The BBA issued this certificate after a rigorous testing period that showed the reliability and high quality of our product.” He added that Cemfloor is the first cement based liquid screed to be awarded BBA Certification in the UK and Ireland. Cemfloor is a high-performance cement based, free flowing, selfcompacting liquid screed that is only installed by fully approved and trained applicators, ensuring quality is never compromised. Its fast-drying properties ensure floor coverings such as tiles and vinyl can be applied sooner than some traditional screeds.
bathshack.com
mcgraths.ie, cemfloor.co.uk
Shaking things up
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PROJECT / CO TYRONE
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NEW BUILD
Towering achievement
Elaine Donaghy McCrory’s self-build in Co Tyrone proves you can get planning permission for just about any design you can dream of – even a castle. Words: Debbie Orme Photography: Paul Lindsay
O
ur house has definitely been a labour of love,” says Elaine. “I reckon that it took about seven years from when we initially started researching house styles and planning to actually moving into the house in 2016. Both Kevin and I spent a lot of time on social media channels and online inspiration sites.” “Instagram was not as prevalent then as it is now but, since I travel a lot with my job, I’d also had lots of inspiration from different hotels I’d stayed in around the world. The tower aspect of our house, for example, was based on a house that I’d seen in Austria. It had been a dream of mine since I was very young, to live in my own fairy tale castle.” One of the great things about Elaine and Kevin’s self-build was the fact that, because they took so much time in the planning, building and self-project management the couple were able to leave themselves with a relatively low mortgage. “Kevin and I were very fortunate in that we both lived at home at the time of building,” says Elaine. “This was also prior to our wedding and so, by living at home, we were able to save money and pay for as many things as we could as we went along. Although the build took place over a fiveyear period, we now have a relatively low mortgage, which is obviously a great help.” “The design process stemmed from all those years gathering ideas, which we brought to an architectural designer who helped put them into floor plans. Ideas from hotels that I incorporated on a smaller scale include things like internal windows, the main staircase, and lighting.” “We had also originally looked at a split level design, an idea that came to me SUMMER 2020 / SELFBUILD / 21