Summer 2021 Preview

EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS

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SUMMER 2021 £4.50 / €4.99

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P ROJ ECTS IN : . MEATH . DOWN . MU NSTE R . A NTRI M . MAYO

Dream it . Do it . Live it

SYSTEMS GUIDE CH O O S I N G T H E RI G H T V E N T I L AT I O N , H E AT I N G A N D H OT WAT E R S Y ST E MS FO R YO UR H O M E

ALL IRELAND BEST SELLING MAGAZINE FOR SELF-BUILDERS AND HOME IMPROVERS

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EDITOR'S LETTER

Astrid Madsen - Editor astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie

s Selfbuild went to print the ROI government published Our Rural Future, the blueprint to their vision for rural Ireland. The measures listed are nothing new – we will have to wait until the Budget’s great unveil in the autumn to know if, when and how the selfbuild measures, such as the serviced sites scheme, will come into force.

Planning restrictions may be eased before then, though (see page 15).

What’s clear is that for self-building to be

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successful in rural areas, it needs to be part of a strategy that’s broader than housing.

With a green minister currently in charge of transport, here’s to hoping rural areas finally get funding for a comprehensive network of safe cycle lanes – connecting schools to housing could be a good place to start.

Systems Guide

EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS

Selfbuild SUMMER 2021 £4.50 / €4.99

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P ROJEC TS IN: .MEATH .D OWN .MUNSTER . ANTR IM .MAYO

Your guide to ventilation, heating and renewable systems for your home.

Stay safe and happy building!

COVER PHOTO Paul Lindsay

SELFBUILD.IE

99 Selfbuild Guide

Dream it . Do it . Live it

SYSTEMS GUIDE

CHOOSING THE RIGHT V E N T I L AT I O N , H E AT I N G A N D H OT WAT E R S YST E M S FO R YO U R H O M E

ALL IRELAND BEST SELLING MAGAZINE FOR SELF-BUILDERS AND HOME IMPROVERS

EDITOR Astrid Madsen astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie DESIGN Myles McCann myles.mccann@selfbuild.ie

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 ACCOUNTS Karen Kelly karen.kelly@selfbuild.ie SALES DIRECTOR Mark Duffin mark.duffin@selfbuild.ie MANAGING DIRECTOR Brian Corry brian.corry@selfbuild.ie CHAIRMAN Clive Corry clive.corry@selfbuild.ie DISTRIBUTION EM News Distribution Ltd

Shannon Quinn shannon.quinn@selfbuild.ie

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.

4 / S E L FB U IL D / S U M ME R 2021

100 Overview of what to plan for and what to expect from your systems

118 Heat emitters and controls

102 Energy assessment

126 Going off grid

104 Ventilation systems 112 Heating and hot water

122 Renewables

128 PROJECT: Building the dream

CONTENTS

Projects Learn from other self-builders all over the island of Ireland who have built new or renovated their home.

20 Bells and whistles Eimear and Donal Kane’s self-build in County Meath shows what you can achieve when you have the determination to see your vision through.

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32 Retirement plan

Downsizing is a common motivation to self-build, as was the case for Sandra and David Fulton in County Antrim.

44 Room to live and grow

Jemima and James Hammon turned a damp and dated County Mayo cottage into a fun filled family home.

56 Within walking distance

Caroline and Robin Harris bought this County Antrim home to renovate when they realised how much potential it had, not to mention being near to their children’s school.

68 From scratch

Samantha Smith explains how she built herself a mock Georgian home on a budget.

72 The automated house

Advice 87 Ask the expert

Getting you acquainted with robot lawnmowers and everything you need to know about kitchen islands.

88 Groundwork and landscaping costs

The outdoor space will put a significant dent in your budget; find out where costs can run out of control.

Mark McCall’s home in County Down has every home automation feature you can think of.

94 93 Get your fix

Mindful gardening as a way to beat the Covid blues.

94 Tokyo meets Mayo

Japandi interior design, a mix of Japanese and Scandinavian interiors, blends minimalism with practicality. Find out how it’s being applied to a Co Mayo project.

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84 From shed to office

Marion McGarry’s project to refurb her shed, spurred on by the coronavirus induced need to work from home.

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. S U MM E R 2 0 21 / SEL F BUIL D / 5

update the

NEWS . ANALYSIS . PRODUCTS . REVIEWS

Thatched homes under threat A lack of materials, thatchers, and prohibitively high insurance costs are preventing homeowners in Donegal to maintain their thatched properties. onegal County Council’s heritage officer, Joseph Gallagher told RTÉ some homeowners even grow their own materials to thatch their buildings.

“It’s surprising”, he said, “that over a decade after the publication of the AllIreland Traditional Building Craft Skills report by the National Heritage Training Group that highlighted the dearth in availability of traditional building skills, that little has been done to address the traditional building skills shortage”.

“The lack of insurance companies in

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the Republic of Ireland willing to provide quotes for historic thatch and the inability to get affordable insurance in some instances means that new generations of possible owners cannot live under thatch because insurance is required in order to take out a mortgage,” he added.

“Insurance companies in Northern Ireland, Britain and many other European countries seem better informed about historic thatch structures and can provide appropriate and more affordable insurance cover. It’s not clear why the situation in the Republic of Ireland is more prohibitive.”

Self-builder in 37k scam A couple with two children were scammed out of €37,000 during their self-build, reports the Sunday World.

As construction got underway, the contractor sought payment for work and materials via an email.

Fraudsters managed to get into the email correspondence, and the selfbuilders transferred money to the fraudsters’ account, thinking they were corresponding with the contractor and transferring money to him.

Gardai began an investigation shortly after the bogus transfer was reported to them in 2017, resulting in two suspects pleading guilty to the theft and money laundering charges in 2021.

New agency ‘land grab’ In a bid to make better use of state owned land, the ROI government is on its way towards establishing the Land Development Agency on a permanent footing. The enactment of primary legislation is pending to establish it as a commercial State agency.

The Irish Independent reports that the agency will have the power to enforce Compulsory Purchase Orders. Deputy Nolan raised concerns that the CPOs could amount to a “land grab” saying that “it would certainly undermine and endanger any efforts to maintain financial viability through farm expansion”.

Meanwhile, Social Democrats housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan said the proposal would lead to the “privatisation of public land through the backdoor”, driving up costs of building homes on public land.

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NEWS

NI budget brings back the 95 per cent mortgage Measures also include extending the stamp duty holiday to June, investing in chronically underfunded NI Water, and supporting modern methods of construction. he UK’s Budget published in March has extended the stamp duty holiday on house purchases under £500,000. In both England and NI, the reprieve which was due to end on March 31st has been extended to the 30th June. This means 90 per cent of people buying a new home will continue to pay no stamp duty at all.

The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak also confirmed a new mortgage guarantee scheme, available UK wide, to incentivise lenders back into the 95 per cent mortgage market.

The initiative will encourage banks and building societies to offer the high loan to value (LTV) mortgages by giving them the chance to buy a guarantee on the portion of the mortgage between 80 and 95 per cent.

So if a borrower gets into financial difficulty and their property is repossessed, the government will cover that 15 per cent portion of the lender’s losses. The scheme opened for new mortgage applications in April and will run until the end of 2022.

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NI Water The NI Executive has separately announced it was borrowing £30 million to provide additional funding to NI Water “due to the strategic nature of its pressures”. The new investment should increase self-builders’

chances of getting a mains connection in the coming years.

In August 2020, NI Water had warned that its “failing wastewater infrastructure” was unable to offer connections to new houses and businesses in both urban and rural locations. The “chronic underfunding” has led to “inadequate environmental protection through increased sewer flooding and pollution,” NI Water said in a statement.

NI Water’s 2021-2027 business plan outlined a need for an investment programme in excess of £2 billion.

Housing loan scheme under fire ROI Minister for Housing’s plan to boost the mortgage market sparks fears of price inflation and low supply Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien’s shared equity scheme, part of the Affordable Housing Bill, proposes to offer equity loans of up to 30 per cent on new build homes under €400,000. O’Brien wants to introduce the scheme for a year, when it would be up for review.

The Central Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute have warned of unintended consequences, the former warning that the move, in isolation, “is likely to have a limited impact on the ultimate supply-side problem in the Irish housing market”.

A similar initiative in the UK has shown that the net effect was to drive up prices, particularly in urban centres, without increasing housing supply, according to a study by the London School of Economics.

Modern methods of construction (MMC) The UK Chancellor also announced a commitment to MMC in his March Budget.

The Housing Ministry will establish a taskforce designed to stimulate MMC housebuilding with £10 million of “seed funding”.

Flat pack provider IKEA is already working on delivering 750 modular homes over the next five years, in partnership with builder Skanska and housing association Abri.

The IKEA/Skanska partnership, called BoKlok, will build the houses at low and predictable costs with minimum waste. The completed homes are manufactured offsite and feature high quality IKEA fittings.

They are then transported to the construction site for assembly.

New wastewater rules for ROI The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its new Code of Practice.

The 2021 Code of Practice for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Population Equivalent ≤ 10) will come into force on the 7th of June.

The 2009 Code of Practice will continue to be used for site assessments and subsequent installations commenced before 7th June

2021, or where planning permission has been applied for before that date.

The new guidelines mean that selfbuilders whose site was unsuitable for development may now be able to find a solution for on site wastewater treatment.

Compliance with the EPA’s Code of

Practice is required under the Building and Planning Control systems.

A full analysis of what the changes mean for self-builders will be published in the Autumn 2021 edition of Selfbuild magazine.

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NEWS

Small Dublin cottage wins Home of the Year

Confused about selfbuilding?

The seventh series of Home of the Year saw the three judges Hugh Wallace, Suzie Mc Adam and Amanda Bone visit 21 homes across the country to eventually chose Jen’s as the ultimate winner.

“Entering the living/kitchen/ dining area was terrific because it’s such a small footprint of the house,” said Hugh Wallace. “It has great functionality for a small home but even better - big personality and that came from the homeowner.”

Photography: Joe McCallion

Jen Sheahan, and her late 1800s artisan cottage in Dublin, has scooped the coveted title of RTÉ Home of the Year 2021.

Ask An Architect NI and the RIAI Simon Open Door are now taking bookings for 2021.

Whether you are undertaking a small renovation or extension project, or a whole new build, you will need some help and advice along the way.

The first port of call is often an architect. They can help and advise at any stage of your project, from the earliest conceptual stages to the last moments of problem solving.

So whether you have a question about storage or how to get planning permission, book a consultation with an architect near you. There are two initiatives to help a good cause, with all participating architects giving their time and expertise for free.

In ROI, the RIAI Simon Open Door is a partnership between the Simon Communities of Ireland and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

In return for a €95 donation, homeowners get an hour long consultation with an RIAI registered architect to discuss building, rebuilding or renovating their homes.

Simon Open Door is running between Tuesday 4 May to Friday 14 May 2021 and you can book on simonopendoor.ie In NI, book your consultation on askanarchitect-ni.com in support of cancer research. £40 is the minimum donation but you are welcome to give more. Booking is now live, and consultations can take place any time until the end of September 2021.

All of the funds raised will go to assist research into finding a cure for cancer, conducted in the Cancer Centre of excellence at Belfast City Hospital via its affiliated charity the Friends of the Cancer Centre.

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NEWS

Covid inflates prices Building costs continue to rise while the housing shortage, partly caused by the pandemic, has led to a surge in house prices in both NI and ROI.

Build cost per sqm ROI: €1,450 to €1,850 NI: £1,000 to £1,600

Source: Aecom Ireland Annual Review 2021, indicative building costs for suburban housing

Image by Kevin Schneider from Pixabay

oth NI and ROI have seen house prices increase by over 7 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.

Local house prices grew by 7.4 per cent in NI in the first quarter of 2021, as compared to the first quarter of 2020, to an average of £154,012, according to a survey by Nationwide Building Society.

The daft.ie report, meanwhile, reveals that in ROI prices on average were 7.6 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2021 than in the first quarter of 2020, averaging at €275,751.

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Building cost increase The cost of timber continues to be hit by administrative delays; figures issued by quantity surveyor Linesight show that timber prices are rising by 4 per cent to 5 per cent, ahead of construction inflation which is to hit 3 per cent in 2021.

As reported in the Irish Times, Linesight forecasts a price rise of up to 4 per cent for concrete, increases of 6 per cent to 8 per cent for insulation, 4 per cent to 5 per cent for copper cable and 3 per cent to 4 per cent for some aluminium materials.

The impact of Brexit on ROI, according to Linesight, could lead to “significant increases in the cost of key materials such as steel, insulation and timber, largely driven by increased logistics costs and supply chain constraints.”

BBA certificates, which certify products to British standards, no longer being recognised in ROI will also impact the construction sector, according to their survey.

Meanwhile Aecom’s annual review in relation to NI says that longer term, a Brexit guarantee of no tariffs on goods should help mitigate short term cost increases in materials.

Missed targets An Ernst and Young study commissioned by the Construction Industry Federation highlighted that ROI could now miss its target of building 25,000 homes this year by as much as 60 per cent.

Meanwhile, as pointed out in the Irish Independent, a Project Ireland 2040 government report shows that the Irish construction sector is exceptionally unproductive. There has in fact been minimal labour productivity growth in Irish construction from 2000 to 2016.

The Build: Construction Sector Performance and Prospects 2019 report shows the Irish construction sector is ranked at 14th out of 19 Euro area countries; it is also 24 per cent below the European average. In contrast, Irish productivity across all sectors is 34 per cent above the European average.

Self-builders return to site in ROI Residential construction sites reopen April 12th ahead of the rest of the construction industry.

Commencement notices submitted during the January to March lockdown will remain valid until April 26th 2021, thanks to legislation passed by government in April.

The ROI Department of Housing says there are over 4,400 homes with valid commencement notices that will benefit from the extension.

Normally, commencement notices need to be submitted not less than 14 days before building can start on site.

The NI Executive, meanwhile, did not introduce a lockdown for construction in 2021. A four month lockdown was introduced in ROI in January to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This included a lockdown on most construction activity, including self-builds, with the exception of work required for essential services.

Only those whose house was nearing completion were allowed to continue building. All other self-build sites ground to a halt, or were unable to start. DIY stores and builder’s merchants remained open during this time.

The rest of the construction industry will reopen on May 4th 2021, “subject to public health guidance”.

Legal challenge

The coronavirus lockdown on 60 per cent of the construction sector is being challenged in the High Court.

According to the Irish Examiner, the action comes from a company that is not challenging the primary or secondary legislation introduced to slow the spread of the virus.

Instead, it argues there is no basis in the primary legislation for the minister to have distinguished between different types of construction works.

It claims the restrictions, and the failure to allow the entire SUMME R 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 13

NEWS

July 2021 date for selling electricity back to the grid Publication of the final approved scheme is slated for Q2 2021, confirms the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. omes, small businesses and farms that generate a small amount of energy from their on-site electricity system, known collectively as microgenerators, will get a chance to sell back their excess to the grid under ROI’s new Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS).

The MSS plans were put to public consultation earlier this year and received over 900 submissions.

Homeowners can currently apply for a grant to install photovoltaic (PV) panels on their existing home, as long as it has been built before 2011 and is energy efficient.

Most microgenerators usually serve their own consumption needs. This is because it is less efficient to export electricity to the grid than to use the electricity where it is generated.

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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in fact adapted its PV grant system in 2019 to encourage homeowners to install systems no larger than they need.

In NI you can sell electricity back to the grid through NIE. Feed-in tariff In order to be eligible to sell electricity back to the grid under this new Microgeneration Support Scheme, microgenerators will have to first met minimum energy efficiency requirements for their properties.

This presumably would require the property to be brought up to at least a B2 on the Building Energy Rating scale, the current benchmark for major renovations.

“The principle of an energy efficiency first approach to building retrofit is included,” states the press release.

The Department of Environment is promising a “fair price” for the electricity microgenerators will sell back to the grid.

However, the models being looked at by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in the past indicate the feed-in tariff will be modest.

The move is in line with previous commitments by government, especially as outlined in the Climate Action Plan.

A consultant’s report issued as part of the public consultation, by Ricardo Confidential, states only solar PV panels and micro-CHP are suitable technologies for Irish homes. CHP or combined heat and power is a high efficiency system that provides heat and electricity, usually fuelled by gas (see the Selfbuild Systems Guide starting page 99).

BOOK REVIEW

The home collection Home Extension Design (second edition) and Taste: A cultural history of the home interior, are two of the books curated within the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) home inspiration collection.

Written by seasoned self-build advisor Julian Owen, Home Extension Design is full of practical tips and top level advice for those embarking on such a project, including walking you through all the stages from concept to completion. It’s really useful as a homeowner’s guide, touching on the watchpoints you need to be aware of.

Drew Plunkett’s Taste, meanwhile, is a very detailed and well researched guide into the origins of architectural and domestic styles.

However know that both guides are for Britain and aimed at that market so the regulations discussed are for England and Wales, for example.

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Home Extension Design (Second Edition) by Julian Owen, ISBN 9781859468142, hardback, £45, 256 pages colour throughout.

Taste by Drew Plunkett, ISBN 9781859439255, hardback, £35, 216 pages colour throughout.

NEWS

June date for draft revision to locals only rules

Meanwhile a local councillor is pushing for the removal of the restrictions in Galway County’s 2022-2028 County Development Plan. long awaited update to the ROI Department of Housing’s 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines is due to be published by the end of June, the department’s press office told Selfbuild.

The guidelines restrict one-off housing in the countryside. In some zones, people who want to build their own home find it impossible to secure planning permission without proving a connection to the site.

County Development Plans, the zoning rules set out by each local authority, base their rural housing guidelines on the Department’s 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines.

“Work is advancing on updating the 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for planning authorities, which were issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), with a view to submitting a draft to the Minister before Easter,” the press office told Selfbuild in an email.

“However, given the complexity of the issues involved, the need for environmental assessment and both internal and external consultation, it will not be possible to conclude the updating process until Q2 2021.”

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Galway rebel Galway Councillor Jim Cuddy tells Selfbuild that Galway County Council is in the process of reviewing its County Development Plan, and that the council is considering eliminating the locals only rules.

Galway’s County Development Plans are reviewed every six years.

“The big difficulty is knowing the existing County Development Plan is not in compliance with EU regulations,” said Cuddy. “We plan to have our draft finalised by the end of March, and instead of locals

only rules for one-off housing we could put in place requirements that would mean development would have no or minimal impact on the environment.”

In 2014 Galway County Council adopted its current 2015-2021 County Development Plan, which includes locals only provisions. Cuddy said the council voted for the plan without knowing of the European Court of Justice ruling.

Following a public consultation process, Galway’s new County Development Plan will come into effect by May 2022.

TIMELINE 2005. The Department of Housing publishes its Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines restricting one-off housing in the countryside, introducing locals only rules.

2007. European Commission issues infringement notice to Ireland in relation to the “local needs criteria”, deferred pending and European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on a case taken against Belgium.

2013. ECJ rules the Flemish Decree resulted in hampering the free movement of people; Irish government notified of the decision, original infringement notice on locals only rule stands.

2017. County Council special meeting resulting in letter to minister; Circular Letter PL2/2017 states that the 2005 guidelines are still in place with promise of setting up a working group to examine changes to the guidelines.

2019. Working group to examine changes to the guidelines is appointed.

March 2021. Draft revision to the 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing guidelines to be presented to the Minister of Housing.

June 2021. Draft Sustainable Rural Housing guidelines to be published by the Department of Housing.

Get your grant!

Grants to fully fund renovations in ROI are extended.

Grants for those in receipt of welfare payments in ROI are excellent if you plan to increase the energy efficiency of your home, with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (see seai.ie) funding all or most of the costs in many cases. Terms and conditions apply depending on the scheme, such as the house having been built and occupied before 2006.

Now the Department of Housing announced in March it was increasing the funding pot for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, setting €75 million aside for the scheme.

The fund, which supports home adaptations for older people, those with a disability and people with mobility issues, is 80 per cent exchequer funding through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with 20 per cent funding from the relevant local authority.

Grants of up to €30,000 are available to assist people with a disability in carrying out necessary works to make a house more suitable for their needs, up to €8,000 to assist older people to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out and up to €6,000 for mobility aids. Funding has been increasing year on year since 2014.

In NI the Disabled Facilities Grant could see all of the works recommended by an Occupational Therapist funded (up to £25,000); the Home Repairs Assistance Grant is harder to get and capped at £5,000 over a three year period.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Green Homes Grant, which wasn’t available in NI, was scrapped due to a lack of uptake.

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C O M PA N Y N E W S

Nine decades of innovation Leading premium window and door manufacturer Internorm has just turned 90!

To mark the event, the Austrian company is celebrating under the social media hashtag #fit4future “Internorm has been paying particular attention to sustainable production methods, from locally sourced raw materials, endof-life recycling, waste heat recovery in its manufacturing facilities and the integration of recycled uPVC in new products,” said Andreas Simmer, MD for Internorm UK and Ireland.

All Internorm window and door systems are solely developed and manufactured in their three ultra-modern factories in Austria – from research and development, its own extrusion and production of insulating and safety

glass, to the most advanced manufacturing technologies and logistic systems – all focused on using the least amount of energy and raw materials, whilst finding ways to maximise recycling and focus on sustainable production methods. uk.internorm.com

Insulation warehouse If you are looking for insulation products, know that a new website – insulationwarehouse.ie – has just been launched by Eco Celt, a supplier of insulation products.

The insulationwarehouse.ie website stocks major insulation and render brands such as

STOMIX, K-Rend, KORE and Kingspan. The website also offers a wide range of render and brick cladding solutions to suit Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF), External Wall Insulation (EWI), ventilated cladding and standard masonry substrates.

Self-builders are even welcome to apply for a trade discount account with exclusive discounts; knowledgeable technical staff can also assist with installation guidance and with meeting architectural specifications in the most cost effective manner.

Free delivery is available for large orders.

Find out more on insulationwarehouse.ie

Passive ICF There are many benefits to building your walls out of insulating concrete formwork (ICF) – thermal performance, airtightness, low thermal bridging, fire resistance, structural strength, acoustic performance and rapid build and simplicity.

ICF also reduces the need for wet trades, adding to program certainty (less likelihood of delays), minimal micro-cracking on finishes and almost no snagging, all due to the solid concrete core of the structure.

And now thanks to Amvic, a leading ICF supplier, you can even rest assured you will hit a U-value of 0.15W/sqmK with its newly launched Amvic 350 Passive, which is made up of 100 mm of high density enhanced expanded polystyrene insulation either side of the 150mm concrete core.

You are also guaranteed almost zero thermal bridging, as well as inherent airtightness, which makes compliance with the building regulations easy to achieve.

Simple to build and available ex-stock, with Amvic ICF walling products you are guaranteed there will be no waiting around for design and manufacture. amvic.ie

Outdoor porcelain An outdoor seating area is a must in the summertime and if you’re looking for something a bit different, one solution is to use porcelain tiles. They help merge the inside finish with the outside, to provide a feeling of space, and are easy to maintain.

Enter AllStone, the Carlow and Dublin based company that has just started stocking a wide range of porcelain tiles, all made to look like natural stone.

“Natural stone paving such as sandstone, limestone and granite have been very popular on the Irish market over the last few years,” says Samus Byrne of AllStone. “We have noticed that there has been a slow rising demand on exterior porcelain tiles to the market. Here at Allstone we have decided to 16 / SE L F B U ILD / S U MME R 2021

mix both products to accelerate the popularity of porcelain.”

AllStone’s porcelain slabs emulate some of their best selling paving slabs, including Sandstone, Kandla Grey, Silver and Gold Granite.

For the full range check out allstone.ie/porcelain

C O M PA N Y N E W S

Tech central EcoVolt project for Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council won the “Best Energy in Buildings Award” at the 2020 SEAI Energy Awards.

Dublin based award-winning Irish manufacturing company EcoVolt has just bagged another innovation award.

One of their projects for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council won the Best Energy in Buildings Award at the 2020 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

Energy Awards.

Ecovolt was already known, and rewarded with the 2017 Enterprise Ireland Sprint Awards, for inventing the CeP carbon paint heating system. The CeP is a patented panel with 24V electrical connections ready to plug into your renewable system. It is installed like industry standard plasterboard and can be painted over.

With all installations, EcoVolt takes a holistic approach when it comes to providing heating, hot water, ventilation and renewable technology like photovoltaics (electricity from the sun), battery storage and their A++ rated H20 exhaust air hot water system.

For more information on how EcoVolt can deliver compliance with nZEB for your new build or renovation project, visit ecovolt.ie

Plug and play If you’re building a garden room, or extending your home, you’ll have to think about how to heat the space. To avoid the cost of connecting to the house’s central heating system, you’re likely to consider a standalone option. Ticking the renewables box and new to the market is EASYbreeze, exclusively distributed in Ireland by Hercuglás Teronta.

EASYbreeze is a compact and slim internal heat pump unit that doubles up as your heat emitter, dehumidifier and purification centre (three filtration systems: particulate, carbon and catalytic).

The installation only requires two holes through an external wall – the unit is plug and play with all materials provided, (it comes as a complete kit), making the in-room

Rock solid

For DIY landscaping jobs, using stonework can be complicated and expensive. In comes Glentown Stone’s new gabion stone product, ideal for use in gabion baskets but also as a great alternative for jobs like garden walls, patios, ponds or fire pits. It can even be used internally.

For these smaller jobs, the gabion stone is a more cost effective alternative to building stone, retailing at £35 per tonne.

Made of rich natural Donegal slate, Glentown’s gabion stone is available in a myriad of colours from grey to blue all the way to sandy brown. It is hand picked from the Glentown quarry just outside St Johnston, County Donegal. glentownstone.com

installation quick and easy. All installation and servicing is done indoors.

Suitable for rooms 50sqm or less, this stylish all-in-one room heat pump is sound and vibration proofed, and controllable by remote or through the LED panel.

Retailing at just €1,935 including VAT, you can get it delivered both in NI and ROI. hercuglas.com

Let’s get cooking Sykes Tiles + Bathrooms has rebranded as Sykes Interiors, now offering full design and installation services for not just bathrooms but kitchens too.

The new kitchen side of the business pulls together the expertise of 30 years in design and installation.

All Sykes designs start with 3D models to give you an idea of what to expect. In the kitchen you can choose from a large range of door styles, appliances, as well as worktops and joinery.

Installation is overseen by Sykes’ dedicated team of experts but you can also buy the

components and have them installed by your joiner. sykesinteriors.com SUMME R 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 17

Projects SUMMER 2021

NEW BUILDS

RENOVATIONS . EXTENSIONS

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32

Bells and whistles

An Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) build.

Retirement plan

When downsizing means modernising your life.

84 From shed to office A project spurred on by the pandemic need for space.

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Within walking distance

One man’s dated house is another man’s well located treasure.

Room to live and grow Turning a damp and dated cottage into a fun filled family home.

See your home featured in Selfbuild magazine by emailing info@selfbuild.ie More photos of these projects available on selfbuild.ie

68 From scratch 72 The A Georgian self-build automated house on a budget.

Lights, camera, action: the house that runs itself.

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