Selfbuild Autumn 2021

Selfbuild EXTENSIONS RENOVATIONS NEW HOMES INTERIORS GARDENS

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EDITOR'S LETTER

Astrid Madsen - Editor astrid.madsen@selfbuild.ie

elf-certification continues to plague the ROI construction sector. Whether it’s got to do with how self-build sites are supervised (see p13), or how construction products are sold.

According to an analysis in thejournal.ie, the most likely reason concrete blocks containing mica got on the market was through the manufacturers themselves issuing their own declaration of performance certs.

For self-certification to work, there’s a clear need

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for inspections.

In the case of one-off houses, self-builders would greatly benefit from constructive advice and support from building control authorities; after all, homeowners want and need their home to be built to the regulations or above.

In the case of self-build site inspections, all we know is that in 2020 there were at least 5,839 selfbuild projects that got started on site. How many of those were inspected is unknown.

COVER PHOTO Paul Lindsay

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INSULATION GUIDE

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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.

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97 Selfbuild Guide Your guide to insulation and airtightness for your new build or renovation project.

Airtightness and Insulation Guide 98 Overview of how to choose what products to use 100 The basic concepts you need to be aware of 106 Insulation types 108 Airtightness systems and testing 112 Installation and thermal bridging

116 New build strategies 119 New build project ROI 122 New build project NI 124 Retrofit strategies 128 Retrofit project

CONTENTS

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

20 Family cluster

Self-building near family always helps, and for Fionnuala Mannion of Co Galway it also meant being able to learn from her sister’s experience self-building.

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32 Room to roam

Emma and Mark McMullan of Co Antrim weren’t afraid to take on a direct labour selfbuild, despite planning their wedding at the same time…

44 Labour of love

Milo and Joanne Butler nurtured their Co Donegal renovation project much like they’ve nurtured their educational garden, which they’ve turned into an organic centre.

80 91 Raspberry ripples

Lifting the lid on compost toilets and how to make sure your heat recovery ventilation system stays quiet as a mouse.

Autumn is the perfect time to plant berries of all kinds; find out how.

80 Extension costs

93 The only way is up

Adding up the various elements that go into the end cost of your dream extension.

85 New treatment options open to self-builders

What the changes to the ROI Wastewater Code of Practice mean for you.

Whether you’re looking for a sleek elevator or a practical stair lift in your new or existing home, there’s a solution at the ready.

John and Sinead Cullen’s renovation project in Co Antrim stayed true to the house’s Art Deco roots, whilst giving it a contemporary twist.

69 Four month turnkey build

Jim and Faye McGrath of Co Mayo had their house delivered to them within a three week timeframe, from foundations to moving in.

74 Mountain views

Lauren and Alex Speers built a budget friendly yet stylish home in Co Down through hard work and determination.

Advice 79 Ask the expert

56 Sight unseen

20 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. A U TU M N 2 021 / SEL F BUIL D / 5

10 REASONS SELF-BUILDERS SHOULD BUILD WITH AIRCRETE THERMAL BLOCKS Building with Aircrete blocks is on the rise in Ireland, and the outlook tells us demand will continue to grow both nationally and globally, with recently published research forecasting the continued surge of the autoclaved aerated concrete market: “Rising demand for sustainable building materials and eco-friendly nature of AAC material are key factors driving industry growth,” says Emergen Research.

1 SUPERIOR COMFORT There is no substitute for a comfortable home, and with self-builders usually planning to build their forever home, comfort is top of the priorities list for many.

2 REDUCED ENERGY BILLS Reduced energy usage means reduced energy bills – perfect for every self-builder! It’s all down to the unique properties of Aircrete and their superior thermal performance.

3 THERMAL PERFORMANCE Aircrete blocks offer superb thermal performance, insulating up to ten times better than dense concrete blocks. With the walls of the house traditionally the biggest source of heat loss, the blocks can significantly reduce this and easily achieve better U-Values whilst maintaining an optimal thermal mass.

The blocks’ thermal performance is undoubtedly one of its most appealing properties for self-builders.

4 ELIMINATES DAMP & MOULD RISK It’s unsightly and unhealthy, and quite frankly, damp and mould should not be a problem in modern homes, but unless you deal effectively with the potential cold spots in your new build, it can still be a risk. With Aircrete, the risk is eliminated.

5 SUPERIOR FIRE PERFORMANCE Aircrete blocks far outperform some of the other alternatives on the market when it comes to fire performance, with timber frame only providing 30 minutes fire resistance and Aircrete up to 4 hours for the 215mm block and 2 hours for the 100mm block.

6 FASTER HEATING RESPONSE Aircrete walls respond quicker when heating is turned on. So rooms heat faster and the heating is on for a shorter period with less energy usage.

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SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION

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Made from up to 80% recycled materials, an A+ Green Guide rating and one of the first construction products to have an Environmental Product Declaration published by the Irish Green Building Council. But it’s not just the block that’s more sustainable, it’s the home you build. Aircrete’s superior performance means selfbuilders can build a much more energy efficient home, with passive house or net zero standards much easier to achieve.

Aircrete is tried and tested as a strong and durable construction material.

It’s been established for decades as the material of choice in wall construction in countries right across Europe and beyond, including Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK.

10 COST EFFECTIVE

8 REDUCE HEAT LOSS THROUGH THERMAL BRIDGING Aircrete reduces heat loss through thermal bridging by up to 80%. As thermal bridging occurs at every junction where there is a break in the insulation fabric, it is one of the largest sources of heat loss and important to address correctly.

Aircrete built is not only better built, but also a very cost-effective way to achieve a superior home.

For example, the cost of upgrading from using Aircrete in all key junctions of a house to building the entire inner leaf with Aircrete is typically only a very small percentage of the overall build cost.

This is then offset quickly by the resulting energy savings, and well worth it for the added performance benefits. In many cases the net result can be cost neutral.

Visit SelfBuildWithMannok.com for more on building with Aircrete and our tailored self-build packages.

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NEWS . ANALYSIS . PRODUCTS . REVIEWS

Selfbuild Live is back!

Selfbuild Live Belfast will open its doors on the 3rd of September, in line with the lifting of Covid-related government restrictions in NI. ver the past few months, Selfbuild has been busy working on the reopening of its live events in Belfast, Dublin and Cork.

The result is a new set of protocols, developed with the Irish Exhibition Organisers Association.

Selfbuild Live Belfast, at the Titanic Exhibition Centre (TEC), is the first to reopen on the weekend of the 3rd to the 5th of September.

The show will pack a punch as always, featuring live theatres, advice clinics, a house plans workshop, and 120+ high quality exhibitors that will help turn your self-build and home improvement dreams

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into reality.

Over 40,000 visitors attend all the shows each year to get ideas, inspiration and advice. These must-attend events are designed to bring together hundreds of experts to help you create your dream home.

The event’s number one priority is visitor and exhibitor safety, so you will need to book your visiting time in advance. To manage numbers, there is also a nominal ticket fee of £6, but Selfbuild+ members can attend for FREE! To become a Sb+ member and start your free 14 day trial, go to selfbuild.ie and click on the Subscribe tab. To get tickets go to live.selfbuild.ie

ROI self-builds to be taxed Self-builders in ROI will now be faced with a property tax bill, in line with the government’s €3.5 billion Economic Recovery Plan.

Properties built since 2013 have not been paying property tax up until now, which includes self-builds. These properties are now being brought onto the property tax register, and newly built homes will be added to the register in November of each year.

A third of those currently paying property tax will see their tax band increase, meaning they will have to pay an additional €90 per year, but in the case of a significant increase in property value since 2013, the increase could be greater.

Block built homes on way out?

The construction sector in the UK and Ireland are pushing for modular construction, or the process of building homes off site and assembling them on site within a matter of days or weeks, delegates at the 2021 Digital Construction Summit heard.

Building this way is more efficient for developers as it’s quicker and has eight times more quality checks, as well as reducing waste by 80 per cent and being five times safer.

Currently, off site construction represents seven to 10 per cent of the UK and Irish construction industry, said Paul Carty, director of construction in Ireland for Ballymore.

He said the issue to date has been keeping the factories open, as they need orders coming in on a regular basis to be profitable. “While the private sector will have fits and starts, the public sector needs to fill these low troughs to keep the modular buildings going,” he told delegates at the event organised by the Construction Industry Federation.

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NEWS

Self-build dreams shattered DIY self-builders in ROI who plan to build with anything but blockwork are struggling to get insurance. íofra Ní Chonluain and Mark McHugh’s decision to self-build was in large part driven by their desire to build themselves an affordable, eco friendly home.

“We chose a factory made timber frame system that is exceptionally energy efficient.”

“This method of building would have allowed us to get the house sealed within two to three weeks by the manufacturer, at an affordable cost.”

“Once we had our shell, we were going to hire the tradesmen ourselves. We planned on doing a lot of the work ourselves too.”

Hopeful to build her dream home too is aspiring self-builder Veronika. Along with her partner, who is a carpenter, she planned to build with Cross Laminated Timber.

The couple bought their site in Co Cavan in 2019, secured planning permission, filed their commencement notice and then picked up the phone to get self-build insurance quotes but quickly realised no one wanted to insure their project.

Meanwhile Síofra, who works in the insurance industry, started looking for selfbuild insurance quotes in January 2021. “I approached the commercial department in my company who told me the UK underwriters had pulled out of the sector, as a result of Brexit, and may or may not come back.”

“I rang 20 to 25 brokers and insurance companies but barely managed to get quotes for fire cover, let alone to get anyone to quote for public liability, and wasn’t willing to take the risk of building without it.”

“We were told that our timber frame was a non-standard build, even though the timber frame supplier has all of the certification proving it exceeds current building regulations.”

“The system we chose has an external cement board finish, and we went back to the insurers to see if they would cover it if we changed that to a block wall. But even

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then, they said it was non-standard.”

“We looked at building the house with standard cavity walls, to make it a standard build. But we wanted to build a 200sqm house and the blockwork route would have been too expensive for us, to achieve the same passive house standard.”

“In March I eventually got a quote in, which was very expensive. They insisted the cover would have to last 18 months, even though we wanted a much shorter period as the house was going to be erected quickly.”

“Within a week, we were told our quote was no longer valid.”

“We couldn’t afford to hire a main contractor, and we couldn’t take the risk to self-build without public liability insurance.

We’re not afraid of hard work, and are on a budget, so we probably will end up buying a fixer upper,” adds Síofra.

For her part, Veronika was also told the reason she was turned down insurance was Brexit. “They told me insurance companies left (ROI) and would come back, but couldn’t say when.”

“Some insurers wouldn’t allow us to build it ourselves, they would only insure if we had a main contractor to build it from start to finish. We are trying to save money by going direct labour so couldn’t agree to those terms.”

“Some insurers would allow us to build it but only if we put a layer of block, or stone cladding, on the outside. This would represent an extra labour and material cost,” adds Veronika.

“It came to the point where we thought, if we have to pay somebody to lay the blocks, why don’t we build the whole house from block. In that case, the insurance shouldn’t be a problem for a direct labour self-build.”

“So we contacted some companies for quotations for a direct labour block build.

Only one replied and the price to bring the house to a builder’s finish, for us to complete the floors, bathrooms, etc., was unbelievable.”

Render of Veronika’s house

Help wanted for Tipp build

Another community build is underway, this time in Co Tipperary and organised by the people who completed the late Michael Barry’s home for his family in Dundrum – a project that appeared on RTÉ’s DIY SOS series.

The volunteers, known as the Goodness Army Build Team, are currently project managing A Home for Adam.

It’s being built for a boy with autism who is non-verbal and requires 24-hour care. Adam is currently living in a caravan with his dad Patrick and two sisters. The family had bought a house two years ago that required extensive renovation and Patrick, as a builder and steel erector, had planned to do it up. But as he is caring for his son full time, he has had to give up work.

The GoFundMe page for the project has exceeded €30k, but the volunteers still need labour and materials. You can find them on Facebook under A Home for Adam and The Goodness Army.

AUTUMN 2 0 21 / S EL F BU IL D / 9

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NEWS

More people eligible for grants in NI The Affordable Warmth grant, which funds energy upgrades in the homes of low income earners, has widened its eligibility criteria. he income threshold has been increased from £20k to £23k and some benefits will no longer be included in the calculation of income, including disability living allowance, personal independent payment and carer’s allowance.

Since its inception in 2014, almost 20,000 homes underwent an energy upgrade under the scheme which offers a range of energy efficiency improvement measures including loft, cavity and solid wall insulation, new

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and replacement heating systems and replacement windows.

It is mostly a targeted scheme where local councils actively identify the most vulnerable households who can then benefit from improvements.

The Affordable Warmth scheme offers a grant of up to £7,500 (£10,000 for solid wall measures), is funded by the Department for Communities and delivered in partnership with the Housing Executive, local councils and a range of local installers.

Woodlands grants

If you are self-building in a remote location, and own a large site, a well-managed woodland could be a sustainable solution to all of your fuel needs.

Good news comes in the form of the NI Woodland Grant Schemes, which opened in June. To qualify you will need to plant 0.2 hectare (about half an acre) or more with native woodland, mixed woodland or commercial conifer woodland.

The Small Woodland establishment grant is paid at £2,925 per hectare, 80 per cent in year one and the remaining 20 per cent in year five. A fencing grant is also available where necessary to secure the new woodland.

An annual payment is also available over a 10 year period where the land to be planted is in agricultural use. You must apply online by the 30th September; see daera-ni.gov.uk

New deep retrofit grants The ROI government plans to upgrade a third of the housing stock to a B2 by 2030. To get you to sign up to it, there’s a new one stop shop application process. mixture heat pumps installations by of climate 2025 than there were in 2019. ambitions In 2019, roughly 2,000 and EU homes upgraded their directives have left the existing dwelling to a B2 ROI government in a building energy rating – the scramble to upgrade the plan is for this to leap to energy efficiency of a third 34,000 in 2022, and then of Ireland’s housing stock set a pace of roughly 55,000 within a decade. upgrades a year form 2023 to The Climate Action 2030.

Plan commits to installing The government’s grant 400,000 heat pumps in system up to now has focused existing homes by 2030, in on shallow retrofit measures, the context of upgrading i.e. small improvements in 500,000 homes to a energy efficiency such as The SEAI has unveiled a new format for Building Energy Rating insulating your attic. Often its Building Energy Rating (BER) advisory of B2 within the same seen as a piecemeal approach report to make it easier to understand what timeframe, the equivalent it takes to carry out an energy upgrade. as these measures only of roughly a third of the tend to tackle one building total housing stock. element.

This means that there will 50 times more The government’s shift in strategy is to

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upgrade the entire home, in what’s referred to as deep retrofits.

The new deep retrofit scheme is being administered through One Stop Shop providers, which are contractors who register with the SEAI and commit to the code of practice, much like the current list of contractors for the shallow retrofit scheme.

To apply for a deep retrofit grant, you need to contact one of the preapproved contractors or energy agencies who are currently registered.

They will take care of everything, from assessing the house to design, installation, commissioning (checking the systems), and walking you through how it all works once it is all complete.

Financing the remaining two thirds of the work is possible through other channels.

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NEWS OPINION

We need a change of mindset

Mica homeowners demand 100 per cent redress

The problem with rural housing is far reaching, writes self-build advisor John Corless.

Readers of Selfbuild will be familiar with the defective concrete blocks scandal first identified in 2013. A 2017 government report highlighted that 5,000 homes in counties Donegal and Mayo had been built using blocks contaminated with mica or pyrite, making them structurally unsound. Since then, more cases have emerged, not just in Donegal and Mayo but also in Clare.

Protests in Dublin have grabbed the headlines recently with mica affected homeowners asking for a 100 per cent redress scheme; the grant for repairs had been capped at 90 per cent by the government in 2019. Some, (if not all, according to some engineers), homes will have to be knocked down and entirely rebuilt.

The Minister was reported as saying the government could explore recouping costs from builders and designers. The report is expected back on the 31st of July.

The issue with rural housing, and it has been for 60 years, is not just about selfcertification. The issues blur into other areas and issues.

The planning process in ROI is problematic, as is the systematic attack on rural Ireland since the 1970s.

The high percentage of homeownership and aspirant homeownership has been identified by many, yet nothing has changed. The property ladder is as enticing as ever.

Building methods is another problem: only blockwork is considered affordable and practical even though there are much speedier and more sustainable methods out

there.

Feeding into this also is our (Irish people north and south) overall lack of style – preferring as we do the overly mundane and practical. Nod and wink politics is also a factor.

It is difficult to separate these issues as they are all intertwined and form the core and fabric of the whole house building industry.

Plus today, insulation is way more expensive than it should be, there is a shortage of labour, and our building standards do not reflect the wishes of the people or the practicality of their lives.

Poor building standards not going away The mica scandal is a symptom of a flawed system.

Shoddy workmanship is another, and self-builders need legislation to protect them against it, writes Selfbuild magazine editor Astrid Madsen.

If you’re a developer and plan to build any type of building, you will have to pay for a team of building professionals to check and sign off on its construction, with plenty of paperwork to prove it and a chain of liability attached. The developer will naturally want the build signed off on, quickly and without any hassle, to move on to the next project.

Self-builders have a very different end goal. They want their home to be built to the highest standard possible, simply because they will be living in it. And so, what most self-builders do is hire a building professional, often an engineer, to check the work as the build progresses.

The Safe as Houses report, which was published by an Oireachtas Committee in 2018, logically recommended replacing this self-certification system with a proper building control authority that would work much like the Food Safety Authority. (And incidentally, resemble the system in place in NI, which is different to the rest of the UK.) If that’s too much to ask, at the very minimum a 10 year structural warranty should be mandatory on every build – the insurer would then do the job of double checking the work is indeed up to scratch. Not ideal, but a better system than we have today.

Delay to locals only changes The ROI Department of Housing’s plan to publish a draft revision to the 2005 Rural Housing Planning Guidelines in June has been postponed, and is now slated for “later in 2021”, Selfbuild has learned.

“Updated Rural Housing Planning Guidelines are currently being prepared that will continue to allow for the development of homes in rural areas while also highlighting the need to manage certain areas around cities and towns in order to avoid over-development of those areas,” a spokesperson told Selfbuild.

“Given the complexity of the issues involved, the need for environmental assessment and both internal and external consultation, the Minister expects final updated guidelines to be available later in 2021.”

The rural housing guidelines are the basis on which local authorities can prevent people that do not come from the local area from building their home on a greenfield site.

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 13

NEWS

Planners save corner shop Laois County Council prevented a couple from demolishing a landmark building that carried a dereliction order, reports the Leinster Express.

The couple was applying for planning permission to build their two storey family home, which they secured with 15 conditions, but were told they couldn’t demolish the rundown building that used to be a local shop.

The reason given was that the shop was part of the vernacular architecture, defined as an “expression of the culture of the community which forms a vital component of the landscape”.

The applicants’ engineer report stated that the couple could not “justify the expense to renovate and render the building safe” but said they would retain the building as per the condition, which is to maintain it “in a reasonable state of repair so as to prevent dilapidation.”

NI Water funded A close to £350 million spend by the NI Executive on water and sewerage services is good news for self-builders, as it will make more sites serviceable and protect the environment.

Infrastructure Minister Nicola Mallon announced her department is committing to the full amount recommended by the NI Utility Regulator in her 2021/2022 budget, to address “historic underfunding”.

NI Water welcomed the news of funding being made available for the first year of their six-year plan.

Meanwhile, Mallon’s department is also reviewing PPS18, the planning policy in relation to renewable energy.

1 4 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

Repurposed farm wins architecture award Baltrasna House by Ryan W. Kennihan Architects bagged a Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) 2021 Award in the Living category, while the Public Choice Award went to a home in Co Galway by beating off competition from a shortlist of 39 projects.

Baltrasna House was designed around a series of simple pitched roof structures, all in ruins, arranged around several yards that provide shelter from the coastal weather.

“We decided to add to the complex of buildings the way it had always happened in the past, with the addition of a single simple building, and left the existing farmhouse and sheds to keep their history and patina, creating a series of outdoor garden rooms within and between the existing buildings,” the winning entry from Ryan W. Kennihan Architects said.

“The form and materials are intended to resonate with the surrounding buildings making a house that is simultaneously old and new.”

Meanwhile Taylor McCarney Architects won the much coveted Public Choice award, only the second house to ever win the accolade. “Field, Stonewall, House” was

Baltrasna House

Public Choice Award winner in Co Galway

conceived as a series of parallel field stone walls, that fit within its west of Ireland rural setting.

The project considered how such a building could grow from the site in terms of scale, materials, colour, and landscape.

The surrounding landscape, including an apple tree, a shed (a childhood memory), and views to the mountain, Coill Chnoc Meadha, are adopted and framed within the house.

NEWS

Cut VAT to help self-builders, says TD Independent TD Richard O’Donoghue is calling for a 9 per cent VAT rate on building materials, a motion he plans to put to government after the summer recess. e have a housing crisis, a materials crisis, a crisis at the ports and a felling licence crisis,” O’Donoghue told the Dáil.

“All of these crises are causing problems for people who [are] building or renovating homes and who are trying to make sure that they and their children will have a roof over their heads at an affordable price. I have worked in construction all my life and I have never seen the like of it.”

O’Donoghue now tells Selfbuild the government should step in an reduce the VAT rate on building materials to soften the blow of material price increases.

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“Two years ago you could get steel mesh for €56 a sheet, up to six months ago it was €72 a sheet, now some suppliers are quoting between €109 to €118. You can’t budget with price increases like that.”

“Contractors can’t give people a price to build their house when costs are escalating between six and 20 per cent,” he added.

“An average house used to cost €120 per sqft up to six months ago,” he told Selfbuild in July. “Now it’s €165-170/sqft in rural areas. It’s putting self-builders under undue pressure, and a way to help them is reduce the VAT rate. The government has it in its power to do that.”

Self-build sites to expand rural towns The ROI Serviced Sites scheme is expected to be unveiled this autumn. lans for the serviced sites scheme will be among the recommendations issued by the Town Centre First policy group, led by the Department of Housing and the Department of Rural Affairs.

The group is to conclude its work in July/August with recommendations reaching cabinet “shortly afterwards”, a Department of Housing spokesperson told Selfbuild.

“The National Planning Framework recognises that in rural Ireland many people seek to have an opportunity to build their own homes. The Department is committed to developing a programme with local authorities, public infrastructure agencies such as Irish Water and local communities for the provision of serviced sites for housing to attract people to build their own homes and live in small towns and villages,” the

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spokesperson said.

“Consideration will also need to be given to the expansion of towns and villages in a sustainable manner. Such development will be incremental, small scale, walkable (including to and from the town/village centre) and will occur on sites that have access adequate water supply and provision for disposal of domestic effluent.”

“Such extensions should also be guided by responsive design principles so that they appear as a natural extensions to the town/village with a close visual relationship to the prevailing vernacular.”

The measures are in line with the National Planning Framework and the Action Plan for Rural Development policies, which aim to revitalise rural towns and villages by attracting new residents.

Downsizing grants Elderly people living in large homes could be incentivised to move to smaller ones through a mix of tax incentives and grants, reports the Irish Independent. Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the paper that measures being examined by the ROI government include incentives for “right-sizing”.

It is among a number of measures being considered under plans to address the housing crisis.

Grants for prospective homeowners to refurbish dilapidated houses are also being examined. A vacant property tax “is being looked at” to incentivise people to develop the properties “and get them into use”, the Taoiseach said.

He added that the housing crisis will have to be dealt with in the same manner as Covid.

€330k for avg ROI new build, £180k in NI In 2020 in ROI the median price for a new home was €336,000, well above the €230,000 for a second-hand home, according to Davy Stockbrokers’ June 2021 Irish Housing Market special report. The report highlights the Central Bank maintains that prices would be 25 per cent higher without the current mortgage lending rules.

In NI, the average price of NHBC registered new houses peaked in 2007-08 at £210,700, according to the Department of Communities’ Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2019-2020 report. The same new builds went for £183,400 in 2019-20, an increase of 6.4 per cent on 2018-19 (£172,400).

In Q1 2021 the NI House Price Index recorded the highest average house price in the Lisburn/Castlereagh local authority.

Meanwhile the July 2021 Halifax House Price Index shows that annual house price rises in NI were the highest recorded since late 2007, registering an 11.5 per cent increase since April 2005.

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 15

C O M PA N Y N E W S

ICF prices on par with timber frame Leading Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) supplier Ballantine Building Solutions, a Belfast based company that supplies IntegraSpec, tells Selfbuild that with timber prices increasing 50 per cent since January, in part due to shortages, ICF is now as cost effective as alternative building methods.

“Building with timber frame or traditional blocks and mortar used to cost less upfront, but now they are all on par with ICF,” says John Boyd, commercial director with Ballantine.

Building with ICF means using just five components, and up to 50 per cent less skilled labour as a percentage of your workforce on site. These efficiencies translate into a more streamlined construction process, fewer conflicts, and less potential for scheduling delays.

“Building with IntegraSpec also leads to at least 70 per cent saving in energy bills,” adds John. “We have a client who built an IntegraSpec five bedroomed house and his heating cost is £1 per day.”

For more about ICF construction, which is inherently insulated and airtight, visit ballantinebuildingsolutions.com or ring tel. (prefix with 048 calling from ROI) 90 686 756

1 6 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

Self-build costs increase Material prices alone, excluding windows and doors, are adding at least €12k to €17k to a direct labour self-build and about €30k to a contractor led build. rise in shipping container costs, Brexit paperwork holding up shipment at ports, and a worldwide materials shortage have contributed to significant material prices increases that are hitting self-builders across NI and ROI, Padraic Rogers of mybuildingsupplies.ie told Selfbuild+ members in an exclusive Facebook Live event in June.

Padraic said pretty much every type of material they stock has been hit by price increases, apart from locally quarried products such as cement, blocks and aggregates.

The issue, he told Selfbuild+ members, is that builder’s merchants are selling their stock without replenishing it quickly enough.

“We used to get up to seven deliveries a month of insulation but now only get three,” he added. “We would need a lot more to meet the demand but our suppliers are only allocating us the same amount we had ordered in the same period last year.”

“The insulation cost went up in May and there was a panic buy as construction sites reopened [in ROI]. Underfloor insulation 150mm PIR board used to cost €71, now it’s €81 per board which averages out as €600 extra for that component alone for a typical floor.”

Timber is another hard hit product; not just lengths but also board materials.

Steel prices have also risen, from mesh for foundations to RSJs. In another members only Facebook Live event, quantity surveyor Keith Kelliher said that Oriented Strand Board (OSB), a basic build material, had doubled in price. He said he didn’t expect the cost of steel and insulation to recover, as those cost increases would have happened even without Brexit,

A

Covid or delays in timber felling licensing.

Electrician and plumber’s suppliers are hit by cables and copper prices increasing 20 to 25 per cent. Lead, for its part, has suffered a 15 per cent cost increase, slates six per cent and roof tiles 10 per cent. Roof felts are all €10 to €15 dearer a roll than they were last year, according to Padraic.

“Our suppliers say things will improve, but not in the short term. It could be Q2 of 2022 when we see prices stabilise again,” said Padraic.

Keith also doesn’t think there will be much of an improvement in prices until Easter, when he expects the price of timber and board materials to start easing.

“At the moment, we can only keep quotes valid for a week,” said Padraic. “Before this to three weeks was standard.”

One way for self-builders to keep costs down is to shop around but also open a builder’s merchant account, which Padraic says can yield 10 per cent savings in the form of trade discounts with a cash account.

Meanwhile, the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index for May 2021 showed that building costs were rising at their fastest pace in 17 years.

To view the full interviews, become a Selfbuild+ member by going to selfbuild.ie and clicking on the Membership tab.

C O M PA N Y N E W S

On demand Cumbersome and slow to boil water, kettles are now routinely being replaced by hot water taps.

And on most self-builders’ kitchen wish list is the market leading Quooker tap, delivering instant 100degC boiling water alongside regular hot and cold. But quality comes at a price.

Enter Make Interiors, a Belfast based fit-out company that recently became a Quooker Direct Buyer. This accolade means that Make is now buying the taps at trade prices, and not through a distributor, passing on the savings to their customers who order a kitchen from them.

The Quooker system consists of a small tank that acts like a vacuum flask, connected to the water mains on one end, and to the tap on the other. The air in the insulated wall is so thin that the heat is unable to escape. It therefore takes very little energy (just 10 Watts) to keep the water in the tank at boiling point.

Find out more from Make Interiors, makekitchens.com

A quote a minute To get a quotation, i.e. the cost of the quantity of materials you want to order, most websites will request a call back. To simplify the process, Roadstone has launched a new online portal that allows you to list all of the items you need to get an immediate price by email.

The full range of Roadstone products are available to add to a shopping cart with everything from concrete, blocks and stone, to paving, roof tiles and a full selection of complementary accessories.

When self-builders get their quotation by email, they are allocated an online sales contact. The streamlined service allows you to amend your quote, confirm pricing and place all orders by email. Any technical queries can

equally be dealt with virtually.

The website is also a fantastic technical resource, providing the ability to download all certification and take free seminars to increase your level of knowledge, which comes in very handy when dealing with tradespeople.

For more information visit roadstone.ie

Space and energy savers Leading heating manufacturer Grant has recently added two new products to its portfolio – the Grant Integrated Unit and the Grant neoApp, part of the neoHub smart controls system.

The new space-saving, sleek and stylish Grant Integrated Unit combines the hot water tank and controls. It has a fast heating and recovery time and fits perfectly within the domestic spaces of a home. The Grant Integrated Unit has been developed to work seamlessly with the Grant Aerona3 R32 air to water air source heat pump.

The neoApp is the second new technology introduced by Grant in recent months, designed to work perfectly with the neoHub system.

Together, this smart room thermostat system offers an advanced heating control solution that is perfect for on-the-go lifestyles. The neoApp supports multi locations and users, enabling homeowners to share access to the system and control their home heating from wherever they are.

For further information about all Grant products and services, including Grant’s free design service, visit grant.eu

Even smarter Whilst it’s easy to get blindsided by smart tech’s ability to connect our homes and bring about security and comfort, it’s important to remember the health and cost saving benefits that a smart home can offer.

Keylite Roof Windows (Keylite) suggests that fresh air ventilation, natural daylight and thermal protection are amongst the top factors in making your house a healthy and comfortable home. With that in mind, Keylite has designed a brand new smart home technology product range called keyliteConnect®, which includes app-enabled Keylite roof windows and blinds.

Using the keyliteConnect® app and hub, homeowners are able to monitor and operate their smart app-enabled electric and solar

powered roof windows and blinds from anywhere in the world.

Wireless technology includes a rain sensor that automatically closes windows, and a trickle ventilation position you can activate from your app so that fresh air enters but windows remain in the fully locked position.

For more information on Keylite roof windows and its keyliteConnect® range, visit keyliteroofwindows.com/connect, call +44 1283 200 158 or email info@keyliteuk.com AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 17

We design heat pump systems to suit each building and the needs of each client. Maximising performance, comfort, efficiency and lifespan of each system is our priority.

Whether you are renovating or building your property, MasterTherm will provide the best sustainable solution from planning, installation, commissioning and maintenance and online monitoring. Contact our sales team or contact our website for full information on our products and services.

Our most popular heat pump systems: l Air-Water monobloc Compact heat pumps 2–22 kW heat output in single phase version. l Air-Water Split and indoor split heat pumps.

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www.MasterTherm.ie info@mastertherm.ie Tel: 01-8991721

Projects AUTUMN 2021

NEW BUILDS

RENOVATIONS . EXTENSIONS

20

Family Cluster

Building on grandad’s land.

44

32

Room to Roam New build on planning ready site.

Labour of love

DIY eco renovation project.

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

56

Sight unseen

Art Deco house renovation.

69 FOUR MONTH TURNKEY BUILD

Modular new build.

74 MOUNTAIN VIEWS Budget friendly direct labour new build.

AU T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E LF B U ILD / 1 9

NEW BUILD

Family

cluster

Fionnuala Mannion was lucky to be able to self-build on her grandfather’s land, near other members of her immediate family.

Overview Bedrooms: 4 / Plot size: ¾ acre House size: 225 sqm Heating and hot water: air to water heat pump Ventilation: mechanical with heat recovery BER: A3

2 0 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Sean McCormack

C O G A LWA Y

A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 21

NEW BUILD

M

y grandfather was a blacksmith,” says Fionnuala.

“He had a farm and forge, with some fields in a quiet cul de sac in Co Galway. Sadly, he died in

1999.”

“Our family was left the land and, 15 years ago, donated the forge and old sheds to a local volunteer organisation. The organisers got a grant to turn it into a museum. Now you can come visit the restored forge; they did it up exactly the way it had been. It’s a lovely way to remember grandad.”

“My parents built their own house near the old farmhouse and forge. My sister built on a site in the cul de sac, and I built beside her. It’s very picturesque, you can see the old Franciscan Abbey and Claregalway Castle from here. And so nice to have my sister right next door.”

From city to country

“Myself and my husband Liam were living 2 2 / S E L FB U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

and working in Galway City, where we had bought a house. That experience was the most valuable when the time came to building out in the countryside. We became familiar with property transactions but more importantly, it made us evaluate how we live our life.”

“This was in the early 2000s and we paid what seemed like a fortune at the time. We then had two babies close together – raising small children in a small house with no playroom or utility is a challenge, and that really got us thinking of how our new house would work.”

“We sat down one night and wrote down things that were important to us in how we live our lives, and things that really annoyed us about living in a small house. That list was the key input for the design of our new build.”

“But we also knew how much was too much for us. We definitely didn’t want lots of bathrooms, for example,” adds Fionnuala.

“We have one bathroom with a shower downstairs which is located in the middle of the ground floor and just beside the guest bedroom. Upstairs we have the master ensuite and the kids share a bathroom.”

“We found our architect through a recommendation; friends of ours had used the practice for their project,” adds

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NEW BUILD

Fionnuala. “My sister had started her build over a year before us, so we were also learning from her experience.”

“She had done a lot of research and pricing for interiors, and had looked at kitchen options, and gave us great tips. For example, she suggested that the wall where we would put the presses and the oven might look a bit like lockers, so we built a bulkhead on top, which makes it much neater. Small details like that.”

“Our architect Carmen designed the house, and when she showed us the mockup we loved it. We adjusted the layout inside a little, but overall we were so happy and excited with the design. Materials were also important to us; for instance we wanted some stone facing on the outside.”

“On the wish list was also a double height hall with central U-shaped glass stairs, so you can see the top of the house from the front door. It’s a bright space thanks to lots of glass and a window that goes from the floor up into the roof. We also chose quite a dramatic picture for the big wall space over the stairs.”

“It was really important to Liam and I to come home from work in the evening and have a large space we could share as a family,” she adds. “The central idea was to have a kitchen/living/entertaining space where we could prepare meals, chat 2 0 // SE S EL F FB D // AAUUTU 020 24 BU UIL ILD T UMN M N2 2021

comfortably to any visitors and for the kids to be able to play close by.”

“The living area is a really nice space for us but also for the kids; our boys are now eight and nine and our little girl is two. We have a comfortable couch and a snuggler chair which we put in the corner window. I love sitting there with the kids on a Saturday morning, reading with them and looking out at the view. There’s lots of floor space for them to play too.”

C O G A LWA Y

“It was really important to Liam and I to come home from work in the evening and have a large space we could share as a family...”

Q&A with Fionnuala What surprised you?

There was a delay with the transfer of our site which meant we couldn’t draw down on our mortgage. So we ended up starting the build out of our savings. That was quite a stressful way to start but thankfully it all went to plan after that.

What would you change?

We could have saved by not choosing natural slates – I’ve subsequently seen really good engineered slate on houses and I honestly can’t tell the difference.

But the main thing I’d change is not to over cost engineer the design, which we did when the tenders didn’t come in on budget.

What’s your favourite design feature?

Kitchen. The L shaped kitchen, designed for cooking and entertaining, boasts a 3.5m granite topped island that integrates a wine fridge and loads of storage.

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The hallway, the glass stairs. I love the parquet flooring, and the kitchen layout.

The three bedrooms upstairs and the master bedrooms are fabulous too.

The walk-in wardrobe is such a luxury (after living in a small townhouse) and definitely my favourite room! Before Covid, I used to get up very early to commute to work, and my hairdryer would wake up Liam. The current set up has it that you have to walk through the walk-in wardrobe to get to the bathroom so it’s totally separate from the sleeping area. And it has a window.

It’s so handy.

The corner window in the master bedroom with the views is another treat. The first morning I woke up in the room, I thought, What gorgeous views… we are so lucky to be doing this!

6 S U MM E R 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 25

NEW BUILD

The space inside is all about family life.

“The island is self-contained, on one side there are deep drawers for the delf and cutlery and on the other side there is a shelf for books, and two big drawers for the Lego and crayons.”

“We have strip lighting along the bottom of the kitchen units and island. In hindsight we probably should have put some lights in the shelf of the island, so that when we no longer have the kids’ books there, it could be more of a display area.”

“Because our toddler has a lot of toys, we added a unit in the corner beside the couch.

These pieces of furniture are temporary, I will eventually get a piano instead of all the storage!”

“I especially love the two sets of doors out to the garden,” adds Fionnuala. “They open directly onto the patio and during the summer the children can wander in and out freely. And when they are playing outside, I can see them.”

Budget

“At the time, it seemed quite expensive to build what we wanted, and we made some small adjustments so the build would come in on budget. The left hand side of the house was reduced a bit in size, and we got rid of some stone facing. In hindsight that saving probably wouldn’t have made a huge

Living area. It was a conscious decision not to have a TV in the living area, which features a vaulted ceiling, stove and lots of windows. “The parquet floor has a vintage feel; it’s one of my favourite features of the house,” says Fionnuala.

“And the quality windows, which were well worth the investment.”

2 6 / SE L F B U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

1

difference in the long term – and our sitting room would be bigger.”

“We did invest in insulation above and beyond the building regs, so the house is comfortable year round, and that was well worth it,” she adds.

“We asked builders to give us a price for the build, John and Tom at the architectural practice organised the tender for us and five responded. The range of price tendered by the builders was huge, and the most expensive tendors priced themselves out of

2

“The space inside is all about family life...”

C O G A LWA Y

Timeline Early 2015

Design phase May 2015 Planning applied August 2015 Planning approved April 2016 Commencement notice approved April 2016 Build start

August 2017

Moved in (the day we found out we were pregnant!)

Understairs storage. “From our experience living in the townhouse, I knew that having bags, coats, umbrellas, all over the place was driving me crazy,” says Fionnuala.

“Now, I have a space under the stairs to store all of those items out of the way. Although maybe it’s a bit too far from the front door, as I have to nag the children to put away their stuff!”

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6 AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 2 7

NEW BUILD

Fionnuala’s tips Invest in the items you will use every day.

That means appliances like the fridge but also your windows. It’s all budget dependent, but we chose to prioritise these areas and are glad we did. Overall, consider that if you’re going to get into debt anyway, an extra 40 to 50k to make the house perfect may be worth it.

Taramac as soon as possible. Especially if you have small kids; also cars will wreck the path with continuous use.

Consider a laundry chute. We have one that lands in a press beside the washing machine. It reduces the number of baskets we need and frees up space for practical stuff. Thinking about your living space, and how you’re going to be using the house every day, really helps with the design.

the running straight away.”

“We decided to go with a reasonable quote from a reputable builder,” says Fionnuala.

“He’s a local guy and we hit it off straight away when we met him. He had plenty of experience and gave us some great advice on the build.”

“We put a contract in place and, as we wouldn’t have had the time to manage the project ourselves, Tom managed the build and dealt with any questions or problems. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Tom handled it all for us, and made sure we made our decisions in a timely way, so that we weren’t holding up anything.”

“There was so much pressure on us, we were both busy at work plus with young 2 8 / SE L F B U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

kids there’s just no time,” she adds. “And the build was still demanding; we had to make decisions on absolutely everything, electrical points, materials, you name it.”

“We set a fixed date to move in, linked to the limited timespan we had on our rental accommodation. Our rental was close to the site, so we checked in on progress every day after work.”

“It’s funny, when we were building the house, sometimes I’d stand in the empty shell wondering if we had made the right decisions about the size of the rooms and the layout of the house,” says Fionnuala. “But when it was painted and tiled the house felt so bright and airy with this beautiful view – it felt just right.” And just right it is.

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NEW BUILD

More photographs available at selfbuild.ie

Project info Find out more about Fionnuala’s Co Galway project...

SUPPLIERS Architect

O’Neill O’Malley Architects, onom.ie

Civil & Structural Engineer Shane Hanniffy & Associates, shanniffy.com

Builder

Loumoy Ltd, loumoy.ie

Mechanical/ Ventilation/ Insulation/ Airtightness Contractor Bromur, bromur.com

GROUND FLOOR Bedroom

Windows

Rationel, rationel.ie

Utility

WC

Kitchen

Sitting Room

IN Kitchens, Galway, inkitchens.ie

Coats

Bathrooms

Kitchen

Tubs n Tiles, tubstiles.ie

Dining

Tiles

Cutting Edge Tiles, cuttingedgetiles.ie

Appliances

Stapletons in Tuam, Co Galway, stapletonselectrical.ie

Living Room

Wooden floors

Glenwood Timber Flooring, Ballybane, Galway, glenwoodflooring.ie

Insulation

Floor: Xtratherm. Walls: Kingspan Ecobead. Roof: Icynene spray foam.

FIRST FLOOR

Photography

Sean McCormack, Galway, seanmcfoto.com

Ensuite

Walkin Wardrobe

Office

Linen

Master Bedroom

Bathroom

Bedroom Storage

3 0 / SE L FB U IL D / AU T U M N 2021

Bedroom

C O G A LWA Y

SPEC Floors: 150mm PIR insulation with 25mm perimeter PIR insulation. 75mm sand cement screed with underfloor heating. U-value 0.13 W/sqmK Walls: Standard blockwork walls with 150mm cavity pumped with EPS beads. U-value 0.21 W/sqmK Roof: Timber cut roof with natural slates. Spray foam insulation between rafters along with insulated plasterboard on underside. U-value of 0.14 W/sqmK Windows: wood, aluclad triple glazed, sliding doors in an L shape, U-value 0.8 W/sqmK Airtightness test result: 2.573m3 /h.sqm at 50Pa

Project Supplier

� Architecture � Project Management � Assigned Certification � Commercial Development Consultancy � Master Planning � Contract Procurement & Administration � Architectural Conservation � Health & Safely � Fire Engineering

Block 2, Galway Technology Park, Parkmore, Galway.

Barrack Yark, James Street, Westport, Co. Mayo T: +353-91-771033

E: info@onom.ie AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 3 1

NEW BUILD

Room to

roam

Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Paul Lindsay

Emma and Mark McMullan bought a sloping site that ticked every one of their boxes, with the bonus of having full planning permission.

Overview Plot size: 2 acres House size: 2,800 sqft plus double garage Bedrooms: 4 / Construction: blockwork (cavity wall) Ventilation: natural Heating and hot water: oil boiler EPC: B 3 2 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

CO ANTRIM

AUTUMN 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 33

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Timeline 2016

Bought site with planning January 2017 Build start May 2018 Moved in September 2018 Married

3 4 / S E L FB U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

y parents had self-built the house they live in now, and I always had at the back of my mind the intention to do the same,” says Emma. “Mark is a quantity surveyor so there was nothing that daunting about deciding to build our own home.”

“It just made sense to us to build instead of buying an existing house; that way we would save some money and get exactly what we wanted.”

“When we were site hunting, we both agreed the most important thing was to find a remote location in the country with plenty of scope to establish a landscaped garden to work at over the years. As well as enough space to eventually rear a few horses. We also have a dog, Axel, and we wanted space for him too.”

“When we spied this site on a property

M

website, we decided to go visit it but couldn’t find it. There was some gate jumping involved but we eventually got there and just loved that it was sloping, and that the driveway was tree lined.”

“The site was on the other side of town, but as it’s close to a dual carriageway it actually cuts our commute by half an hour.

And even though we weren’t specifically looking for a site with full planning permission, it meant one headache less to deal with.”

“We did approach the original architect, who was someone we actually knew, and he helped us change the internal configuration to suit our needs. The main changes had to do with the bathrooms; we converted an ensuite into a Jack and Jill and made the main bathroom larger to include a freestanding bath.”

“We also got rid of a door between the hall and utility. There were a few minor tweaks to windows and doors, mostly turning the small window in the kitchen into a picture window, but nothing that required reapplying for planning. After the redesign with the architect was complete, Mark put together a bill of quantities so we could be sure of where we stood with the budget.”

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NEW BUILD

Build decisions

“With Mark’s construction knowledge and experience, he was able to project manage the build alongside our appointed contractor.

We found our builder through word of mouth, and we visited projects he had completed nearby.”

“We had the builder get us to the point where we were watertight, and then for all of the internal work, we went direct labour so had our own tiler, plasterer, plumber, electrician, etc. At the start, Mark would visit the site every evening to check on things and then as the build progressed and he was needed more often, he was on site two full days a week.”

“I was busy organising our wedding, so couldn’t dedicate much of my time to the build, which is my only regret,” adds Emma.

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2

“For instance I wish I had gotten more involved with the design of the stairs, to make them bigger.”

“There were some delays with the schedule. Due to bad weather over the winter months, and our builder working on another house at the same time, it ended up takings 18 months in total instead of 12 as originally planned.”

“Another delay had to do with the tiler – we had scheduled him in but had to push back the date as the floors hadn’t dried. It took over a month for him to be available again, and by that stage the tiles we wanted were discontinued.”

“For the construction, we opted for traditional block cavity walls with a wet

3 6 / SE L F B U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

dash plaster, gable roof type, standard fink trusses in the house with attic standard overhang trusses in the garage. Our floors are constructed with precast concrete slabs and we chose to install uPVC windows,” says Emma.

“All of these choices were made based on balancing cost with the quality we were after.

We wanted high end materials and shopped local as much as we could.”

“Due to the site being six miles from our neighbouring town, we didn’t have the option to choose natural gas so the most convenient option for us at the time was oil central heating.”

“Still on the topic of heating, a schoolboy error on our part was building and creating

CO ANTRIM

Emma and Mark’a tips Work out what is possible by understanding what you need and can afford, as opposed to what you would like to have.

Find out what lays below ground. Have an idea of what foundations will be required, where the essential services will come from and at what cost. We spent a lot of money on additional drainage we didn’t anticipate for, as our site is on a slight slope. We had to add a soakaway to prevent flooding and plenty of pipe runs.

The cost of groundworks outside has been a little scary!

Protect your investment. It’s always a good idea to take out site insurance, to protect you during the build. And also a structural warranty policy in case any issues crop up within 10 years of moving in.

6 A U T U M N 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 37

NEW BUILD

1

an opening to the chimney breast in our main reception room before finalising the specification of the stove we were installing.”

“Once we saw the stove we both wanted, it wasn’t an option picking another just to suit the opening already created. It meant a return visit for our bricklayer and, with some brute force and perseverance, we managed to remove a row of block from the chimney

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breast to create that perfect opening to accommodate our stove.”

“It would seem the building regs are getting more stringent as each year passes therefore we made sure that when the building control inspector came to visit, we had done everything by the book and in most cases had gone beyond the current regulations. Mark had worked with building control in the past and actually knew our inspector. He was really helpful throughout the build with advice where we needed it.”

“Insulation was one specific aspect we spent more on than intended but in the long term this should save money as our walls

hold the heat longer meaning we don’t need 2 to burn our oil heating more than needed. We fill the tank twice a year.”

Interiors

“My biggest design enemy is boredom,” says Emma. “My approach was to select a palette of colours to ensure a well coordinated but a varied colour spectrum. I like adding pops of colour as an expression of both our personalities.”

“I made sure I would use of the same colour elements more than once throughout each space. I have used navy a few times throughout the house, for example. As much

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NEW BUILD

as current trends are tempting, I always like to stay authentic to myself.”

“Lighting has been really important for us and it has taken us a couple of years to find the right fixtures for each space. The choice of bulb is actually really important to create specific moods. I also like finding something a little different, so did spend time on this element.”

“The most widely used lighting within our home would be ambient, which provides sufficient illumination and adds so much warmth. Task lighting has been used to illuminate specific areas of our home in addition to our general lighting, mainly the living area, due to the size.”

“Within our main bathroom we wanted to create a spa-like feel, with mix and match tiles, along with dim lighting, greenery, a free standing bath, complete with a rainfall shower, slim line shower tray and immaculate white towels resting on a wooden ladder. Something very simple that wouldn’t date so quickly was the vision for this room.”

“As for the kitchen, our supplier totally changed our outlook in the design and layout, given we had so much space to play with. Our first appointment lasted just 15 minutes but as we were well prepared it was a really productive session, with the designer suggesting so many ideas. Some were out of 2 0 // SE S ELLFFB BU I LD // AU 40 U ILD AUTTUUMMNN2020 2021

our budget so we reined them in, such as a much coveted wine cooler, and other things we didn’t feel we needed.”

“We have kitchen units on two opposing walls with a 3.1m island placed in the centre of the room, plus a full height window on the external wall providing us as much possible natural lighting.”

“We ordered and installed the windows before our kitchen design consultation which meant we already had our windows installed

and tiled around. We looked at being able to open the window but would have had to add £1k plus the cost of retiling so we had to leave it.”

“I also toyed with the idea of a floor to ceiling larder but instead added a boot area and pull out drawer for coats. It was all about getting the design to function for us and the way we live. The dishwasher is close to the cupboard, for instance, and for ease of use the double ovens are either side of each other.

CO ANTRIM

“

“It just made sense to us to build instead of buying an existing house; that way we would save some money and get exactly what we wanted...”

Q&A with Emma and Mark What are your favourite design features?

We love our kitchen and sunroom area.

This really is the heart of our home.

What single piece of advice would you give a budding self-builder?

You need a nest egg; always have 10 per cent contingency in place. A plan of how much things are actually going to cost is a big thing when nailing down how to fund your build.

What would you change?

I would have added another bedroom, as one of the smaller rooms is going to be used as a walk in wardrobe, and I might have the kitchen window changed to a frameless design. I might make the utility room a bit bigger too. Something we will do is probably add a 3.5kW PV panels in the near future to generate electricity on site.

The island has worked out really well, we mostly eat at it and don’t use the dining table that much.”

Garden

5

“We were lucky that we could rely on family members to help us with the exterior works.

They created a 360 degree driveway around the perimeter of the house. Our family also built our decorative retaining wall along with laying the kerb sets, cobble sets, and steps into our home and garage.”

“We are both really excited about the garden project. The lawn area was sown last September, so our next step is to appoint a specialist to draw up a few plans on paper so we can both visualise exactly how our landscaping of this space will turn out. But before this, we would like to have our yard done in tarmac.”

“We’d also love a raised patio area to have friends over, and a pergola feature along with hot tub and BBQ area. On Mark’s wish list is a water feature of some sort.”

“My plan this year is to create a wildflower meadow in our field, and we might even start planting trees to get some nice mature specimens in a few years; I think they add a 6 lot of character.”

What surprised you?

The cost of the kitchen, and the fact that there’s so much choice. It can be overwhelming.

Would you do it again?

I’m not sure I can say the same for Mark, but I probably have another build in me. Maybe a modern barn design. Even though I loved the process and sense of achievement, I would have liked to have been even more involved in the project.

A U T U M N 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 41

NEW BUILD

More photographs available at selfbuild.ie

Project info Find out more about Emma and Mark’s Co Antrim project...

GROUND FLOOR

SUPPLIERS Design

Simpson Design NI Ltd, mobile 07845588073

Materials

Kildress Plumbing Suppliers Ltd, Co Tyrone, tel. 867 52000 Basil Knipe Electrics, Co Antrim, tel. 276 49222 First choice flooring, Co Antrim, tel. 295 41734 Haldane Fisher, Co Antrim, tel. 256 48116

Kitchen

Johanna Montgomery Designs, Co Antrim, tel. 217 58400

kitchen

Interior finishes

Utility

Woodworx Bespoke Joinery, mobile 07762773955 Sammy Culbertson Painting and Decorating

Landscaping

Tobermore Paving, Co Derry, tel. 796 42411 Paul Kirkpatrick & Sons Co Antrim, mobile 07801254655

Dining Area Sun Lounge Living Room

Hall

Dining Room

Photography Paul Lindsay, paullindsayphoto.co.uk ROI calling NI prefix with 048, mobile prefix with 0044 and drop the first zero

SPEC Walls: Cavity wall construction with 95mm cavity filled with graphite EPS beads, U-value 0.29W/sqmK Roof: Trussed roof with 150 + 100mm rockwool insulation, U-value 0.18W/sqmK

FIRST FLOOR

Floor: standard build up with 100mm phenolic board, U-value 0.17W/sqmK Windows: uPVC double glazed, overall U-value 1.70W/sqmK

Bedroom

Landing

Bedroom

Bedroom Bedroom

Bedroom

4 2 / SE L FB U IL D / AU T U M M N 2021

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E X T E N S I O N & R E N O VA T I O N

Overview Build method: extension in timber frame Heating: two wood burning stoves, one with back boiler for heating and hot water Ventilation: natural House size before: 1,200 sqft / House size after: 1,300 sqft Bedrooms: 4 / Plot size: 4 acres

4 4 / SE LF BUILD / AU T U MN 2021

CO DONEGAL

Labour of

love

Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Paul Lindsay

Renovating a 200 year old stone building often involves managing moisture – that was true of Joanne and Milo Butler’s renovation project. But with the added challenge of finding a replacement stone roof covering…

AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 4 5

Project Supplier E X T E N S I O N & R E N O VA T I O N

Before

Patio. DIY job with slabs collected over time, some bought off social media and some found through word of mouth.

The sliders are 6m x 1.80m triple glazed, and heat the house all day. “There was only one company that we found that would do triple glazed that length and to that finish,” says Joanne. “The 3m panes are half a ton each.”

4 6 / S E L F BU ILD / AU TU MN 2021

e bought the house 13 years ago from my in-laws,” says Joanne. “They had bought it 30 years previous, when there was a tree growing in the living room! They renovated the house as their holiday home and added a 30sqm kitchen lean-to extension at the back.”

“When our in-laws moved into a newly built house nearby, we bought this house from them. We spent approximately €60,000 initially to rewire it, replumb it, get double glazed windows and dryline it as best we could. We also added a 9sqm bathroom and started a little bit of work on the entrance. But even after all of that, we still had leaks in the roof and plenty of draughts.”

“Our eldest was two when we moved in, and we had two more children after that,” says Milo. “For nine and a half years, we

W

were running around with pots when it rained” “In 2016 we decided this would be our forever home, and as we were left an inheritance, we decided to take on our big build. We only added 9sqm this time again because we had enough living space. But we wanted to make it warm, light and turn it into a really enjoyable space to be in.”

“In total, we were increasing the footprint of the lean-to, to more than 40sqm, so we had to apply for planning permission,” adds Joanne.

“While we were at it, we applied for a change of use on the old outhouses. The house came with seven stone buildings and over the past 10 years we had been adapting the sheds and reroofing them one at a time, to eventually convert them to commercial use for our small garden business.”

“This was when we set up OURganic Gardens – an educational garden to provide courses, volunteer days, experience and training as well as community garden events and garden walks. For this purpose, we also added two new builds: a shed and a potting shed.”

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R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

Squaring off the house

“We went to Selfbuild Live in 2016, where we saw a stunning set of sliders; we loved the idea of having large glass doors to access the garden, and bring the indoors out. That’s really what inspired the extension project,” says Joanne.

“We squared off the extension with an externally insulated timber frame structure,” says Milo. “We had looked at straw and cob initially but we didn’t have the skills, nor the time.”

“So we went for a modern day eco solution, a proprietary airtight German system which includes hemp between the timbers.”

“The insulating wood fibreboard comes in 60mm tongue and groove 8ft panels. It would have cost us €3-4k extra for 100mm wood boards; instead we spent that money on sealing the gaps in the house.”

“I hated putting money into something we wouldn’t be able to see, but we can feel it. Last year’s bill on kiln dried timber was €750, and next winter it will be our own timber. Although, this year being at home a lot more due to Covid, the bills will probably be higher.”

“Upstairs the extension turned the roof into a dormer, and the frame is in the same timber frame build up. The ceiling 2 0/ /SSEELLFFB IL D/ /AAUUTU TUMN MN2021 2020 48 B UUILD

downstairs has hemp insulation. We didn’t upgrade the rest of house because we had drylined it 12 years previous. The old stonework was pointed with lime plaster including internal bedrooms and kitchen.”

“Then we lime plastered the walls and used lime paint everywhere. It was overall more expensive, and a slower process, but we wanted an eco friendly option. It also yields a warmer finish.”

“We hired mostly local people to help out, and there were a lot of calls to friends when we needed manpower as well. I was

chief engineer and project manager,” adds Milo. “We mostly had two local guys who did the majority of the building work, and this eco stuff was all new to them but they got through it with amazing efficiency.”

“My job was to keep the interior decoration frugal,” says Joanne. “So everything had to either be second hand or free. That saved us a lot and it was also the eco friendly approach what we wanted to maintain. We were lucky that a friend of ours gave us first dibs on a shed full of furniture they were getting rid of.”

CO DONEGAL

‘We chose double glazing over triple as there didn’t seem to be enough of a difference in thermal benefit that would have justified the increased cost.’

Q&A with Joanne and Milo What would you change?

We used to have a ladder staircase in the living room to the upstairs bedroom and had to change that fairly quickly because it wasn’t safe, so we recently installed a spiral staircase .

What single piece of advice would you give a renovator?

I think the most important thing is to make decisions quickly when it all gets going. It’s true that you have to try and pre-empt what might go wrong but there comes a time when you have to decide.

We spent two years asking people who’d gone down a similar route, how they did their renovation. But you have to take the plunge some day.

Would you do it again?

Yes, and with the same method. We had a lot of lists, excel sheets. Double checking everything. We also had a plan ready for either a sunny or rainy day just to be on the safe side.

What are your favourite design features?

Kitchen furnishings. “We had the original kitchen repainted and got the table and chairs for a very good price online, for €150, but these are a temporary solution,” says Joanne.

“We felled two ash trees because they were unsafe, and we brought them to the timber yard to get planks made of them. When the wood is fully seasoned, we will turn them into a dining table and use the rest as furniture and shelving throughout the house.”

Probably the south facing sliders, which were our biggest splurge, but worth it.

They get sun all day so even in winter there is no need for heating, we just need to light the fire in the evenings. The doors open in the summer and half the home is out in the garden. It’s fabulous.

Were there any surprises?

Perhaps most surprising was how much our teenage daughter got into the build.

We did an interior design course together and she was transfixed. She helped us design wallpaper, soft furnishings and colour schemes. We all lived in the house throughout the build, which worked out great for us as an adventure, but not recommended for the fainthearted!

5

6 AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 4 9

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

“We had a set of double doors which we kept and repurposed in the bedroom upstairs and the window that used to be in the kitchen went into the dormer as well,” she adds. “Also our main door used to be the back door, but now we have the big sliders and two small windows upstairs including the emergency exit window as required in the building regulations.”

1

Roof, ceilings, and floors

“When it came to the roof, thankfully the rafters were ok but we had to replace the covering. At the front of the building we have stone slates – it’s literally an all stone building.”

“Stone roofs are unusual, and these stone slates only come from our area. Our builders had to cut the slates to get them to fit and used the con saw and angle grinder.”

“The slates came half an inch to one inch thick, and we had to grade them so as to put the smaller ones the higher we got, and make sure the thicknesses matched up ok. It was a very slow process.”

“We put black uPVC coated tin on the back of the house to catch rainwater, it’s a clean way to collect it, and because of our insulation it’s not any noisier than the alternatives.”

“To insulate the roof, we put the same insulated boards as for the walls on top of the rafters, then breathable felt and tape, sealed on all wall plates, and on the stone gables. The roof is totally airtight but nothing is square, so it took a while.”

“Stripping the house back, we came to the point where we were checking the foundations in the kitchen extension that our in-laws had previously added on.”

5 0 / S E L F BU ILD / A U TU MN 2021

2

“We soon found out, to our despair, that there were no foundations to be had so we had to dig under the back of the kitchen and put in 1m of concrete to create a foundation for one of the steel legs, that would connect to the steel beam to hold up the roof, so we could get rid of the wall at the back of the house.”

“I contacted a local steel company who got their structural engineer to do the calculations for us, and they also specified the supports, and a tie into the old house.”

“Then when we cut a door through one of the stone gables we needed a piece of steel in a hurry to join two purlins together. I measured it all up, drew a design diagram and sent it to our steel company and I was able to collect it that same day. Amazing.”

“In places we had to do a couple

amendments, but we didn’t disturb any of the ceilings apart from the one in the kitchen, which came down of its own accord due to internal dampness over the years. Thankfully we were all in the living room when we heard the ceiling fall down – luckily no one was hurt.”

Water treatment

“A friend of ours put us onto a Swedish wastewater treatment system, that we eventually went with. We had to provide all of the paperwork for planning purposes. An independent site assessor came out to do the survey and checked all the certificates. Then we got a site visit from the council and they were happy with everything.”

“The system splits the liquids and solids; there are four chambers and no desludging required as the solids are turned to compost. There’s some maintenance to it, in that you have to add worms for the composting process, and it needs to be in a warm environment.”

“The liquids are then directed to a reed bed soakaway pond for tertiary treatment. We had to design a large system because the plan is to host garden and permaculture courses in the future. The reed bed was done by a professional who designed and planted up using the best plants for the job.”

“We will be building a mini shed around the compost area to increase the temperature as we have since observed that it takes longer to turn to soil than we would like it to. We’ve had it for over a year, and we just emptied the chamber.”

“It was about 70 per cent compost, the rest was left in. We have made a specially zoned long term compost bin to allow that compost to finish fully decomposting. In roughly two years we will be able to use it on trees that don’t bear fruit, in the forest.

It cannot be used on any edible food plants.”

CO DONEGAL

Energy efficient. “What’s amazing is that, thanks to the insulation upgrade and the new slider windows, we now pretty much use every room of the house and never worry about closing the doors to keep out the draughts,” says Joanne.

Timeline 2008

Bought house, first renovation/extension 2016 Collecting ideas/inspiration for second renovation Feb to Nov 2018 Plans drawn up, decisions on systems Planning permission applied Dec 2018-Jan 2019 Measuring and ordering Dec 2018 Planning permission for renovation granted Feb 2019 Build start Dec 2019 Shed roofs finished March 2020 Build end Oak flooring. “We bought it from an online buy and sell site – the guy was selling it off as it was his mother’s old floor and we got a great bargain, 90sqm of it which did all the bedrooms too,” says Joanne. “We drove down in a white van to pick it up and we had to negotiate a narrow corridor to load it up but that was the worst of it, and worth every bit of work.”

5

6 AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 5 1

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

Joanne and Milo’s tips

tank Rainwater harvesting

If you don’t know how to do it , don’t try to do it yourself. Before you do anything, ask the leading companies in that field all of your questions, as many as you can before spending any money.

Think of how it’s going to be finished. The clearer your vision, the easier it will be to decide on exact measurements, socket placements, etc.

Costs can be hard to pin down. On a bigger project, we would have gotten a quantity surveyor to keep us on track. And we did consider hiring one for our project but there were too many unknowns. For instance, we didn’t know how much of the roof would need to be replaced.

Double check measurements twice before placing your order, and also double check your quantities when ordering. Our first insulation delivery was a full lorry just for us, (it was like Christmas!), and all of it had to be stored indoors – which meant we had to empty all of the sheds, and we had no forklift so it was all done by hand. It was a hectic day clearing everything out to make room for the stuff. The second delivery was just one pallet, which caused a delay as we had to wait for a full truck to be coming our way.

Thankfully it only set us back two weeks as we ordered as soon as we realised we were short.

“For the rainwater harvesting system we did our research by visiting people’s homes. We initially installed one, just for the garden and polytunnel, with a 4,000 litre tank, fed from the roofs, and filtered through a smaller tank which holds the debris. It’s 50m away from house and gravity fed. We need to keep the sun away from it, so we plan to add a hedge, to stop algae from growing.”

“Our plan for the future is to use our rainwater for drinking and washing but we would need to add another 6,000 litre system with UV and mineral filters, which would cost €3-4k. The location is organised, and we will need to use a particular type of guttering, so it will wait until funds allow.”

Seek out professional advice. We got an engineer in for the site assessment, for the wastewater system, and had an architect draw up our plans for planning permission. We then relied on specialist Systems Wastewater treatment suppliers for technical “We looked at a centralised input. For instance, all of our ventilation system but we would window sills and door thresholds have had to amend the ceilings and had to be individually designed to work with walls. We used to have an oil boiler but our larch cladding, so with the help of a as we have a woodland, we decided to specialist aluminium company, it was easy. get rid of it and we now have two stoves.

And even when there was a problem with a One is just a small space heater for the door threshold not fitting, they replaced it living room, the other has a back boiler for very quickly.

hot water, as well as heating and two hot plates for slow cooking.”

“The back boiler heats the

5 2 / S E L F BUILD / AU TU MN 2021

radiators and hot water, we have seven radiators downstairs and one upstairs.

On the colder evenings during spring and summer we light the big stove for a few hours. This keeps the house at a nice temperature and tops up the hot water. We also have an electric shower with electric immersion.”

“Good quality dry wood is enough, and in 5 years’ time we hope to be selfsufficient with our heating. The ashes from burning the wood are reused in the garden as fertiliser.”

“It can get very warm upstairs in winter so we plan to get a fan to move the warm air around the house; we are looking for one that isn’t noisy.”

“When we were removing the oil, we had looked at biogas and have all the pipework there if we want to change in future. We have the facility to take a boiler should that decision be made.”

“An air to water heat pump would have been something we initially looked into, but we have no insulation in the floors.

Bringing in a digger to insulate would have been too complex a job and cost prohibitive.”

“We knew from the start the eco route would be more money, and that we had to make do with what we had. I’m glad we did it. It shows you can turn old into new.

It’s our retirement plan as well!”

“We couldn’t do everything on our to-do list, as we invested in the sliders and the insulation system,” says Milo. “But we have plans for solar panels (which would have to be land mounted to get optimal sunlight, or possibly go on a shed roof), a wind turbine is also on the cards, and of course our full rainwater harvesting system is also in the works.”

Grant’s Integrated Heating Packages delivering high efficiencies in new build homes

Leading home heating technology manufacturer Grant continues to support self-builders on their journey with bespoke home heating packages to maximise efficiencies, help meet compliance and futureproof their property.

For over 40 years, Grant’s wide range of highly efficient heating technologies have been a popular choice amongst self-builders throughout Ireland, especially due to their ability to work in tandem with one another. The manufacturer has now taken the seamless compatibility of its technologies one step further by offering bespoke integrated heating packages for new build homes.

Developed in line with homeowners’ preferences and the property in mind, Grant’s integrated heating packages can help achieve compliance, whilst delivering the high efficiencies for which Grant heating

technologies are renowned. Individual to every new build home, the heating packages are designed

by Grant’s technical specialists, to suit the property and the lifestyle of the homeowner. Typically, a Grant integrated heating package includes a main heat source, hot water storage system and heat emitters. Grant smart heating controls are also available and can be included within each package.

For most new build properties, the Grant Aerona³ R32 air to water air source heat pump is used as the main heat source, which in the Republic of Ireland helps to meet Part L compliance of the building requirements. For new builds in Northern Ireland, a biofuel compatible Grant Vortex condensing boiler may be included as the main heat source for the property.

Highly efficient hot water storage is also featured within the packages, with options including the Grant Integrated Unit or the Grant pre-plumbed and prewired cylinder – the cylinder model and the capacity for which, is calculated to suit the exact requirements of each individual home.

Heat emitters are specified by the Grant team based on the property and homeowner’s preferences. These

Grant Integrated Heating Package

include the Grant Uflex underfloor heating system and / or the stylish and chic Grant Afinia aluminium radiators.

Both heating technologies keep the individual rooms within a new build home warm and comfortable and can be controlled using Grant’s latest heating controls system - the Grant Uflex 230V Heatmiser Neo Stats.

Each bespoke Grant heating package has been designed to remove the stress a homeowner may feel when trying to choose the right heating solution for their new build home, whilst maximising efficiencies and long terms savings, and future-proofing the property for changing heating needs.

To have your bespoke integrated heating package designed and specified free of charge by Grant, send your house plans to heatpump@ grantengineering.ie / heatpump@ grantni.com

All Grant products are available from plumbing and heating merchants throughout Ireland. Contact the Grant Technical Team on 057 9126967 (Republic of Ireland) or 0800 0443264 (Northern Ireland).

For further information visit www.grant.eu

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

More photographs available at selfbuild.ie

Project info

Find out more about Joanne and Milo’s Co Donegal renovation project...

SUPPLIERS Sliders (sliding glazed doors) Lumi, lumiwindows.com

Full insulation system for roof and new walls Gutex from Ecological Building Systems, ecologicalbuildingsystems. com

Site assessor

John Bonner, Consulting Engineer, tel.

074 954 2008

Wastewater treatment

Aquatron liquid/solid separator primary treatment from Herr Ltd, herr.ie Reed bed design and installation (tertiary treatment) from Alvin Morrow Reed Bed and Constructed Wetland Design, Installation and Maintenance, alvinmorrow.com

Window sills and thresholds NW Aluminium, nwa.ie

Shed

GROUND FLOOR BEFORE

Utility

Living

Paul Lindsay, paullindsayphoto.co.uk NI calling ROI prefix with 00353 and drop the first 0

WC Utility

Glasshouse Bedroom Living Bedroom Kitchen WC

Glasshouse Storage

FIRST FLOOR

Bedroom

54 / S E L F BU ILD / AU TU MN 2021

Henry McGinley & Sons Ltd., henrymcginley.ie

Photography

Kitchen

GROUND FLOOR AFTER

Steel

Mc Fadden Timber Yard, Kilmacrennan, tel. 074 913 9026

Existing Terrace

Bedroom

Shed

Larch cladding

Shed

Bedroom

Shed

Shed

Home Office

Storage

SPEC Extension walls: proprietary timber frame system with tongue and groove panels, 60mm hemp between the timbers, then fireboard, then felt, then battens, then larch cladding.

Roof: same build up as for the walls with insulated tongue and groove panels.

Roofing & Roofline Aluminium Products

Project Suppliers

Use Herr Ltd for nature based waste water treatment systems Túr na Gaoithe, Philipstown HBX, Castleblaney Rd, Dundalk, Co Louth, Éire 042 9377689 / 086 1700569 www.herr.ie

www.nwa.ie

Solitex Plus Reinforced windtight breathable roofing membrane • Extreme water-tightness (>2500mm W1) • Fully windtight & breathable • High nail tear resistance • Resistant to all wood preservatives & resins • Innovative nonporous membrane • NSAI certified • Can be exposed for up to 3 months Photo: Selfbuild in Gortahork, Donegal

Discover our solutions online at

ecologicalbuildingsystems.com

AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 5 5

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

Overview Bedrooms: 3 / House size before: 1,600 sqft House size after: 1,850 sqft / House price: £150k Renovation cost including furniture: £70k Mortgage valuation: £310k Heating and hot water: boiler (natural gas) Ventilation: natural

5 6 / SE LF BUILD / AU T U MN 2021

CO ANTRIM

Sight

unseen

Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Paul Lindsay

When John and Sinead Cullen decided to buy a 100 year old house, they embarked on an Art Deco renovation journey that took over their lives.

Words: Astrid Madsen Photography: Paul Lindsay

New sash windows. Sinead and Johan replaced like for like sash windows with brass handles to retain as many period features as possible.

ohn and I had been living in London for a few years when John’s mum got ill,” says Sinead. “We made the quick decision to come back home so we looked for properties whilst still in London. Belfast was our preferred choice, as it still had the hustle and bustle of city life and our new jobs would be based there.”

“We found our charming home on a property website; there was only one photo of the exterior but I knew it was the one we wanted.”

“Even though it needed a lot of work, the house was structurally sound, and we decided to bid on it after seeing the site

J

survey. We did get to buy it for quite a bit less than the average asking price for the street, because it hadn’t been lived in for quite some time and was neglected. It’s a gamble that paid off as we doubled the house value in two years.”

“John flew home a few days later, we made an offer, it was accepted, and the story began,” adds Sinead.

“When we got the keys, I was so delighted to see it had original features such as deep cornicing, sash windows and high ceilings. The tree lined street and the central location seemed perfect for us. I love interior programmes and remembered what George Clarke said: find the street you want to live on and buy the most run down house on it, and that’s exactly what we did!”

“It had been built in 1917 and there had only been two previous owners, and no redecoration for a long time. It’s an Art Deco house, with a fabulous front door, although one of the previous owners added Victorian style stained glass.”

“Sadly, John’s mum passed away the year we moved back,” says Sinead. “At that stage we hadn’t started with the renovation, and we lived at home with AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 5 7

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

John’s Dad for a year.”

“We properly started in 2019. The building project was such a welcome distraction; John and I threw ourselves into it.”

The plan

“The first thing John did was survey the whole house and plot the existing structure onto drawings. He then did the drawings for a new extension and full remodel of the interior. We submitted the plans to Belfast City Council and were delighted when the plans got passed eight weeks later.”

“After getting planning permission we had to have some calculations done by a structural engineer, for the removal of supporting walls etc. The house had been extended to the side for a kitchen, there was an outside toilet too which was 58 / S E L FB U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

dilapidated, and a boiler house.”

“By demolishing the extension and outdoor shed and toilet, we had room to extend the kitchen. This also involved knocking through part of the dining room wall to make a walk through. I decided on this because we needed as much light in the space as possible. Structurally the most we had to do was add a steel beam between the old part and the new kitchen.”

“We added 250sqft in the form of a new kitchen/utility, and a new ensuite for the largest bedroom upstairs. We also reconfigured an avocado bathroom with cast iron bath; that was a big project and not just because the wall below was buckling!”

“We kept the layout upstairs; the only change we made was to remove the old boiler to make space in the new bathroom.

A good few of our neighbours replaced oil with natural gas, and so did we. We installed a smart thermostat, which we can control from our phones. Our intruder alarm is also linked to our mobile phones.”

“We also had to redecorate every single room, which meant stripping them down (carpets, wallpaper) and making good.

The house had lath and plaster walls and ceilings everywhere. Thankfully the walls were fine, so we didn’t have to do anything to them for insulation, but they were covered in four or five layers of wallpaper and removing them turned out to be a big job with plenty of steam burns trying to use a rented wallpaper stripper!”

“Replacing the sash windows was the biggest cost,” says Sinead. “Also, we hadn’t got plastering in the original budget, but we did have the financing in place to insulate the walls in the ensuite bathroom and put in soundproof plasterboard, as we are living in a semi-detached property.”

“To have a set of drawings to work from, John drew up the plans on AutoCAD and

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R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

had the structural engineer provide the specification of the beam. It took us about six weeks to devise our plans, which were then submitted to building control. It was a relief getting sign off.”

“At this stage, we were guided by Sarah Meany’s motto of using every corner of the house, and so we added an under stairs wc. It’s very small but quirky, and I love it.

It’s the perfect space to go bold.”

“Another television show that inspired us was Your Home Made Perfect, with architect Robert Jamison who tends to do all fixed seating. We took the tip of placing furniture on our plans to make sure the rooms would function well with what we wanted to put in them.”

Kitchen

“We fully insulated the kitchen, and that was still a work in progress when we moved in. We needed to save as much as we could, and wanted to be at the house to work at it as much as possible; it also helps with site security.”

“We ended up saving 12k by shopping around for the right kitchen supplier.

We had all of our ideas for the design and colours, so were clear as to what we wanted and didn’t really need design services. As a result, we found a really 2 0 // SE S EL F FB D // AAUUTU 020 60 BU UIL ILD T UMN M N2 2021

good company quoting half the price because we brought them the detailed drawings, and their timescale was good too.”

“The big investment in the extension was actually the new double glazed aluminium slider. At the time we were thinking, the bigger the window the better. But we might not have them so big next time as they need to be dressed. We decided on graphite colour vertical blinds

which are very striking and practical.”

“We loved the idea of a booth. However, with the island, it was a bit tight. So we decided we would put in fixed seating, but with regular table and chairs. We loved the idea of an artificial living wall to take outside inside, and complement our patio area. We purchased it quite soon after renovating and now every bar/restaurant has it as well. We don’t mind as we love it!”

“The timber slatting behind the seating

CO ANTRIM

“We ended up saving 12k by shopping around for the right kitchen supplier...”

Q&A with Sinead What’s your favourite room/ design feature?

It’s hard to pick, it changes every day.

The kitchen, our bedroom, but I still love the period features the most, especially the cornicing. Our home is a nod to the period it was built in, but modern touches such as our induction hob with built-in extractor bring it into the 21st Century.

Would you do it again?

Yes but next time it will be a project to resell; the next step is to build our own new build forever home. And if we were doing a renovation, we wouldn’t be taking on as much work as we did this time. We would definitely hire skips instead of the countless trips to the landfill which took up most of our time at the start – funny to look back on it now :)

What would you change?

There was an issue with the island measurements, which didn’t take into account the marble that was to go on top. That led to some delays we might have avoided had we checked the measurements.

What surprised you?

We originally thought the walls and ceilings would only need a bit of paint, but as it turned out we had to get them replastered, which blew our contingency. Wallpaper hides so many sins…

5

6 A U T U M N 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 61

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

1

with TV above also gives a café modern feel. John cut the slats with an arched finish to give us a Deco feel. It really has been a learning curve; my aim was to inject our personality but keep to the spirit of the home’s past.”

DIY

“The project was non-stop for two years.

We gave it every spare moment we had,” says Sinead. “We’re still at it but we’re The reading room with green velvet sofa was designed as a chillout area.

6 2 / SE L F B U IL D / AU T U M N 2021

almost there! We are just missing our utility, which we plan to get done in the same style as the kitchen when funds allow.”

“Originally, we toyed with the idea of hiring a number of sub-contractors and managing the build ourselves. We got quotes in from the roofer, plasterer, and the prices were crazy. We were wondering where they were getting them from. So we made the decision to do as much of the work ourselves as we possibly could, rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in.”

“The biggest revelation for me personally was how willing I was to learn and dedicate myself to a new skill. I work in the retail beauty industry so spending my spare time in dusty clothes with no makeup on was liberating! I pushed myself

to the limits and had to admit defeat on 2 some things.”

“I spent a lot of time on the woodwork, for instance. It was never an option but to keep the original window surrounds and Deco staircase spindles and they took a couple of months of restoration. We filled them with wood filler, then sanded down, with a DIY rotary sander. We had to do that to each and every one of them about 10 times.”

“John has just been incredible; I admire him so much for what he has done. He has worked in construction over 12 years now, but nothing was ever off limits. If he didn’t know how to do something he would look it up and would not stop until it was mastered, which was the case for the roof work.”

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R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

“Thankfully the property didn’t suffer from damp, which was a big bonus for such an old house with six fireplaces. But the roof had been leaking.”

“After being let down by various roofing companies, John stripped out the roof himself and put in new 100mm high density rockwool. We now have the option of a fourth bedroom with a loft conversion; at the moment we just put down temporary flooring.”

“In the main house, once we got rid of the carpets, the timber floors were ok but there were two steps between the old and the new sections of the house, which we levelled off and rescreeded.”

“That took a couple of weekends, as we had to lift the floorboards to rejoist

1

2

the existing living room. We insulated the floors and added a membrane. There was a small cubby and we took that wall down to be able to walk through from the kitchen to the living room, and so we could put in a new wood floor throughout.”

“There weren’t any really nice radiators, but we kept most of them. The ones we replaced were old and in bad condition, the rest were reconditioned. The house is a lot warmer now; we also have a gas fire in the front room.”

“We did also splurge on a very good quality wood burner, which added a couple thousand to the budget. John installed this himself and then we got it inspected and signed off by the supplier;

6 4 / SE L F B U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

this saved us at least 2k.”

Garden dreams

“We also have lots of ideas for the garden.

The first thing we did actually, was deal with the two large fruit trees. They had never been cut back and removed all the light. We got in a tree surgeon, who told us one of the trees was rotted in the middle.

We didn’t want it to fall on extension so got it removed. And there’s quite of bit of extra space as a result.”

“But there’s plenty more to do; my plan is for a tropical retreat with BBQ area and bamboo screening, mini palm trees – think Beverly Hills pool bar vibe!”

CO ANTRIM

John and Sinead’s tips Don’t impulse buy. I had bought a leather couch before we replastered the walls, and then realised we might have preferred fixed seating in the living room. Planning where everything will go is harder than it sounds when it’s your first home. And price match every item; shopping online saved us so much money by comparing.

Save up for the right purchase. If you want something expensive, even if it’s just a mirror, wait until you can afford the one you really want instead of buying a cheaper version. We eventually had to replace gold plate switches we had bought for what seemed like a great bargain at the time.

Ask yourself, will I want this in five years?

Trends are for cushions and lamps. The style of the house itself will show off your personality. Get an electrician who is sympathetic to your style, as they can help source the right fittings.

Get your finances in order before you take on a project. If you can get a loan, do it, as it can be time consuming to work on credit card transfer balances. It can be hard to keep an eye on these things when working full time, as unnecessary interest rates accrue.

Don’t move in without a kitchen. We are easy going, but microwave food doesn’t taste great after eating meals out of it for a year. When we moved in, we did have a working bathroom though, and the guest bedroom ready, so it could have been worse!

Don’t be afraid of hard work, and get involved in every detail. You will learn as you go, and the details are what will make the difference to you once you move in. Make lists and have regular project meetings to make sure communication is clear with all the contractors you use.

6 A U T U M N 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 65

R E N O VA T I O N & E X T E N S I O N

More photographs available at selfbuild.ie

Project info Find out more about John and Sinead’s project in Co Antrim...

SUPPLIERS Windows

Eurosash Windows from Warden Wilson Windows, 07775533165

Kitchen

Make Kitchens, makekitchens.com

Worktop

Mid Ulster Granite, midulstergranite.com

Plumber

Chris Walker, 07843845734

GROUND FLOOR BEFORE

FIRST FLOOR BEFORE Front Room

Fixed seating

Corran Joinery, Info@corranwoodwork or Corranwoodwork.com

Ensuite Bedroom

Appliances

Dalzells of Markethill including Gazco stove and Gas Fire, dalzells.com

Home accessories and furnishings

Outhaus and Outhaus Seasons NI, Portadown, outhausni.com

Living

Bedroom

Photography

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Kitchen

Dining

Follow Sinead and John’s journey on Instagram @lifeoverthehedge

Bedroom Bathroom

GROUND FLOOR AFTER FIRST FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR AFTER Bedroom Front Room

Ensuite

Living Bedroom

Storage

Kitchen Bedroom Bathroom

6 6 / SE L FB U IL D / AU T U M M N 2021

CO ANTRIM

Timeline August 2017

Move back to Belfast October 2017 Building control and planning approved January 2019 Start renovation Summer 2019 Structural work Autumn 2019 Moved in without a kitchen

Project Supplier

Unit 8 Enterprise House, Boucher Crescent, Belfast, Bt12 6HU 02895 211 521 | 08000 086 086 www.makekitchens.com A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 67

SAY IT WITH DESIGN

WHAT WHAT DOES DOES YOUR YOUR HOME HOME SAY SAY ABOUT ABOUT YOU? YOU? www.cedral.world

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CO MAYO

The four month

turnkey build

Photography: Sean Flynn

Jim and Faye McGrath self-built their forever home 30 years ago, but as it turned out, they had a second self-build in them. This time around, they chose a kit and moved in only three weeks after the foundations were done...

7 4 / S E L F B U IL D / AU T U M N 2021

Overview Plot size: 2 acres / House size: 1,275 sqft Bedrooms: 3 / BER: A2 Ventilation: mechanical with heat recovery Heating and hot water: air source heat pump Turnkey house building cost (excluding groundworks and fees): €200k

AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 6 9

Project Supplier

NEW BUILD

furnished, down to all of the kitchen and bathroom components, even tiles and paint on the walls. Because the structure is concrete there is no movement, even during transport.

We went to look at timber frame alternatives, and their designs, and to get an idea of rough costs. These were comparable to the modular concrete home, and we liked the appearance and solidity of the concrete finish better. So that was our choice of supplier made.

How did the design come about?

We liked the idea of a pre-designed house to start from. We were attracted to one of theirs and asked if we could make some changes. One of the key

How did the project get started?

We had self-built our 2,700 sqft family home in 1988. It was a five bedroom house, which served us really well up to the point when the children had grown and left. The house was just too big for us. Fortunately this coincided with news that our daughter, along with her husband and two children, were moving back home from Canada after 13 years being away.

When they decided to take the house, it made our decision to build

our retirement home on the two-acre site that much easier. We had two main requirements: a smaller home and a house that would be built with the least amount of hassle.

In our previous home we were involved with every detail; this time around we didn’t want to be as handson, especially now that it’s so hard to get workmen.

Our first step was to visit Selfbuild Live Dublin in 2019. There we looked at timber frame, and other turnkey suppliers.

We were impressed by a company that builds the house in concrete, in modules, which are then craned into place. The house would be installed

7 0 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

design features we wanted was to have as much light as possible in the living area and the kitchen.

The team was flexible and allowed us to shuffle the rooms around so that those areas would be south facing.

The pre design was also a four bedroom and we converted that to a three bed. With the extra space we made the bathrooms bigger. So now we have our master bedroom, a guest room and the office that can turn into a spare bedroom when there’s a spill over of grandchildren!

It’s wonderful having family beside us, and it has been a great interest during lockdown as we moved in while still under the Covid restrictions.

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SETTLE INTO YOUR NEW LIFE SOONER

NEW BUILD

All of our choices were then guided by the design team, including our heating and ventilation system. We also have underfloor heating and simply set the room temperatures to be at 21 degC in the living areas and 19 degC in the bedrooms. It’s a constant temperature year round; it’s so consistent. Even though our first home was comfortable, this is a different experience altogether.

We’ve been watching our bills closely and our only utility is electricity, which averages out to under €1,200 a year for everything. In the other house we had oil heating and the bills were higher.

How about the choice of windows, kitchen, bathrooms, etc.?

We went into every detail with the modular concrete supplier. One of the things we really liked about the company was that they project managed absolutely everything for the house build – they sourced all of the materials.

We had a two day schedule to go around to selected suppliers to choose everything from tiles to windows. The itinerary was carefully planned. We had a budget for each element, and mostly stuck to it.

For the tiles for example, we only had two requirements, the colour and that they were nonslip. We even got to pick a comfort fit toilet especially designed for older people. There are so many choices out there nowadays, it feels very bespoke.

The kitchen supplier was also very 7 2 / SE L F B U ILD / AU T U M N 2021

accommodating. We discussed having an island but we don’t find them comfortable for sitting, so they added a table for the two of us to have our meals at that.

For the windows, we were given a choice of two suppliers then it was a question of choosing whether they would open in or out, the colour and style.

The budget was for triple glazed uPVC which is what we chose. We also stuck with the patio doors, but had the option of lift and slide doors at an additional cost. We had lift and slide in our previous home and they didn’t work very well, and we were getting a bigger opening with the double doors.

We now plan to add a patio that will make the internal and external floors flush.

We also had video calls to choose where to put sockets, things like that.

We visited the factory twice to see how the build was progressing, and any changes we made were minor and based on their suggestions.

How did the planning permission process go?

Once we had our drawings from the modular concrete supplier, we went to a local planning consultant who did a site layout map and superimposed our drawings. Late in 2019 we had a pre planning meeting with the local authority as we were concerned that we would have trouble adding a road access point because we were so close to a busy road.

What we had done was submit our application, stating we were building a granny annexe, and 12 weeks later the planners asked us to resubmit an

CO MAYO

application for a separate independent house. We also needed a flood report because we are near a stream, but that was easy enough to get done.

Once approved, we had to wait the four weeks to file our commencement notice.

We were lucky that Irish Water brought a sewage line on our road in the 12 months prior to us building. Our old house had a septic tank, and so we connected both homes to the sewage network. We also have mains water.

What was the installation process like?

We hired our own civil engineering contractor who poured the foundations to the modular concrete company’s specification.

The house came in three complete modules, each craned into place.

The installers then connected their

services, for plumbing and electric, and put on a coat of plaster externally for a uniform finish. Everything else was in place and all laid out ready for the furniture.

The roof consists of a conventional timber roof, which was installed on site by the modular building provider.

The delivery times were impressive; it took just three weeks from the site delivery of the modules to handover.

The only thing we didn’t consider was the need to budget for new furniture. We thought we would be able to bring our stuff from the other house, but it just doesn’t match. We had to order new furniture for all of the rooms.

Overall, the process was so much easier than for our previous self-build; subcontracting would have been too much for us. The price certainty was a big selling point too.

We did have to add about €30,000 for groundworks, which included the

More photographs and a full Timeline available at selfbuild.ie

new road access, kerbing, drains and so forth, which are expensive, plus foundations and also the professional and planning fees. But we managed to get the one contractor to do all of the groundworks for us, which was a real bonus from our point of view as it covered the work of several tradesmen that we didn’t have to source separately.

What main piece of advice would you give a budding self-builder?

Go to events like Selfbuild Live – we got so many ideas from all of the stands and learned a lot on the day. There are so many things to consider we hadn’t thought about, down to the details of getting insurance. This was the first time we were introduced to air to water heat pumps too. We enjoyed seeing what new ideas were there.

Project Suppliers

PÁDRAIC McTIGUE CONTRACTORS CASTLEBAR LTD.

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NEW BUILD

Mountain

views

Lauren Speers had the prefect site and, in more ways than one, the perfect husband, Alex, who was willing and able to take charge of a direct labour self-build.

Overview Bedrooms: 4 / Plot size: 1 acre House size: 2,500sq ft House value: £400,000 Construction: cavity wall Heating and hot water: oil boiler, PV panels Ventilation: mechnical with heat recovery EPC (SAP): A (96) 7 4 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

CO DOWN

Timeline April 2014

Outline planning applied April 2015 Outline planning approved, and full planning applied April 2016 Planning approved

How did the design come about?

We wanted to keep the exterior of our home traditional in keeping with the area. The influences for this came mainly from driving around many country roads and discussing elements we loved about different houses and, with inspiration from magazines and online mood boards, we finally decided on the shape and style of our home.

A symmetrical design from the front was an absolute necessity for Alex. This is our first home but also our forever home, so we tried to put as much thought and effort into it as possible as we know we won’t ever have the chance to self-build again as we are building on family land.

Our architect guided us on the most likely location to get planning permission, and after deciding on the field, we initially submitted outline planning permission in 2014, to ensure we would be allowed to build a home in the field before paying for plans to be drawn up.

This was approved a year later and had some stipulations. For example, they limited the ridge height which meant we couldn’t build a two storey home.

In this waiting time, Alex downloaded some software and we started playing around with floor plans and house designs, even the landscaping, so when it came to applying for full planning, we already knew exactly what we wanted.

Our architect then transformed our own drawings into plans, and these took another year to be passed by the council, although thankfully passed first time.

Our home has two bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs, an open plan kitchen/dining/sunroom and

February 2016 Build start

a separate living room. Our master bedroom has an ensuite and walk in wardrobe and in total we have four bathrooms. We wanted to make sure it would be as future proof as possible, so ensured we had a main bathroom and a bedroom downstairs.

July 2018 Moved in March 2020 Driveway

What did you do for heat and hot water?

We went for the largest photovoltaic (PV) panels we could to generate electricity on site. We have our system set up to run all of our electrical needs, so that includes all the lighting, washing machines and everything.

With the remaining energy, the panels are set up to heat our hot water. Once

SUPPLIERS Heat recovery ventilation Beam Vacuum & Ventilation, beamcentralsystems.com

Resin pathway

Vuba Resin Products, vubaresinproducts.com

Builder’s merchant

McCall’s, Downpatrick, jwmccall.co.uk

Porch cladding

Fernhill Stone, fernhillstone.com

Roof covering

Snowdon tiles by Lagan Building Solutions, lbsproducts.com

Solar Panels

Solar House NI, solarservicingni.co.uk

Phenolic board insulation

Kingspan, kingspaninsulation.com

SPEC Walls: 200mm cavity pumped with EPS platinum beads.

Windows: triple glazed and argon filled, U-value 0.6W/sqmK Roof: roof tiles, felt and lathe, 100mm warm roof phenolic board, 150mm spray foam between rafters.

Floor: 150mm phenolic board insulation, 50mm liquid screed. Precast concrete slab for first floor.

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 75

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the confidence to manage the build ourselves.

We were so lucky that Alex’s dad is a plasterer and was able to help us at many stages of our build and plaster our home for us, which was such an amazing help.

The only other tradesmen on site were the plumber, an electrician and the kitchen fitter. At the start of our build, Alex spent some of our budget on buying some more good quality tools to add to what he already owned so as to take on each part of the build safely. This was definitely a great investment.

As the project manager, Alex dealt with building control directly all through the build. He found it really important to keep in touch with them that’s done, the remainder goes back to the grid. We have been receiving about £60 per year for the electricity we export back because the rates are much lower for exporting than importing.

The benefit is that for a good four to five months of the year we don’t need to use oil for heating our hot water at all, which is great. We are definitely happy with investing in them and would be keen to look into batteries in the future to store the electricity we generate too.

We decided against a heat pump purely down to cost. Maybe long term they will become cheaper than buying a standard boiler, but we felt it would take a long long time for the unit to pay for itself.

We simply didn’t have the spare budget at the time, and we definitely don’t regret our choice of going with oil heating. We use around £500 of oil every year, and that’s keeping the house at 21 degrees all year round and constant hot water; we don’t have any

electric showers or anything. With solar gain, the temperature in our home goes up to about 24degC in summer.

We could definitely save more by lowering the temperature, but this is how we like it and I don’t think we would save much with a heat pump considering what other self-builders have said they pay to run them.

How did you tackle the build?

Our self-build was managed solely by my husband Alex who also carried out the majority of the work himself.

He is a trained joiner so had a lot of knowledge of the build process and construction which gave us 7 6 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

at all stages and they came out often to check on all the different aspects and ensure everything was built to the regulations.

There was nothing we had to change during the build with regards to building control, although a few things in the initial stages were flagged up by our architect. For example a door that would have been too close to the bottom of our stairs to meet regulations, and not being able to enclose off a separate porch area at the front door due to the pitch of the staircase and needing to leave a certain amount of clearance at the bottom of the stairs. Thankfully these things were picked up in the early stages.

CO DOWN

We didn’t run into any major difficulties of note during our build, apart from having to install a treatment tank instead of a septic tank, which was an extra £3,000 at the start. But apart from that, thankfully the build progressed very smoothly.

How about the finishes?

I carried out all the interior designing myself, so this was done slowly room by room after we moved in. This meant we could save more to furnish our home to the standard we wanted to.

Once you are living in your home, you are so much more aware of how you best want to use each space. It is so much easier to choose colour schemes and narrow down design choices according to how the light changes in the rooms throughout the day.

I actually learned a lot about my own interior style during this process, and I know my home would not look anything like it does today if I had been pressured into making all of these

choices prior to moving in.

We only had one working bathroom at the start, as I just couldn’t find tiles I loved for our main bathroom. So I put it on hold until I had a design I truly loved. I am so glad we did this.

What other advice would you give a budding selfbuilder?

Plan plan plan! Honestly I don’t think you can ever be too prepared for your self-build.

As soon as you break ground, the decisions will be flying your way and you will be in such a better position to deal with them if you have lots of the big decisions already made and fully researched.

A self-build is probably one of the hardest things you will ever do especially if, like us, you are managing the build yourself and doing a lot of the work.

While waiting on your plans to come through, start thinking about bathroom layouts, kitchen designs, positions of plug sockets, TV points, internal doors, window colours, stonework, heating systems, ventilation, flooring choices.

For example, we knew from the start we would have underfloor heating downstairs with radiators upstairs. All of the pipework and ducting has to be figured out before you start on site.

You will be so glad of every bit of research or decision already made ahead of schedule as the decisions really never stop once the build starts.

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the

lowdown OPINION . ADVICE . INSIGHT . KNOWLEDGE

Why choose a compost toilet?

In a traditional septic tank system, sludge removal will recover only a small portion of the total nitrogen and phosphorus present in raw domestic wastewater.

The remaining nutrients are therefore being wasted and lost in the ground. Most of the remaining nitrogen and pharmaceuticals pass easily through the soil and can eventually end up in ground and surface waters nearby, causing pollution.

Nitrates and phosphates are used at present by farmers as fertilisers.

There is growing concern however that there will be future price increases,

because of global shortages of mineral phosphorus. The solution for single homeowners is to recover these nutrients by making home-made compost from human excrement and kitchen waste.

The composting method can work in parallel with standard flush toilets.

The waste from the toilet goes to a tank that separates solid waste from the liquids. This separation process, unlike standard septic tanks, avoids making sewage sludge that would otherwise have to be collected and taken away by tanker.

The biomaterial (solid waste) is then composted, thanks to the help of worms, along with kitchen food waste. This composting should be done for three to four years, to significantly eliminate any residual

Are heat recovery systems noisy? And can they provide heating?

If a heat recovery system is designed correctly, with a correctly sized unit that matches the size of your house, it will not be noisy.

The most common reason I’ve come across for noisy systems is that there are not enough outlets to spread the air flow throughout the house.

Another reason might be that the unit is undersized, meaning the machine has to work harder to hit the desired flow rates.

When a system is undersized, by the homeowner or the installer, it is usually to keep the costs down. But the cheapest is not always the best, and choosing a low budget machine may

pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics.

Growing non-food plants or hydroponically growing flowers with diluted urine, is the other method to prevent pollution and recover the nitrogen. The remaining grey water is then treated with a nature-based treatment system, such as a reed bed.

With enough fall on the site, no electricity or energy is required for the toilet solids separation process or for the composting process itself.

Ollan Herr of onsite wastewater and rainwater consultancy Herr Ltd, herr.ie

home heating needs.

This is incorrect. The purpose of the machine is to ventilate the house, not heat it. The heat recovery aspect just makes the machine more efficient.

To simplify, a heat recovery ventilation system works by extracting your home’s moist, stale air. Then, it recovers the usually lost heat from the extracted air and returns it to your home by preheating the clean, filtered fresh air.

Tim Elliott of Heat Recovery Direct, heatrecoverydirect.com lead to long term problems.

And no, heat recovery ventilation does not provide heating. I talk to many people who believe they don’t need a central heating system or any other form of heating, as they think that heat recovery will meet all their

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 79

BUDGET

extension costs

Keith Kelliher quantitysurveyor.ie

Planning to extend your home? Here are the main budget elements and cost busters to be aware of.

Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of time outlining the dangers of budgeting under an average cost per sqm/sqft basis. Nowhere does this become clearer than when we look to budget and cost house extensions.

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) published a cost guide which contains average costs for extensions ranging from €1,900 to €3,400 per sqm. This range in itself outlines the difficulty in accurately budgeting based on an average cost.

The reality is that no extension is average and few are similar in design, layout and use. But it is useful to know the main items that drive up extension costs.

Demo, waste removal and services

Like any build project, the first issue that will need to be reviewed is the demolition and removal of what stands in the way of the new build.

Demolition costs are often described as dead money, but money it is and demolition can add significantly to the cost of an extension, especially on older properties that may come across hazardous substances such as asbestos which will cost more to get rid of.

It is also not uncommon for an extension project to include a substantial redesign of existing areas, which in themselves will also add significant demolition works.

Demolition costs will depend on what needs to be removed and will vary widely.

As with a new build, waste removal will add up too – especially where it is hard to access. In the case of terraced houses, you will probably have to place the skip at the front of the house and wheelbarrow waste through the house, making this a time consuming (and more costly) endeavour. Average standard skip costs start at €300/£250 and upwards but it comes down to the size, location, and whether you 8 0 / SE L F B U IL D / A U T U M N 2021

choose to bring the waste to your local authority recycling centre instead, which is more cost effective.

Also bear in mind that the construction of any extension will require alteration, relocation or replacement of existing foul and surface water installations and networks below the ground.

It is not unusual for planning grants for extensions to include requirements for soakaways, rainwater retention systems or the likes and it is important to investigate with your designer any possible restrictions that may be placed, outside of simply connecting back into the mains.

Bear in mind that you can’t build your extension over an existing service pipe, such as a mains sewage pipe, and it will be difficult also to get the council to agree to divert it.

Any alteration or relocation of gas, watermain or electricity meter services may involve a capital contribution from the utility company that needs to be factored into the budget as well.

Structural supports

The first element for the actual construction project is to consider the structural implications. In recent

times, the design around the kitchen, dining and sitting room areas, has become very much an open plan environment.

This will, in many instances require the opening up of the ground floor rear and/or side of a property. Where the introduction of columns in the open space are rejected, the size of steel beams across the structural opes can be large, heavy and therefore expensive.

Noting that steel has increased substantially in cost in recent times, it is now common to see costs ranging between €3,500/£3,000 and €4,000/£3,500 per tonne of steel on a supply and fit basis. The removal of any existing walls that are carrying the load of above floors, walls or roofs will also require steel beam replacements.

Apart from the cost of the foundations, floors and wall construction (for which costs are generally dictated by the material selection and size of extension) the other main risk is the condition of the existing structure and/or of nearby structures.

A house may stand tall and unaffected for many generations, but as soon as a wall is moved or a wall ceiling or floor is opened, historical,

EXTENSIONS

defective and substandard building techniques are commonly uncovered.

It is not unusual to find an existing house with little or no foundation or with a foundation that is barely below the ground surface. Equally common is finding a previously built extension barely connected to the original house, or finding an existing wall that is crumbling behind the decoration.

The uncovering of any of these items will require additional structural works. An allowance should always be made for this scenario.

One of the most common spends here is when the new build requires deep foundations, at a lower level than the existing house. The issue of underpinning the existing wall foundations will then come into focus.

Depending on depth of the underpinning required, costs can run from €600/£500 to €1,500/£1,200 per linear meter of underpinning. This issue will also be commonly uncovered when working near or next to garden boundary walls.

Glazing

With any extension generally comes the desire for more natural light. Fully glazed rear walls or rooflights are therefore now commonplace.

As I outlined in a previous article on windows, the selection of material and the height of unit will very much dictate the cost of the windows and doors, with any item exceeding 2400mm in height incurring a premium. Depending on material choice, windows can start at circa €350/£300 per sqm of window and run over €800/£750 per sqm on average.

In respect to rooflights the cost will very much be dictated by the choice of off the shelf options or more bespoke sized items. Colour selection can also be a cost driver on rooflights as standard colours are more likely to be in stock.

A lantern type structure of rooflight will also cost substantially more than a standard flat flush type. Off the shelf flush rooflights will cost less than €/£1k per sqm whereas a lantern type will be €1,800-€2,000/£1,500 per sqm depending on specification. One of the important items to keep in mind outside of cost is lead-in time and it is not uncommon, at present, to have to wait six, eight or 10 weeks for the delivery of many glazed products.

Roof choice

Roof construction on extensions can, in many circumstances, be one of the more straightforward elements of the build. That is, where they are anchored on a standalone structure. The selection of flat or pitched roof and the material finish are the items that will confirm the final costs.

Roof structure costs very much depend on the structure and size of members and supports. Finishes costs range from €75-80/£70 at the low end for tiles to €120/£100 per sqm average for felt type finishes to €180-200/£180 per sqm for some slate and metal finishes.

In many cases, the new extension may impact or require alteration to the existing roof of the property. The stripping back of, and joining into, the new works can result in significant added costs.

As described earlier, when you open up existing works, it is not uncommon to find existing structural issues. In the case of roofs, water damage or even the absence of membranes or felts will result in unforeseen additional costs.

Bear in mind too that if you choose a flat roof, your house insurance premium may be affected depending on how much of the total roof area it represents.

Internal finishes

Internal wall, floor and ceiling finishes will be dictated by the new layout but most extension projects involve an element of internal insulation upgrade on the existing structure, with the existing property often getting drylining upgrades on external walls.

There are however grants for this.

Then plastering, tiling, general decoration and the likes will simply be dictated by the selection of materials and quantity of work required. Internal joinery like doors, architraves, skirting boards, panelling and so forth also need to be clearly budgeted for.

The selection and quantity of floor finish will again be dictated by the amount you will need, often including the run from the front door into the new extended area. Floor finishes can cost from €10/£8 per sqm for thin laminates to over €150/£130 per sqm for finished decorative timber floors.

Levelling existing floors with new floors, removing old floors to install

underfloor heating or to replace suspended floors with insulated concrete floors to match the extension, will also drive the need for new floor finishes to complete the project.

It may be that an extension requires a new single door at the back of the property. It is often the case that by installing this one single new door, the existing doors off the same hallway can appear dated and out of tune with the newly refurbished property which has been replastered and redecorated.

It is common for a project to start with existing internal doors to be retained, refurbished and reinstalled, only for all of the joinery to be changed to new at a later stage in the project, thereby impacting on the budget.

It is important to remember that everything will feel new on completion of the works so making sure you are really committed to reinstalling old is an important consideration for ensuring budget accuracy against actual costs.

With new doors running from a couple of hundred euro supplied and fitted to over €600/£500 to €900/£800 for the supply only of a bespoke joinery door, identifying and committing to a selection of internal joinery is important to confirm the budget.

Electrics

The certificate of electrical works on extensions has long been a bone of contention. The need for certification means that in the majority of instances, the entire house will need a complete rewiring. This can add significant cost to what started out as an extension project.

In addition to this, the electrical installation is also without doubt the item that is most subject to increase as it is common to underestimate the number of electrical sockets, wall lights, spotlights and so forth, until late in the project. Spending time on detailed lighting layouts in advance of works commencing will reduce the probability of a cost overrun.

With the majority of electrical items costing in excess of €100/£80 per point, the costs can quickly add up.

It is also not uncommon for budgets to forget about external lighting, which, for practical and security reasons will need to be added on.

Let’s not forget the desire for smart technology, sound systems, intercoms, wifi boosters and networks, electric AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 81

BUDGET

blinds and television systems, all of which come with a price tag.

Systems

As with electrics, the mechanical, heating and plumbing works can add significantly to the cost.

Depending on the extent of the system, heating can go from a simple boiler and radiators setup (which may need additional items if it needs to comply with regulations on renewables) from less than €/£10k to air to water systems with underfloor heating of over €/£30k.

When kitchens are being relocated, it is often the case that the existing gas or oil boiler or controls are relocated, underfloor heating may be added, and the condition of existing plumbing pipework and structure comes to the fore.

It is not unusual for extension and refurbishment projects to involve a complete replumb of a property and upgrade to air to water heating systems, for example, as grants are available in ROI. With the shift towards airtight homes, the necessity for

mechanical ventilation systems has now become a more important aspect of building – with associated costs.

It is not unusual for figures in excess of €5,000 to be spent on a new ventilation system.

Fit-out

Without doubt one of the largest cost expenditures associated with extensions will revolve around the selection of the kitchen, utility and built in furniture.

From flat pack to designer packages available, costs will be dictated by design, layout, style and finish. From a few thousand euro/pounds for a flat pack standard chipboard carcass kitchen with a laminate countertop to a hand painted in frame designer kitchen at €30,000/£28,000 and above.

With such a broad range of options from laminate to timber, to granite, to quartz to engineered alternatives, the range of items and range of costs can run from €/£1k to over €/£15k for the countertop alone.

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Landscaping

For any extension project to take place, you will have to accept some form of damage to the outdoor area. Builders will need to store their materials and equipment and busy themselves with the messy work that is construction. There is no doubt your garden will be at the receiving end.

The extension may be expanding the property into a garden, and your drainage and services will need to be moved and may disrupt an even larger garden area.

It is therefore important that an allowance is made for the inclusion of a patio or paved area to the side or rear of the property. I would allow €150/£120 per sqm to include excavation, disposal, filling and a finished material.

Repairs to grassed areas, kerbing, planning, raised planter beds or the likes are regularly included in the budget to ensure immediate usability of the garden once the builders have gone. This will help protect your newly finished internal floor finishes.

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WA S T E WA T E R

New treatment options open to self-builders The EPA’s Code of Practice for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Population Equivalent ≤10) was published in May 2021, replacing the 2009 version.

Here’s what you need to know.

If you’re building in the countryside, chances are that you may not be able to connect to the local authority sewer system. This means you will need some way of dealing with the wastewater you generate.

In ROI, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Code of Practice is the statutory reference document that explains how to tell if your site is suitable for an onsite wastewater treatment system, and if so, what options are open to you.

If your site is not suitable for an onsite wastewater treatment system, and there is no mains connection, you could be denied planning permission to build a house on that site. The situation is different in NI (see Basics guide p88).

Although the structure of the Code has changed somewhat since the 2009 version and it does include welcomed clarifications, much of the technical detail has not changed significantly.

Some examples of changes that have occurred, for instance, are that the new Code now requires a 2m metal perimeter fence around soil based constructed wetlands, which will add to costs and present aesthetic challenges.

Also, the depth of subsoil required beneath raised mound filter beds has increased to 0.9m which means that on some sites with very clayey soil, a raised bed is no longer an option.

The required frequency for desludging septic tanks has been updated too, according to size of tank and number of house occupants.

However, the biggest changes

Laurence Gill Professor in Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin

have to do with the new options now available for lower permeability subsoils.

For these, willow evapotranspiration systems may offer a solution in limited cases, but in reality, more strategic thinking is needed at a national level on the use of licensed discharges to surface water, as is the case in NI. Decentralised group schemes should also be explored.

Is my site suitable for an onsite wastewater treatment system?

The way to decide if your site is suitable for a wastewater treatment system is to see how quickly, or slowly, the soil can allow water to pass, by assessing the characteristics of the soil profile from a trial hole in conjunction with a minimum of three percolation tests carried out in situ.

A percolation test measures the rate at which water infiltrates down into the soil, and thus how suitable the soil will be in the longer term for effluent filtration and disposal.

The percolation test used to be referred to as the T-test in the 2009 Code; it is now renamed the PV test.

The new Code also extended the allowable range of low permeability soils from PV = 75 up to PV = 120, which may seem to be a significant expansion, but unfortunately the nature of the PV scale gives a somewhat exaggerated impression for slower permeability soils.

A more engineering based and transferable representation of the permeability of soils is field saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) where PV = 75 to 120 is equivalent to a relatively small range of Kfs = 44 to 28 mm/d.

Few sites are likely to offer soils in this range, with many areas still presenting much slower percolation because of more clayey soils.

Why did the Code of Practice change?

“

A significant area of Ireland presents problematic conditions for domestic onsite wastewater treatment, in particular areas with inadequate percolation due to low permeability subsoils and/or insufficient attenuation due to high water tables and shallow subsoils.

If there is insufficient permeability in the subsoil to take the effluent load (i.e. wastewater coming from

If you’re building in the countryside, chances are that you may not be able to connect to the local authority sewer system...

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 85

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WA S T E WA T E R

OPINION the house), ponding and breakout of untreated or partially treated effluent at the surface may occur with associated serious health risks.

There will also be a risk of effluent discharge/runoff of pollutants to surface waters and to wells which lack proper headworks or sanitary grout seals.

To address these problematic areas and allow development while protecting water resources from the risk of pollution by existing septic tanks in these areas – the so-called legacy sites which are being assessed under the National Inspection Plan – alternative wastewater treatment and disposal options are needed.

Hence, the EPA funded fieldbased research to identify alternative disposal options and investigate their suitability for areas of low permeability subsoils. Options considered and assessed in a series of field studies were pressurised distribution systems and sealed basin evapotranspiration systems.

The results obtained from these trials, many of them through the Environmental Engineering group in Trinity College Dublin, were then used to derive design criteria and to determine the operating limits for these systems in an Irish context.

These are now included in the new Code of Practice.

Low-pressure pipe systems (designated Option 4 in the new Code) can now be used as a solution for sites with soil percolation values (PV) up to 90, and drip dispersal systems (designated Option 5) can be a solution for sites with PVs up to 120.

Both require upfront secondary treatment systems and may also need a septic tank to provide primary treatment, depending on the nature of the secondary treatment system used.

Low-pressure pipe distribution

Low-pressure pipe (LPP) systems are relatively easy to build and operate, just needing a pump sump with submersible pump. Treated wastewater from a secondary treatment system is pumped into parallel lateral pipes to distribute the effluent evenly over the percolation area.

For the new low permeability soil range of PV 75 to 90 the total trench length required per person is 28m, equivalent to a trench loading rate of 18 l/sqmd. Note, this length does not

(a)

(b)

Figure 1. Installation of low-pressure pipe system (a) shallow trench excavation (b) pipes laid on gravel.

have to be in a single trench but can be split into more parallel lengths depending on the space available for the percolation area.

A vital component is the pump, and it needs to be specified for the site according to a proper hydraulic analysis of the full pressurised system.

This analysis should be carried out, or checked, by a qualified expert.

A properly designed and installed LPP system requires little ongoing maintenance. However, regular monitoring by the homeowner should be carried out. In particular, the pumping chamber should be checked for sludge accumulation periodically.

There should also be cleanout vents at the ends of the pipes that can be used to pump out any accumulated solids in the lateral pipes, in the unlikely event that they do become blocked.

Drip distribution systems

Drip dispersal systems for wastewater dispersal are manufactured by a few companies worldwide; the manufacturer’s specification and guidelines must be followed.

This system is more complicated from an installation perspective than

The choice should be yours The practice of site assessors recommending a specific make and model has to go, writes Pat Phelan of Biorock.

In NI, specifying onsite wastewater treatment systems is in many ways much more effective than in ROI. Not only is there less paperwork, the process rightly focuses on the certified water quality you are getting at the end of the treatment process.

In ROI, the rules are actually very simple. The onsite wastewater treatment plant must be certified to EN12566-3 and the SR66 standard.

That is the only requirement of the EPA and building regulations.

However, over the years, the practice has developed for site assessors to recommend a specific make and model in their site assessment reports.

No site assessor, architect or engineer should be allowed to specify one plant over another and then insist that plant must be installed. This should be the householder’s decision, as is the case in NI, the rest of the UK, the EU and beyond.

Every make and model will produce treated water of different standards, but if the plant is certified, it will meet the requirements of the EPA. There may be occasions when a specific treated water standard is required which is higher than usual, but this is very rare in ROI as there is virtually no means to discharge into nearby water streams. This could arguably would be the only reason to specify a particular plant over another, but even then it shouldn’t be about the make and model but the standard to which the plant has been certified.

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 87

WA S T E WA T E R

BASICS

STEP BY STEP GUIDE To get an onsite wastewater treatment system installed in NI, the process is straightforward in that you just need a Consent to Discharge from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. The system you choose must meet the requirements as set out in the licence, i.e. the water that is discharged must be certified to have been cleaned to a very high level.

In ROI, you need to follow the procedures set out in the Code of Practice. Both jurisdictions have these requirements in place to protect our environment, specifically water quality and human health.

How do I comply with the ROI Code?

If you cannot connect to a sewerage system, you must submit a site characterisation report with your planning application. This report must be compiled in line with the EPA’s Code of Practice for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Population Equivalent ≤ 10).

What is a site characterisation report?

A site characterisation report (sometimes referred to as a percolation test although the report includes more than just the test) determines if your proposed site is suitable to develop on. The report specifically deals with the ability to deal with onsite wastewater treatment and disposal. This consist of a number of trial holes being excavated.

What is contained in the report?

Included in the report are the results of the Sub Surface and Surface percolation tests.

Also included are recommendations for the type and size of wastewater treatment system needed, e.g. septic tank, wastewater treatment plant, etc., as well as the options for disposal of the discharge from the systems, e.g. percolation trenches, low pressure pipe networks, tertiary filter, etc.

Only a qualified Site Suitability Assessor with adequate professional indemnity insurance can compile the report.

How do I know what system I need?

The site characterisation report will contain the size and type of septic tank and/or wastewater treatment plant you require. It will also determine the type of percolation system needed, specifying among other things, the area required.

Cathal Keane of Graf 88 / S E L FB U ILD / A U T U M N 2 021

(a) the low-pressure pipe systems as they need a bespoke control panel and special headworks with filters and also require more regular maintenance.

As outlined at the start, they must only be used to disperse secondary treated effluent – septic tank effluent will block the drippers, as we found from bitter experience. The plan area of the field required for percolation is 34 sqm per person (76 ≤PV≥ 90) or 54 sqm per person (91 ≤PV≥ 120), the latter range based on a real loading rate of 2.8 l/sqm per day from our research.

Zone flushing of the system should be automated, with the frequency either based on number of doses (typically every 50 to 200 doses) or on a timed basis (two weeks to six months).

Wastewater effluent screens/filters should be checked on a monthly basis and cleaned if required. It is also recommended to carry out periodic field flush valve maintenance by opening the valves and switching on the pump(s). This is likely to form part of a maintenance contract you will put in place with the installer, but you could do it yourself if you know what you are doing.

Willow evapotranspiration systems

Reed beds and constructed wetlands were already well covered in the previous Code. But this new update now includes evapotranspiration (ET) systems based on the results from a series of full scale field trials using willow trees on a total of 14 systems (10 in County Wexford, two in County Leitrim, one in County Limerick and one in County Louth).

We wanted to see if these systems, which can significantly reduce any effluent discharge to the wider environment, could be a solution for sites that failed the new percolation test upper limit.

The results showed that such open systems are unlikely to be able to act as completely zero-discharge systems in the Irish climate if the in situ low-permeability subsoil is used as a backfill.

Research is therefore being planned to investigate whether partially covered systems can operate as fully zero-discharge systems for the future, and therefore provide a solution for sites that fail the percolation test.

The open systems were, however,

(b)

Figure 2. (a) Installing drip distribution tubing at shallow depth in soil and (b) finished installation.

shown to promote excellent pollutant attenuation and significantly reduce net effluent discharge to the environment, particularly over the summer period, and so have been included as a viable passive treatment system for either existing (legacy) and/ or new developments as effectively tertiary treatment.

The trials have determined realistic crop factors for the Irish climate from which the guideline designs have been produced.

The evapotranspiration systems consist of a basin(s) dug to a depth of 1.8m and lined with an impermeable membrane, to prevent wastewater leaking out and/or groundwater leaking in. Distribution pipes are laid in gravel at the base before the system is backfilled with the in-situ soil that had been excavated, as shown in Figure 3. It is very important that this low permeability soil is broken up by the digger before being replaced in order to achieve a minimum average useable pore space of 15 per cent.

A minimum of three different varieties of willows should then be planted in early spring at a density of three plants per square metre. It is strongly recommended that the ET system is constructed at least one growing season in advance of the inhabitants moving into the house.

These systems are large with a design specification of 187.5sqm per person based on the standard effluent load of 150 litres per person per day.

However, it is strongly recommended

WA S T E WA T E R

that water saving technologies are incorporated into a household if using such systems, in which case the sizing can be reduced after consideration by local authorities on a case-by-case basis. For example, if effluent loading is reduced to 100 litres per person per day our research suggests that the evapotranspiration system can be sized at 125sqm per person.

The willow stems should be cut back in the first winter of growth to encourage an increase in stems per plant in the second growing season.

Normal coppicing should then take place on a two or three year cycle, with an alternating half or third coppice every year.

It should be noted that these systems, as currently designed, will cause periodic discharges mainly in the winter which either needs to go to a tertiary treatment system or to surface water with an appropriate licence.

However, at present local authorities in ROI do not generally grant surface water discharge consents for single houses.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 3. Willow evapotranspiration systems (a) lining (b) backfilling, (c) growth in first summer and (d) third summer.

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56 Damolly Road Newry BT34 1QR

Tel: +44 28 3083 5533 | Fax : 028 3082 5523 Email: sales@viltra.co.uk | www.viltra.co.uk AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 89

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� Suppliers of Daikin Altherma Heat Pumps � New Build & Retrofit Solutions � Provide fully insured design services � Full training rig for all installers

Exhibiting at Selfbuild Belfast in Sept 2021 For more product, training course information or system quotation please contact any of the Floortherm Sales Team:

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GARDEN

Raspberry ripples

Fiann Ó Nualláin theholisticgardener.com twitter @HolisticG

Autumn is the perfect time to plant apples, pears and quinces but also currants, blueberries, blackberries, logan berries, tay berries and all the hybrids in between. Perhaps most prized of all is the classic raspberry (Rubus idaeus), suited to gardens of all sizes.

Bare rooted plants

Plant your bare rooted raspberry plants in autumn, in a sunny spot, not waterlogged and not too dry. Not caught in the winds but open enough ground. It is always good to enrich the site with manure and compost to give them the best start.

Raspberries are traditionally planted in rows and supported along a post and wire system. I grow mine that way but also have some in a fruiting hedge, mixed at intervals with hawthorn and sloes, and as long as I adhere to the right pruning, they flourish.

The trick is to space them out at around 50cm apart, and don’t plant too deeply as they like a shallow root run.

Professional growers and experienced allotmenteers will position the plants out in two or three stacked runs at 1.8m distance between runs and aligned north to south in order to minimise bushes shading one another.

But really, they will yield with little fuss, even just as an addition to a border in an average garden or as a container plant.

To prune or not to prune?

Summer raspberries fruit on the previous season’s growth. So any stems, known as canes, that have produced fruit over the summer will be looking tired or straggly by the autumn. These can be hard pruned back to just above ground level, conserving their root energy and

triggering fresh growth for next year.

If your raspberry pant is older than one year, then you will also have some fresher growth canes that did not fruit in this season. But they will do so next season. These can be left intact and tied in neatly on the supports.

Raspberries also come in varieties that are known as autumn fruiting, and can be left alone until next spring.

Let them rest over winter and then in February or March cut all the canes down to above grown level to trigger fresh growth. Autumn fruiting varieties fruit on the newest season growth of the same year.

After you’ve pruned the plant, use a mulch of homemade compost or wellrotted manure to replenish nutrients as they lay dormant. This is much better than feeding during active flowering and fruiting.

Pests

The only things to look out for are the condition known as raspberry virus, and birds stealing your crop. Netting or noise makers can solve the

latter.

Unfortunately there are no chemical or homemade solutions with the ability to control viral diseases, but good cultivation wards off problems.

Healthy plants, those cleanly pruned, and kept without the stress of drought or waterlogging and topped up nutritionally each year, can go for many years without any problems.

Plant viruses require a vector to gain entry into living tissue. In the case of cane fruit, this most often occurs

via aphids which can easily carry and spread raspberry mosaic. Soil dwelling nematodes can also be to blame if they bear arabis mosaic virus, which will trigger yellow dwarf disease. Therefore good pest control is vital.

Weeds host virus and pest transmitters. So, keep on top of that chore too.

The viral damage ultimately results in stunted growth and diminished fruit production. The fruit loses storage capacity if not edibility and often dries to a crumbly texture. Ultimately canes may die dieback and even die off.

If you do come down with a problem, it is best to remove and burn infected plants. Plant any replacements in a different location, and seek varieties with better resistance. With most cane and berrying crops, it is generally advised to replace stock every seven to 10 years.

AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 91

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NEWRY BANGOR LISBURN PORTADOWN COLERAINE LARNE BELFAST ENNISKILLEN BALLYMENA

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Neil Mathews Architects

Unit 5E Weavers Court Linfield Road Belfast BT12 5GH

15 Forestholme Close Forest Hill London SE23 3UQ

T: +44(0)7739 808315

E: info@neilmathewsarchitects.com

LIFTS

The Only Way Is Up

Andrew Stanway Author of Managing Your Build

Although King Henry VIII is said to have had the world’s first chair lift, at his palace in Whitehall, and even though domestic lifts have indeed, until recently, been the preserve of the rich, things are changing fast.

Until a very few years ago, few selfbuilders would even have considered installing a lift. But lifestyles are on the move and the costs of lifts have fallen, making both them and stair lifts not only attractive but – more to the point – affordable too.

The fact is that lifestyles are not what they were thirty years ago. Single occupancy is on the rise and intergenerational homes increasingly popular.

Enabling granny to live, or even stay, with you can also impact on how you manage childcare. After all, the main carers for children today (other than their parents) are grandparents.

So, the longer your home enables them to contribute, the better. A lift can also make an otherwise unusable space viable as a granny flat in your new build.

As the costs of moving house, not all of which are financial, rise, it makes sense to stay put if you can, into later years. A lift can make this realistic at a fraction of the cost of moving home.

There are two basic devices that enable people to get to upper floors without using stairs: a stair lift or an ordinary people carrying lift much like those we see in public and commercial buildings.

Older or period homes with narrow stairs may not be able to accommodate a stair lift and such houses may not have space for a passenger lift either.

Stair lifts

A stair lift is a device consisting of a chair attached to a strong metal rail. Stair lifts are mainly used by the elderly; those who tend to suffer falls; and those whose mobility is otherwise

impaired.

Henry VIII’s chair-lift was designed to be hoisted up and down with a block and tackle system so his servants could get his 30-stone body, injured through jousting, then bloated by overeating, safely up and down without carrying him.

Today’s stair lifts are somewhat more sophisticated! They have an adjustable seat; an on-board battery; battery isolation switches; safety sensors that ensure they stop if they meet an obstacle; speed governors; seat belts, if needed; can go round corners and along flat areas as well as simply up the main stairs; and so on.

You will get what you pay for. Some are pretty basic and others can be tailor made to suit very particular needs. But whatever the specification, the user

sits side saddle (at right angles to the direction of travel), sometimes on a swivel seat that makes getting on and off easier.

Straight rail lifts cost less than the more complex curved rail ones, for obvious reasons. Although the vast majority are for indoor use it’s also possible to have one made in materials suitable for outdoor installation.

Almost all such lifts are powered by an on-board battery that recharges at the top or the bottom of its travel when not in use. Most are fitted to the stairs themselves, rather than to the walls, so any damage done to your structure is minimal.

Although it’s possible to install some such lifts as a self-builder, this is probably better left to the professionals. It is, after all, a serious AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 93

LIFTS

piece of equipment that carries a very valuable cargo, so should be securely installed and all the safety elements taken care of right from the start.

Home lifts

There are four main types of domestic lift. They vary a lot in price, according to how much building work is required.

Be very careful when discussing your proposed lift with suppliers as it can be hard to ensure you’re comparing like with like.

Always go with a company that will come and do a survey and then give you a price that reflects your actual installation. Be sure the price includes delivery, as this can be high.

Such a visit will also enable you to get the right type of lift for your needs.

With a new build, the company will work off your drawings to suggest the best solution.

Hydraulic lifts: Basic through-thefloor lifts can vary in price between twenty and thirty thousand but can be a lot more. This system works by pumping hydraulic fluid which raises and lowers the cage via a piston. It needs quite a lot of space plus a machine room and requires maintenance. Such lifts are best if you intend to carry heavy weights (or several people) between floors.

Traction lifts: are usually more expensive than hydraulic ones (could easily be in excess of thirty thousand), tend not to be as smooth a ride, and because they depend on cables and counterweights also have high maintenance costs. The cables themselves can need replacing every five years.

Vacuum lifts: are simple structures made up of a self-supporting, sealed tube with the difference in air pressure above and below the cab transporting the passenger by air. A vacuum ‘sucks’ the cab up and the slow release of the air pressure allows it to float back down again. Such lifts are usually for only one or two people.

Non-hydraulic lifts: are the simplest and least expensive type, costing as little as fifteen thousand.

Most people opt for a nonhydraulic type as it’s the simplest possible system with no pits, machine rooms, load bearing walls, or other engineering works. This means that today’s domestic lift is usually: selfsupporting; installed in a day or two; relatively inexpensive (can be less than twenty thousand); elegant and 9 4 / SE L F B U ILD / A U T U M N 2021

unobtrusive in design; and adds value to your home. Such a lift requires virtually no servicing, in contrast with normal passenger lifts. Many simple non-hydraulic lifts work off a standard 13A wall socket. They can be called remotely from any floor and have battery back-up in case of a power cut.

Most such simple lifts can service only one floor above the ground floor but by paying more it’s possible to have a similar system that’ll service three, or even more, floors.

Although their speed is slow, compared with that of commercial lifts, most home versions will get you to the first floor in under 30 seconds.

When first thinking about your lift, give careful consideration to where it will be sited. Some can fit within the inside curve of a winding staircase, for example. You’ll be surprised how tiny the footprint is.

How many people will you need it to carry? How about getting one large enough to accommodate a future wheelchair? If you go this route, the location of the lift’s entrance will need planning so it’s easy and practical to get a wheelchair and carer in and out of the cab. This will mean modelling local traffic flows and door openings.

But getting all this right could revolutionise your later years in the house. Don’t forget this practical flow stuff will need thinking about for each floor your lift services, not just the ground floor. There are also lifts that take only a wheelchair. They’re great if the user can safely drive themselves in and out and work the controls alone.

Sliding doors are easier to operate than concertina style ones. After

this, and as with so many home improvement products, it’ll be up to you how complex you want your lift to be.

There are numerous accessories available for most lifts but the costs soon add up if you’re not careful. Glass or other see-though materials such as polycarbonate can make the shaft almost invisible. Carefully sited and with planning for its appearance, your lift could be near invisible even in a minimalist design home.

As with stair lifts, a normal lift can be weatherised so it can go up the outside of your home. This will almost definitely call for special planning permission and will cost a great deal more. Normal, inexpensive, domestic lifts are not meant to be used outside.

All images courtesy of Pollock Lifts, pollockhomelifts.co.uk

SPONSORED CONTENT

Pollock Lifts

For over 30 years Pollock Lifts has designed, installed, tested and maintained through floor lifts, platform lifts and stairlifts right across the UK and Ireland, with safety and comfort in mind. pollocklifts.co.uk NI tel. 9336 8167 (ROI prefix with 048) jscott@pollocklifts.co.uk

available in twin or single rail; they are made to measure for your individual staircase and will be installed within two to three weeks of the site survey.

Straight stairlifts are in stock so can be fitted very quickly.

All stairlifts feature a stylish and compact design with safety sensors fitted as standard that will stop the lift in case of obstruction.

BENEFITS

Whether it’s mobility access for one person in the home, or a bespoke through-floor solution for a luxury home, Pollock Lifts delivers safety, comfort and reliability in harmony with the customer’s needs.

Pollock puts great effort into designing and creating elegant solutions that fit harmoniously with their surroundings, from historic buildings to modern homes. Each lifts is created to suit different needs and budgets using knowledge gleaned from users, healthcare professionals and Pollock’s own experience.

Through floor lifts

For a smooth and quiet throughfloor travel to two storey dwellings, you have the option of a compact (single person), twin (two person) or wheelchair elevator, which is an innovative lift that helps wheelchair users live independently at home.

Designed to be easily installed in a wide range of homes, it’s available in a range of sizes and with travel distance up to 4.2 metres. It travels on elegant vertical elevator rails that means when the lift is not in the room you can enjoy all of your living space.

Bespoke home lifts, meanwhile, integrate seamlessly with your home,

without the need for extensive building work associated with conventional lifts. The combine the advantages of platform lift technology with the comfort of a fully enclosed cabin, creating an experience that gives you the same sense of luxury as a conventional lift but at a fraction of the cost.

Home lifts

Unlike other conventional lifts that require hydraulics, Pollock home lifts use a smart electric motor that is whisper quiet and requires less power to run. A compact footprint and a selfsupporting structure allow the lift to easily move through the floor.

These lifts have the distinct advantage over traditional lifts in that they do not require a deep pit or high headroom. They can be fitted in a blockwork shaft or for a truly distinct feature be housed in the Pollock self supporting structure clad in either solid panels or glazed screens.

The doors can be stylish fully glazed swing doors or automatic sliding doors.

These can be finished in stainless steel, bronze or even glass.

Stairlifts

Aesthetics You can personalise the lifts to fit within your home: choose from a wide selection of colours, floor styles and even accessories to build the lift of your dreams. They come in a range of sizes to suit individual needs as well as the available space in your home.

Quick installation Typically installing your home lifts takes one to two days and there should be no requirement to redecorate once your home lift is installed.

Full warranty Pollock holds a wide range of certifications and approvals for its products and services, and the lifts come with a 12-month warranty for all parts and labour. In the unlikely event of a breakdown the Pollock support team is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Back-up power In the event of a power cut, your home lift has a dedicated battery back-up which will always return to the ground floor where you can exit the car using a manual release.

Service agreement Service agreements are available post installation to ensure that your lift is serviced and operating safely for years to come.

Curved and straight stair lifts are AUTUMN 2 0 2 1 / S EL F BU IL D / 95

Guide Selfbuild

INSULATION & AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE

100 DEFINITIONS

119

THE NZEB NEW BUILD

108

AIRTIGHTNESS SYSTEMS

106

INSULATIONS TYPES

98 OVERVIEW / 112 INSTALLATION 116 NEW BUILD ENERGY STRATEGIES / 122 ECO INSULATED NEW BUILD 124 RETROFIT STRATEGIES / 128 NZEB ENERGY UPGRADE

AU TU MN 202 1 / SE L F B U IL D / 9 7

INSULATION & AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / OVERVIEW

Strategic thinking Your airtightness and insulation strategy will depend on how you build your house, what your overall aim is for energy efficiency, and how you plan to ventilate it. You will then have to make choices based on cost versus performance versus eco credentials.

image: Freepik.com

9 8 / S E L F BU IL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

Guide Selfbuild

he adage “Build Tight, Ventilate Right”, coined by Earle Perera of the Building Research Establishment in the 1990s, is as true today as it ever has been. This means that in energy efficient buildings, the insulation and airtightness strategy must factor in ventilation to protect your own health and to prevent sick building syndrome. But there’s even more to it than that, writes Patrick Waterfield.

T

Dr Patrick Waterfield is an energy consultant based in Belfast.

Victorian buildings were very robust, adaptable and abundant in architectural features. They had large areas of glazing and plentiful ventilation due to their lack of airtightness and fireplaces in most rooms. This meant ample fresh air and light, but also poor energy/resource efficiency.

The challenge today is to retain the positive features, including an efficient ventilation strategy (which was in many cases sacrificed in the late 20th Century to make way for insulation), while addressing the downsides. Here are some of the variables to consider: Lifecycle costing: While the precise definition can vary, it tends to take into account the upfront cost (and, in the case of insulation for example, payback period in terms of energy saved against purchase price), what you need to pay to maintain and replace the product as you use it, plus the cost of disposal of materials at end of life, all of which is adjusted for inflation.

Embodied energy: This analysis not only looks at the energy a building will use during its lifetime, but at the energy consumed in the extraction/ processing/manufacture of components and, potentially, the recyclability of materials at end of life. Databases are available for the embodied energy of materials, which are generally independent

of geographical location. An extension of this approach is embodied carbon assessment, a trickier and less researched subject as it depends on the energy types used for extraction, manufacture and shipping of materials/components and will thus vary depending on where the products are produced and where they are used.

Eco credentials: It is possibly simpler to only look at the inherent eco credentials of a material: Does it need much processing and what impact does its extraction have on the environment? Can it be readily recycled or reused at end of its life? As far as I am aware, there are no specific eco options for airtightness and vapour control membranes – these are engineered products with particular properties regarding air and moisture transfer in specific directions (into or out of the fabric). So the eco analysis tends to apply to insulation products, and herein lies the dilemma: the best energy performing insulation materials are usually the most engineered.

Overall, an insulation and airtightness strategy will need to take into account these but other performance related issues.

Moisture management comes to mind; for example a material that can help regulate moisture transfer will be suitable next to a

breathable membrane. There are dangers too in using impermeable materials in old solid walled houses as moisture movement needs to occur in the fabric.

When considering my own self-build nearly 15 years ago, I was often torn between using higher performing, oil based (plastic) insulation products and more natural materials with higher thermal conductance (poorer performance).

The rule of thumb is that lower performing insulation materials require greater thicknesses to achieve a given insulating effect.

And while happy to embrace a wider-than-normal wall element, I had to draw the line somewhere.

To give you some context, the driving force for my build was to design out the central heating system. I had calculated that I should be able to do that if I could reach an average U-value for the entire building fabric (including windows) of about 0.2 W/sqmK. Anywhere there was a breathable membrane I used hemp batts for their good moisture regulation properties. Then for the roof, the 200mm rafters were filled with 150mm PIR boards.

The floor had 200mm PIR insulation partly because it had to play a role in supporting the screed.

The 150mm timber stud walls contained mineral fibre, as per the standard make up for timber frame. The walls were then internally drylined with insulated

plasterboard (phenolic or PIR).

The windows were almost all triple glazed including rooflights.

And, as you would expect, the house has a mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system. The q50 air permeability was 1.3 m3/ (h.sqm) which, though some way off the Passivhaus minimum requirement, I was happy with.

The whole house is heated by a wood burning stove with its own dedicated combustion air, assisted by the MVHR in distributing the heat around the house. The wood burner has a back boiler which feeds the hot water tank via a gravity loop.

Between the back boiler and solar thermal tubes (both feed the hot water tank), which complement each other well seasonally, the electric immersion has hardly ever been used (but there is an electric shower in the upstairs bathroom).

Today the house, which achieved an A2 energy rating at the time, performs as well as ever.

I have replaced the wood burner once (very recently) and the MVHR thermal wheel motor once (some time ago; I have also been changing the filters regularly of course). Otherwise we have used only logs for heating, at a cost of about €300/yr, and electricity for everything else, using approximately 2,500 kWh/yr.

A U T U M N 2 0 21 / S E L FB UI L D / 99

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / DEFINITIONS

A snug fit When building your house or carrying out a home improvement project, you will hear a lot about insulation and airtightness. But what are they and why do you need to know about them?

What’s the difference between an NZEB and a passive house?

and floor The walls, roof along with of your home, such as any openings doors are windows and ed to as together referr lope or ve en the building . building fabric

1 0 0 / SE LF BUILD / AU T U MN 2021

The terms passive house and Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) both refer to designing buildings that require very little energy to run comfortably, i.e. low energy bills.

In the context of house building, a big difference is that NZEB is specifically referred to in Part L of the ROI building regulations, defined as a building with a very high energy performance that gets the very low amount of energy it still requires mostly from renewable sources, on site or nearby.

In practice, this means building a house that retains heat very well and installing some form of renewable system(s), usually in the form of a heat pump or solar panels.

Most designers will use the

term passive to refer to the German PassivHaus Institute’s definition of a passive house, which is again all about hitting minimum energy targets based on the building fabric. The PassivHaus Planning Package (PHPP) was the first low energy homes design software that really took off in Ireland, and was in widespread use well before the ROI building regulations introduced the NZEB requirement.

The basic premise is that the home is designed to be so airtight and well insulated that your space heating demand will be very low, i.e. no more than 15kWh/sqm/yr for a new build or 25kWh/sqm/yr for a refurb. The German PassivHaus standard also includes mechnical ventilation with heat recovery as a requirement, but there is no mandatory renewable component although you can of course include renewables in the PHPP design software.

Guide Selfbuild

Complied by Astrid Madsen, additional information from Patrick Waterfield

What is airtightness?

Airtightness is the ability of a system to prevent air leakage.

Air leakage is driven by pressure differences across the building envelope.

Too much air leakage, and your heating bills will suffer due to the draughts. Important too is the fact that air leaks can lead to fabric decay due to dampness.

The less air leakage the better, but it is important that there is adequate and controlled air circulating in the building to provide good indoor air quality for the occupants.

The airtightness barrier can be integral to the material, e.g. spray foam insulation or even plaster, or can be added on with a membrane. Airtightness and vapour control membranes are placed on the warm side of the insulation to avoid condensation in the fabric (see Watchpoints below).

They are joined with proprietary tapes. Paint on airtightness barriers are also available.

Not all membranes are the same and need to be specified for the particular application.

The most common measure of airtightness is air permeability, referred to as q50, in m3/h.sqmK at a pressure of 50 Pascals.

This is the measure used in the Building Regulations in ROI and in NI. Air Changes per Hour (or ACH, also referred to as n50) are based on the volume of the building instead of the envelope area. ACH are often quoted to demonstrate the airtightness of a building, but this is not the measure used by the building regulations.

The Passive House standard specifies ACH in their methodology; remember that this is a voluntary standard and even if you design to this benchmark with their planning package

(PHPP), you must separately prove compliance with the Building Regulation requirements with DEAP in ROI and SAP in NI. In most cases you will need to pay for an air permeability test to prove compliance (see p108).

What is insulation?

In the context of house building, insulation products are designed to reduce the rate of heat transfer across the building fabric.

Insulation limits the flow of heat energy between two environments that have different temperatures. So you will equally find insulation products around pipework and hot water cylinders to limit heat loss from your hot water, but also integrated within preinsulated products so as to prevent thermal bridging (see Watchpoints below), e.g. preinsulated steel or preinsulated window sills. Insulation can equally be integrated within the structure of the house.

How well an insulation product does its job is measured by its thermal conductivity. See p106.

The amount of heat you gain from the sun, through glazing, is known as solar gain. A well insulated house will retain this heat.

How much insulation is the right amount?

The main reason to insulate is to prevent heat from transferring from the inside to the outside, and vice versa, to save on your energy bills.

Unfortunately it is not a simple matter of increasing insulation thickness and getting the same

increase in performance. This is only true up to a point and it is where you will start weighing in the cost of adding more insulation.

There is an optimum thickness for each type of construction based upon not just the performance of the material, but also the space available in the wall, roof or floor. Once this has been determined go for the best (i.e. lowest) possible U-value within reasonable cost.

The U-value is the metric that shows you how well insulated your house is. It takes into account the entire build up of the wall, from the plaster/ plasterboard to the external finish.

In technical terms it

Watchpoints

calculates the combined thermal conductivity of all the components, and thickness of each, to give you a measure of how well the building element reduces the exchange of heat between two environments at different temperatures.

The lower the overall U-value, the better the build-up is at keeping the heat in. Insulation is what most reduces this number.

(say a cold external wall) and a warm part of your building fabric (say an insulated internal wall).

The build up of water, which will be hidden behind the wall, roof or floor, can then lead to fabric decay and mould growth. Vapour control management is the way to prevent interstitial condensation, which is why your airtightness strategy is so important.

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) defines a

When putting together your construction drawings, which will specifically put on paper how to build your floor, walls and roof, your architectural designer should take into account two common pitfalls: interstitial condensation, and thermal bridging.

Eliminating or minimising both is a requirement of the building regulations.

As you’ll have noticed on a single glazed window, where cold air hits a warm surface water droplets form. This is known as condensation. Interstitial condensation is when the same thing happens between a cold

‘Any weak link in your insulation and airtightness envelope will have a potentially significant knock-on effect on the overall energy performance of the house...’

AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 0 1

ADVIE06_SB_v1

© GettyI mages

END OF THE BALANCING ACT

THE FIRST NSAI CERTIFIED DEMAND CONTROLLED VENTILATION SYSTEM Ventilation doesn’t have to be a balancing act. Aereco has achieved Ireland’s first Agrément certification for Demand Controlled Ventilation.

A system that self balances and automatically adjusts to the needs of a home, securing indoor air quality and energy savings.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Agrément provides a pathway that has significantly simplified the commissioning and validation process of Aereco systems.

Aereco is committed to constantly innovating and improving the performance of their systems. Along with the recent release of their control indicator as part of the updated regulations for Part F, Aereco is reaffirming this commitment.

For more information: www.aereco.ie air on demand

Guide Selfbuild

thermal bridge, also called a cold bridge, as an area of a building construction which has a significantly higher heat transfer than the materials surrounding it. In places like Ireland, this can result in additional heat loss at these points.

This often happens where there is a break in the insulation (e.g. there are gaps in insulation due to poor installation), less insulation (e.g. it has been cut through to make room for pipework or other element), or the insulation is penetrated by an element with a higher thermal conductivity (e.g. in the case of a supporting steel beam).

A relative thermal bridge may also occur around openings due to a reduced thickness of insulation – to minimise this requires good details on the part of the architect, as well as good detailing on the part of the installer.

To estimate the heat loss at junctions in new dwellings, you will see reference to the Y-value, derived from the total thermal bridge losses. The lower the Y-value, the better.

Why you need an energy assessment

Integral to the design stage, whether new build or renovation, will be your energy strategy. This will dictate how much insulation you will be putting in and what level of airtightness you are aiming for.

The house’s shape and height will be two determining factors, as well as how much glass you plan to use. Insulated walls are much more efficient at retaining heat than windows can ever be, so a design with a lot of glazing will need to compensate with higher levels of insulation.

At the minimum, to do the energy calculations, you will need the input of a Building Energy Rating assessor (in ROI, list of accredited assessors ndber.seai.ie) or an Energy Performance Certificate assessor (in NI, list of accredited assessors epcregister.com).

In a new build, they will check if the house design that you have complies, on paper, with the energy requirements of the building regulations.

This is a crucial step. Building a house that doesn’t comply with the regulations will lead to costly remedial work down the line, so a provisional energy rating is necessary in ROI. Your provisional calculations must be uploaded when you file for your commencement notice, as they will prove compliance with Part L of the building regulations.

In NI, Building Control will ask for your design stage SAP assessment so even though the regulations are less stringent, you will still need to prove that your design complies and therefore get an energy assessment.

In a renovation project, an energy assessment will guide you on what upgrades are best suited to your property. Each building is unique, not only in its shape, size and year of construction but also because of the alterations that have been made over the years, potentially even including insulation upgrades.

The energy strategy must be tailored to the specific building.

What are the regulations?

Minimum insulation and airtightness requirements are outlined in Part L (ROI) and Technical Booklet F1 (NI) of the building regulations for both new builds and renovations (only major renovations in the case of ROI).

Each element, be it a wall or window, must meet minimum standards (i.e. maximum permitted U-values); airtightness is measured as a whole but any leak in one area will lead to a considerably lower result overall.

In relation to ventilation (Part F in ROI, Technical Booklet K in NI) the key aim is to provide sufficient clean fresh air for the occupants. This means minimising the risk of condensation, mould growth or other indoor air quality problems by ensuring a minimum number of air changes. Filters can be added to mechanised systems

What is an energy rating?

Energy ratings exist throughout Europe and consist of a certificate that gives your house a grade, on an A to G scale, much like your washing machine or fridge (A being the best).

In ROI they’re called Building Energy Ratings (BER) and in NI, Energy Performance Certificates (EPC).

Similar methodologies (in NI Standard Assessment Procedure or SAP, in ROI Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure or DEAP) are used to prove compliance with the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations and to draw up energy ratings.

You must carry out an energy rating before you move into your newly built home. In ROI, in the case of a renovation project, you need a before and after energy rating to get your grant from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Information compiled by Astrid Madsen

A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 103

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Guide Selfbuild

to increase the air quality even further.

There’s also Part J in ROI, Technical Booklet L in NI, which are critical in relation to the supply of air for combustion appliances in a safe and efficient manner.

What is thermal imaging?

Thermal imaging are images that show different rates of heat loss from a building. This thermogram can thus highlight areas of air leakage. The cold air entering the house is shown on the image as shades of blue, indicating a draught.

A simpler way for detecting and visualising their presence is by using what’s known as a smoke pencil. Both professionals and DIY experts use these. They can quickly detect air gaps in discrete areas around buildings by following the smoke paths.

Build tight, ventilate right.

Current thinking has it that to save on your utility bills you should aim to achieve a high level of insulation and

airtightness. But as ‘build tight, ventilate right’ implies, you will also need a well designed and well managed process for introducing fresh air and removing harmful household contaminants. Otherwise your home could become a health hazard. We do, after all, spend over 90 per cent of our time indoors.

It’s important to note that any type of building, airtight or not, must be well ventilated to keep the air quality level high. A well

Breffni Insulation

managed airflow, not draughts, is the best way of ensuring that we live and breathe fresh air within our homes.

Airtightness is particularly important where heat recovery Thermal image showing a cold bridge (heat escaping in red) ventilation is installed, as the between balcony and wall system relies on being able to circulate air around the house regulations traditionally only and recover most of the heat content of the waste air to warm control only air quantity, not air quality. up incoming fresh air.

If the building is leaky, either or both of two things may happen – some of the warm air may be lost before its heat can be etely recovered – or ed for a compl ve gn si de e er w cold air may Open fires hile they ga d mindset. W come into different era an diant heat, 90 per cent of us ra the building imney. And out tremendo ped up the ch without being ca es gy er en cy story. this warmed up lf the inefficien tional 90 ha ly on ’s at th addi first. Either can extract an at because A roaring fire he r he outcome will ot s ilding’ per cent of a bu we didn’t previously reduce the was of something effectiveness en if its effect and efficiency of understand, ev y the passive the system. known, namel stack effect.

Remember too that building codes and

Up/down ! the chimney

A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 105

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / INSULATION TYPES

Insulation types There’s a lot of choice when it comes to insulation products; here’s what’s on the menu.

EPS beads

Rolls or batts?

The most common types of insulation can be categorised as being in rigid or roll form. The rigid forms tend to be boards used for walls, floors and as the backing on insulated plasterboard (the latter often PIR or phenolic foam), and those in roll form are more commonly used on the plane in roof spaces.

In roll form, mineral wool is generally considered the most cost effective and is made from molten glass, (glass wool) or stone (stone wool with superior acoustic qualities), spun into fibres.

For the same thickness you will however get less insulation effect from mineral wool than rigid boards made of plastic compounds, which include the polystyrene and phenolic families.

Plastic family

Fire e performanc

t think of, at you may no Something th factor into y surers certainl but that the in e building th ent, is how m ss se as k react to their ris insulation will g in ud cl in ic fabr ickly the clude how qu in s or ct Fa e. fir . Of course through them ad re sp ill w e fir well the rtance is how of great impo ts nd them protec structure arou e. ac in the first pl them from fire

10 6 / S E L FB U IL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) can be formed into batts but also comes in bead form, which is a common way to insulate cavity walls by pumping them between the inner and outer leaf.

EPS is made with trapped air in beads and has a thermal conductivity in the same range as sheep and mineral wool with some modified types achieving better values. The incorporation of minute particles of graphite throughout the polystyrene gives a performance that is 15 to 20 per cent higher.

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is formed by forcing the polystyrene through a die which closes the cells and is thus denser than EPS, with better insulation values.

Polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR), meanwhile, are either sprayed on or come in boards, and are made with a blowing agent. The outlawing of ozone-depleting gases meant that other blowing agents needed to be found and

Rigid board insulation

most manufacturers now use pentane or carbon dioxide.

Phenolic insulants are normally produced in rigid board form and are amongst the best insulators because of their fine cell structure.

Foil insulation is less commonly used, and most certified products require that it be used alongside other insulation types such as PIR.

Eco insulation

Due to the pandemic, with people spending more time than ever in their houses, indoor air quality is on everyone’s mind and products that help regulate moisture and do not emit volatile organic compounds are gaining favour.

Lifecycle analyses also tend to rank eco insulation products well, especially where they come from recycled sources.

The eco alternatives to the more mainstream plastic insulation products include sheep’s wool, recycled newspaper (cellulose fibre) and wood fibre.

These are often treated with inorganic salts, (usually boron), to provide resistance to fire, rot and

Guide Selfbuild

Complied by Astrid Madsen, additional information from Patrick Waterfield

The formula U-values, as seen previously, take into account every element of the wall, floor or roof build-up (as well as windows and doors) to rank how much heat is transferred from inside to outside.

The U-value is the inverse of the R-value or thermal resistance, so U-value = 1/R-value.

The R-value multiples the amount of the stuff you are using (thickness in meters) by the thermal conductivity (how inherently insulating the material is in W/mK). The inverse of all of the R-values added up will give you the overall U-value.

Rockwool, rockwool.ie

Roll insulation

pests.

Sheep’s wool comes in roll form, cellulose fibre either loose fill or in flexible batts, while wood fibre comes in rigid boards or flexible mats. Calcium silicate boards are most common for period properties and can be installed on the walls directly.

Hemp can be mixed with lime to make walls and plaster, cork can be used with clay for plasters or in batt form. Hemp is also available in semi rigid boards, pre-cast blocks and as part of proprietary eco building systems.

Practical considerations

Shrinkage, compaction: Some products will sag or shrink with time depending on the application; as a rule of thumb this is more common for rolled insulation. It is also very important that blown insulation is evenly distributed within a cavity wall so that no voids are left, though some settling of certain products may occur over time anyway, especially due to vibration (e.g. from heavy traffic).

Moisture: Allowing moisture to pass through the building fabric is part and parcel of the airtightness strategy but insulation should never get wet and if the house is correctly specified and built, it never will.

The main risk area is in cavity walls – rigid board can be installed maintaining a minimal cavity at the outer face of the insulation, while bonded beads are moisture resistant and allow water to be shed downwards between the beads. In exposed locations, with a high driving rain index, consideration should

Thermal conductivity W/mK (lower the number, the better)

Vapour Relative permeable cost (allows water (estimate) to pass)

Aerogel

0.014

Yes

++++

Phenolic foam board

0.02

No

+++

PIR/PUR boards

0.023

No

++

Mineral wool (stone) batts or roll

0.032

Yes

++

XPS boards

0.033

No

++

EPS boards or beads

0.034

No

+

Mineral wool (glass) batts or rolls 0.035

Yes

+

Cellulose spray/blown

0.035

Yes

++

Wood fibre boards

0.038

Yes

+++

Sheep’s wool batts or rolls

0.038

Yes

+++

Hemp batts or rolls

0.039

Yes

+++

Polyurethane foam (open cell) spray

0.039

Yes

++

Straw bales or boards

0.08

Yes

++

be given to a weatherproof outer layer (e.g. render), especially where cavities are fully filled.

DIY installation: All insulation products require care and attention to ensure there are

no gaps between the boards/ rolls. Some require specialist installation, such as spray foam, EPS beads, or blown fibre, but most others can be done on a DIY basis after some basic training.

A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 107

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / AIRTIGHTNESS SYSTEMS

Airtightness systems and testing According to the UK Building Research Establishment, a house built to be reasonably airtight and to the current ROI building regulations (5 cubic meters/h/sqm at 50Pa) consumes 40 per cent less energy than a house built to the old building regulation standard of 10 cubic meters/h/sqm.

10 8 / S E L FB U IL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

You’ve been told many times about the need to insulate your home to a high standard. This is indeed by far the most cost effective way to lower your fuel bills, not to mention comply with the energy requirements of the building regulations. But insulation and airtightness go hand in hand.

Indeed after the insulation is fitted, an airtight membrane/ vapour control layer must be applied to the warm side of the insulation, otherwise all the hard work you put into insulating and protecting your home will literally leak at the seams.

Airtightness, or air flow and vapour control, (a term that takes into account the risk of condensation as well as the air exchange rate), is often associated with highly energy efficient homes. But that’s not always the case. In fact you can make your house airtight with natural ventilation.

With regards to the building regulations, it doesn’t matter which ventilation system you choose because during the airtightness test all of the vents, extracts (be they mechanical ventilation, trickle vents, passive stack, etc.) and chimneys are required to be sealed.

Where there is no mechanical ventilation, the wall vents are the only means of moisture management and may not be enough to manage moisture that you will be creating from living in the house. The building regulations take into account both ventilation and airtightness to determine how many vents you will need to keep the building ventilated. Too large a number of vents will cause draughts.

So if you are only relying on trickle vents for ventilation, it is good practice to open your windows to the front and rear of the home for 30 minutes two

to three times a day as this will clear moisture from the building.

This practice has been well tried and tested in countries such as Germany and Switzerland.

But as seen in the previous edition’s Systems Guide, Nearly Zero Energy homes and the ROI building regulations almost make mechanical ventilation a de facto requirement.

Construction drawings

The first step is to take pen to paper. Get the plans of your building and place a pen at a start point of your choosing (internally on the section) and then draw a continuous line around the entire building where you will have a continuous airtight envelope.

Any potential air leaks are when you have to pick your pen up from the paper, and as you may have guessed, particularly prevalent areas for air leakage are dormer windows, roof lights, windows, doors, junctions between floors and walls, loft hatches, etc. The rules for creating airtight seals at such junctions are as follows.

When the membrane meets a block wall (at a gable end for example) you will need to use a proprietary mastic to seal the edge of the membrane to the blockwork. It is important to emphasise that standard cavity blockwork is not airtight until it is plastered. Therefore it is recommended that the blockwork is plastered with a scratch coat prior to using the mastic. Continue the scratch coat right down to where the block meets the floor, even where it will be covered by skirting, as the skirting itself will not be draught proof.

Where the membrane overlaps or meets a smooth or hard surface, you can seal the

Guide Selfbuild

Words by Mark Stephens, Paul O’Reilly, compiled by Astrid Madsen, additional information from Patrick Waterfield

Air leakage pathways graphic from the Zero Carbon Hub, zerocarbonhub.org Draughts are caused by high winds (the pressure differences between the inside and outside lead to infiltration/exfiltration) and air buoyancy (warm air rises, drawing in cooler air from outside and pushing warm air out), and may lead to interstitial condensation (warm moist indoor air that is drawn out through gaps in the envelope may hit cold surfaces in the fabric).

membrane using proprietary tape.

Remember to think about every single section of your building. It’s easy to see that your pen would lift off the paper when a floor meets a wall; this is another critical junction and the solution for maintaining airtightness depends on the type of floor construction.

For a hollow core floor it is recommended that a section of airtightness membrane be laid on top of the wall on which it is to be placed. The membrane then wraps up the side and over the top of the hollowcore flooring; the blockwork for the upper floor is then laid on top of the membrane.

This section of ‘wrapping’ membrane is then fixed to the wall or vertical membrane. In

the case of a timber floor, you have two alternatives. You can either use the hollow core floor technique or you can use tape to seal around each joist to a plastered wall.

A special tape with the same properties as the membrane will be supplied along with the membrane itself. It is very important that this tape is used correctly as even a very small gap can significantly affect the results of the air permeability test. All joints between sections of membrane and between the membrane and hard surfaces must be fully taped. Where it is necessary to cut a slit in the membrane, for pipes and cables etc, the tape must fully cover the slit and overlap the pipe/cable.

Blower door test

All new houses in ROI must be air pressure tested with a blower door test, to prove compliance with the minimum building regulation requirements. In NI, the test can be foregone in a single dwelling but an air permeability figure of 15 m3/(h.sqm) must be used in the SAP assessment, which will mean compensating measures elsewhere. The tester must have the relevant approvals from the NSAI (ROI) or the BBA (NI).

To carry out the test, a temporary frame is built into an external door with a fan that is connected to specialised software. Specific ventilators, e.g. air vents, and plumbing traps

are filled before pressurising the dwelling with a large fan.

The pressure drop across the fan will be proportional to the air leakage from the building.

Readings are taken periodically as the building pressure builds up and are continued as it decreases after the fan is turned off. In this way, the impact of different pressure effects across the building can be assessed.

The cost for a professional test on a standard house is in the order of £300/€350 plus VAT. The bigger the number the worse the result; less than five m3/(h.sqm) is doing well, while less than three is quite good for a standard house, though nowhere near the requirement for a passive house.

Bear in mind that the airtightness results will have a significant impact on the A to G rating you will get under your Energy Performance Certificate / Building Energy Rating.

Remember too that airtightness affects the efficiency of a Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) system – higher levels of air leakage unbalance the system by either allowing warm air to escape through the fabric thus bypassing the heat recovery, or by allowing cold air to enter the building without being warmed up. Or both. So with MVHR you should be looking for a figure of two or three m3/(h.sqm), or even lower if possible.

The purpose of the test is to find the unknown leaks and to determine a value for them, not to catch the builder out. Cooperation is key to a successful outcome.

Having said that, remedial measures may be tricky, time consuming and costly and air permeability is a good indicator of build quality. Make sure your builder knows the figure you are A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 109

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / AIRTIGHTNESS SYSTEMS

targeting and is confident of being able to achieve it.

The test should take no more than one hour during which there will be absolutely no access to the house. Testing an occupied house tends to be more time consuming and therefore more expensive. Tell everyone who’s working on site ahead of when the test is due to take place as delays may incur an extra charge.

No wet finishes (paint, plaster etc.) should be applied within the vicinity of the test as blown dust may damage the finished surface.

All vent fans must be turned off, water taps filled and a

temporary frame/boarding fitted to an external door to allow the air tightness equipment to be positioned. All mechanical ventilation openings must be sealed prior to the test and all external doors and windows closed, (but not temporarily sealed), to provide a realistic measurement of the actual envelope leakage. Natural ventilation openings and smoke vents should be closed but not sealed.

All internal doors should be wedged open to allow rapid pressure equalisation within the building during the test.

As low wind speed is required, it may be necessary to change

the day of the test if the weather is stormy. Pressurisation tests are generally only undertaken under moderate external wind speeds of less than 6m/sec.

Wind speeds above this level can have a significant influence on the measured envelope leakage rates and test results carried out in excessively windy conditions should not generally be accepted.

A 240V mains power or a generator producing at least 15kVA for the first fan and 10kVA per fan thereafter is required, as are several 13amp mains sockets close to the working area. Alternatively extension cables can be used over a

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reasonable distance.

Repeat tests are normally 75 per cent of the original fee. If a test is cancelled after arrival on site due to non-compliance with the above requirements or others outside the control of the air testing company (apart from climatic), an additional charge, based on distance travelled, will be incurred.

A representative for the main contractor, or the client, must be on site to discuss the initial results and any implications these may have for remedial sealing.

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SIG Ireland

Why your energy efficient home needs to not only be well insulated, but also airtight.

For more information visit www.sig.ie or email enquiries@sig.ie

Insulation is an integral element of low energy construction however airtightness must also be central to an energy-efficient design strategy to reduce unnecessary heat loss. In addition, heat that escapes from the interior carries a significant amount of moisture, and this can lead to damage to the fabric of the building materials and may have a severe effect on the air quality of the living space.

Airtightness is the control of air leakage, i.e. the elimination of unwanted draughts through the external fabric of the building envelope. This may be achieved by the correct and proper installation of a vapour check or vapour barrier.

Consequently condensation, mould, rot, damp and structural damage are also eliminated.

This ensures a more viable structure, an insulation layer that can improve performance as it is now protected against penetrating moisture reducing the amount of energy-in-use in the building and CO² emissions.

It is desirable and necessary to have controlled ventilation for healthy, comfortable buildings however air leakage must be avoided.

NZEB homes are now at the forefront of the building and planning

process. Codes and standards are in place which aim to reduce carbon emissions and create homes that are healthier and more sustainable. Low carbon and zero carbon Nzeb buildings are only achieved by ensuring a high level of airtightness is attained. This means designing and installing a continuous seal around the internal fabric of the external envelope to eliminate unwanted draughts.

Once the airtight vapour layer is in place and sealed with flexible and durable tapes, it ensures that the

insulation functions to its optimum performance, saving energy and drastically reducing carbon emissions for the lifetime of the building. The airtight vapour control also ensures that condensation risk is minimised, ensuring no structural damage from moisture, mould, rot and damp.

Research shows that we can lose as much as half of all the energy used to heat our buildings through unwanted draughts, inefficient and poor ventilation. We now generally insulate new houses very well but the proportion of energy lost to draughts has increased and in some cases around half of all heat losses are due to air leakage across the building fabric. In Ireland we are not exposed to extremes in low temperatures, however our climate is exposed to high wind pressure, particularly in coastal regions.

If a vapour check has as little as a 1mm tear within a square metre area, the U value can be reduced by a factor of 4.8. This means that the calculated U value is not achieved if the structure is not airtight and hence you need a lot more energy to heat the house. Airtightness does not generally increase U values but ensures the calculated U value is achieved.

SIG is the largest provider of specialist building materials and technical expertise to the construction industry on the island of Ireland. Our specialist team will provide advice on energy saving construction products and guidance on building regulation compliance. Our complete integrated service gives you unbiased access to thousands of market leading products and solutions, while our intimate knowledge of product performance helps you to make the right choice.

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AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 1 1

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / I N S TA L L A T I O N

The proof is in the pudding There is no point specifying the best system on paper if it is not put together right on site. Here are the main touchpoints to be aware of so that the insulation and airtightness system works as intended.

WATCH POINT

on issue ing is a comm Thermal loop the case insulation; in in cavity wall installed they must be of rigid boards e inside leaf. If they th tight against air gap, ere is a small th d an t no e ar hereby g can occur w thermal loopin een the insulation tw much air passes be wall, negating . al rn te in on and the ti la the insu of the effect of

1 1 2 / SE LF BUILD / AU T U MN 2021

Insulation only works if it is continuous, i.e. there are no gaps in the insulation layer.

Insulation that is not correctly installed, with gaps in-between, will never perform to its best.

Boards for instance should be held in place by stainless steel wall ties, usually covered by a plastic disc, against the outer face inside of the inner leaf, when batts or boards are being used in a partial cavity wall.

The ties should be kept clean of mortar during construction as this could cause moisture to travel from the outside in. If the insulation is blown in post construction, it should be evenly dispersed throughout the wall cavity with no gaps.

Once the insulation is in place and installed correctly, new builds will add an airtightness membrane. Airtightness is an air leakage and at times, a vapour control measure; weak points are usually found at openings, e.g. around windows.

Where such a vapour barrier or vapour check is used, this should always be to the warm side of the insulation to prevent condensation.

Examination of areas that may give rise to air leakage should be carried out continuously during the build and thus avoid any gaps or holes being covered up, or service penetrations being added without careful sealing. Pre-test devices (smaller fans which can be inserted in windows) are available to builders – these are less accurate but provide a very good indication of leakage points.

When the dwelling is completed, a further and final air tightness test must be carried out for the building regulations requirement (ROI) and in NI unless the default value was used in the design SAP assessment. In ROI you must follow Part L’s Acceptable Construction Details.

Guide Selfbuild

construction phase is to ensure all operatives on site adhere to almost military style discipline needed to locate, install and protect the airtight barrier through all phases of construction.

Sequencing the works through the various stages from foundations, floors, walls, roof, windows, doors, fixtures and finishes must prioritise sealing and protecting this airtight barrier.

Timber frame construction

Airtightness inspector

Your ‘airtightness strategy’ will need to be conducted very early on in the process and take into consideration moisture management. It is essential that all members of the construction team understand the process involved in maintaining airtightness; it’s very easy for an electrician, for example, to cut an opening in the airtightness membrane for a cable without then resealing it. It is therefore highly recommended that your builder ensures that every subcontractor on site understands the process.

And, if you are a self-builder, it is up to you to ensure that your subcontractors seal any penetrations as they go, otherwise the end result is likely to be poor and require remedial works to pass the regulatory standards currently applicable.

The challenge during the

In the case of timber frame construction, you will have to fix an airtight membrane internally on the entire envelope.

Alternatively, a certified airtight structural board may be applied internally.

It is important to ensure a dew point assessment (condensation risk analysis) is conducted to ensure the correct materials are used within the timber frame wall.

As a rule of thumb, the external layer of a timber frame wall should be at least six times less vapour resistant compared to the internal airtightness and vapour control layer, but a dew point assessment as a rule should be conducted for reassurance.

Cavity wall construction

In standard plastered blockwork, cavity walls are typically considered to be airtight as long as they are plastered externally and internally with a minimum of two coats (scratch and finish).

Potential air leakages occur where the walls are penetrated (with doors and windows for example) and adequate airtight sealing has not been considered at these junctions.

Also, it is now common practice to insulate walls internally (dryline) with insulated plasterboard (normally a 50mm board with 38mm insulation

Installation checklist Ensure detailed construction drawings are available. It is important that airtightness is considered as early as possible in the design process so that the air barrier is correctly located within the fabric. The building must be designed keeping this airtight envelope clear and visible, avoiding complex detailing. On site, constant checking of construction detailing is vital. Guidelines on how to install insulation must be followed to the letter, making sure there are no gaps and in many cases, that there is an overlap in layers.

To reduce costs and improve results, a toolbox talk should be carried out prior to any work commencing with all trades.

Coordination of works and stipulated responsibility for key junctions are critical at this early stage. The design team, site management, trades and site labourers must be made aware of the importance of airtightness and their role in achieving an airtight dwelling.

If not, it’s very easy for an electrician for example to cut an opening in the airtightness membrane for a cable without resealing it.

Test during construction. It is also important to ensure that the final blower door test is not the first, as by this stage it may be too late! There must be an intermediate airtightness quality test prior to the internal drylining or finish being applied.

In this way leaks can be more easily found and remedied.

At the end, get the as-built drawings.

This essential step is often forgotten. Instructions with full as-built drawings, detailing the materials used and clearly identifying the location of the airtight barrier, should be provided for user information.

This will help in the case of wanting to hang up a picture frame or introducing a new light pendant, allowing potential future breaches to be avoided and/or repaired if necessary.

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INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / I N S TA L L A T I O N

Shown here are gaps in the insulation; poor installation negates much of the insulating effect.

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EXPERT TIPS How can I simplify my airtightness strategy?

Firstly, I would recommend moving as many services off the external walls as possible and bring them up through foundations or internal walls and use appropriate sealing solutions.

Where services do penetrate external walls, employ suitable grommets as opposed to tapes.

Airtight grommets are available in a range of dimensions.

Compared to a taped solution, grommets offer greater flexibility in that cables and pipes can be easily adjusted after the installation whereas this is not the case with tapes.

The biggest expense with airtightness is time, and any solution which may appear to cost more materially, but saves time, should be strongly considered.

Appollo Insulation

and 12.5mm plasterboard) but this may not necessarily be airtight as the junctions between the boards may not be sealed adequately: a skim coat does not provide an airtight barrier, nor does plasterboard tape!

The solution therefore is to scratch coat the blockwork walls first and then fix the insulated plasterboard. You will still need to pay particular care at window and door reveals to ensure the airtight barrier is maintained by applying an airtight seal or using proprietary tapes. The main thing to remember is that your structure is not airtight at junctions where you are only relying on the thickness of the finishing coat of plaster.

An alternative to wet plastering the inside of cavity walls which is gaining prominence is the use of certified airtight paints. Provided they are fitted correctly, these can be more efficient and cleaner to install.

An alternative method for applying an airtight barrier to a cavity blockwork construction is to apply a similar technique to a timber frame wall, that is, to

AIRTIGHTNESS

batten the un-plastered internal blockwork wall and then to apply the airtight membrane to the battens. As well as creating an airtight envelope you are also creating a cavity for any services such as electrics or plumbing, thereby eliminating any chasing, though pay close attention to the points where the services penetrate the membrane and use the proprietary tape to seal up the gaps. The final stage then is to plasterboard and skim.

DIY installation You can attend a specialist airtightness course provided

by the suppliers of the airtight membranes; if you are a selfbuilder that intends to get their hands dirty then consider attending one of the ‘contractor’ courses which will teach you every detail of applying the membranes, tapes and seals.

The same goes for insulation products; technical academies tend to be open to self-builders and will often include a review of the benefits and precepts of nearly zero energy buildings.

There are also training courses open to self-builders from Education Training boards in ROI such as the WWETB.

What are the common pitfalls when relying on plaster for airtightness?

When applied correctly, wet plaster directly on block is a reliable airtight layer, but on occasion some areas that are not exposed, can inadvertently be left unplastered.

A case in point is the area between a precast concrete slab and suspended ceiling. This area around the perimeter of a building can be substantial and if left unplastered, can lead to significant air leakage. Another classic example is an unplastered drylined chimney breast.

Airtightness will always find the weakest link, so it is critical to address all seen, and unseen areas.

Niall Crosson of Ecological Building Systems

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AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 1 5

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / NEW BUILD STRATEGIES

New build energy strategies If you’re building new, you will want an energy efficient home that delivers on low energy bills and a healthy indoor environment.

Your energy strategy in a new build will at the minimum, have to meet the building regulations. As seen in the previous guide, the regulations in ROI are stricter than in NI.

Insulated foundation system

Basic regs

As seen in the definitions, the building regulations require that you build to minimum U-values, although the calculation method is in fact more sophisticated than this as it relies on energy and carbon modelling.

But there are minimums you can’t exceed, as outlined in Part L (ROI) and Technical Booklet F1 (NI). Remember, the lower the U-value the better the element is at preventing heat from escaping.

New builds in ROI must be NZEB, which is reflected in the low/good U-values you must achieve. As for airtightness, there are minimums too. The minimum as specified in the Building Regulations in ROI is 5, and anything below 3 de facto requires mechanised ventilation (see previous edition for our Systems Guide).

In NI, currently you can input a default value of 10. Best in class is the passive house standard of 0.6 ACH which is approximately less than 1cum/h.sqm.

It’s difficult to know exactly what airtightness measurement you will get at the end of the build until you do a test, but most building designers will ensure the envelope is kept airtight, most commonly with membranes.

SIPS construction

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Walls

When it comes to choosing an insulation and airtightness strategy, there are two options.

Integrate the insulation and airtightness within the structure, or add it on later.

Modular building methods such as prefabricated concrete modules or timber equivalents known as SIPS or Structural Insulated Panel Systems, apply the insulation in the factory.

Junctions are then dealt with on site, after each of the panels have been slotted into place.

SIPS are formed like a sandwich of two boards, usually OSB (Oriented Strand Board) or plywood with a ‘filling’ of insulation, normally EPS, XPS or PUR. All the openings for windows, doors and services can be cut in the factory and the panels delivered to site with the frame of the house erected in a matter of days.

Using a similar idea, only inside out in a sense, is Insulating Concrete Formwork whereby a shuttering of expanded polystyrene is erected and concrete poured into the ‘mould’.

The double layer of polystyrene results in U-values ranging between 0.31W/ sqmK (EPS) and 0.26W/sqmK (XPS) which can be increased with the addition of insulated plasterboard on the internal

Guide Selfbuild

Compiled by Astrid Madsen with Patrick Waterfield.

leaf. As a monolithic structure, ICF is both inherently insulated and airtight once the pour is complete.

Cavity wall construction and conventional timber frame require that you layer on your insulation and airtight membranes after installation.

Therefore the first step to devising an insulation and airtightness strategy is to choose your building method, and then carry out an energy assessment to determine the optimal levels of insulation and airtightness products to install.

Another option for inherent airtightness is cob construction.

This is a method that has been around as long as humans have been creating habitats and settlements and is made from the very materials most ready to hand – earth, water, straw, lime, etc. – essentially the African mud hut or the American adobe house.

It is extremely robust, reasonably energy efficient in operation due to its thickness (thermal mass) and the thermal properties of earth. It’s an excellent regulator of moisture (when used with a lime plaster) as well as being airtight. It can also be formed into a wide variety of forms including, it should be said, entirely conventional orthogonal ones! It is also extremely fire resistant and eminently recyclable. Downsides include labour intensiveness and long construction time (including up to a year to dry out), plus it not being considered standard construction so possibly harder to insure and get signed off on by your engineer or approved by building control.

Floor

Standard floor construction consists of foundations made up of concrete and steel, with insulation and screed on top. The insulation is often PIR board but can also be the more efficient

Roofs

Rigid boards between rafters

There are two ways to insulate roofs. A warm roof insulates at the rafters, keeping the attic warm. A cold roof construction insulates at the attic floor, making the roof cold in winter.

Warm roof construction is fairly standard, even if you only use the attic for storage space, and in that case, a common roof build up will include mineral wool between the rafters and PIR or phenolic board underneath them. There are many variations and it will boil down to the U-value you are aiming to achieve. You can also include an insulation sarking layer on the outside which will remove any possibility of interstitial condensation and avoid the need to ventilate the topside of the rafters.

Airtightness membranes are usually added within the build up, which is most commonly finished off internally with plasterboard and skim.

Similar in construction is the cold roof method, with insulation between joists and often above, usually finished with chipboard or similar, depending on whether it will be used as living space or for storage. Trickier in cold roof situations is if there are any services present, such as a cold water tank or ventilation unit, which may need insulating if not already.

More expensive are preinsulated structures. ICF roofs are possible but not common for this reason, while concrete modular roofs are also possible but have restrictions on the pitch, for example. Preinsulated roof board ‘sandwiches’ are available too but don’t benefit from the overlap of the more traditional method of two layers of insulation.

phenolic board, or the more cost effective but less efficient EPS boards if you can allow for enough depth.

At the perimeter a thin strip, often 25mm, of PIR insulation board should be added added to prevent thermal bridging (most of the heat from a solid floor is lost at the edge of the slab). In addition it is common to have aerated concrete blocks which are more thermally efficient than standard blocks.

As with the wall, you could choose to integrate the insulation with the structural component.

Insulated foundations are proprietary systems, often consisting of EPS insulation, that pour the concrete into EPS moulds, similar to the ICF walls.

In the case of a storey and a half, or a two storey house, you may choose a precast concrete floor, which will be craned into place. Where the slab meets your wall will cause a thermal bridge if not insulated, as concrete is not

a natural insulator. Preinsulated slabs are now quite common to get around having to insulate this junction on site.

Other considerations

Some insulation products are more vapour permeable than others, which can be a key consideration if you are building with timber frame, for example, although non permeable alternatives can work equally well if the airtightness and vapour control strategy are well devised.

If you have a concrete block cavity wall and decide to insulate all or part of the cavity, you will often then be presented with the option of adding further insulation internally. This is commonly done by adding insulated plasterboard and makes your home better insulated, bettering your U-value.

The downside includes losing wall space (mostly an issue for renovations if the room is

already small and a lot of internal insulation needs to be added), but also losing the benefit of thermal mass, i.e. concrete and plaster’s inherent ability to store heat and slowly release it when temperatures start to drop.

In the case of a concrete or stone house, external insulation is often the most expensive way to go because of the application and the need to use specialist renders. However, in the case of timber frame, external insulation tends to be standard.

You may also consider the materials’ carbon footprint, as in how much energy it took to produce, whether it is made from recycled materials, and also whether the materials emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during their lifetime.

Some argue that in the case of insulation, as it is all boarded up and hidden from view, VOCs are less an issue than the choice of furnishings as many textiles emit VOCs due to fire retardants.

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Project Supplier

Guide Selfbuild

Photo credit: Roadstone

The NZEB new build Arthur and Aoife Lambert selfbuilt their Co Meath home in 2020, beating the minimum requirements of the building regulations with panache.

With a background in construction, Arthur decided to project manage the build himself and the first step, after securing planning permission, was to work out the construction drawings.

He did this collaboratively with his insulation supplier’s technical team and his own energy consultant. The aim? Minimise thermal bridging and ensure continuity of insulation.

For the structure, Arthur and Aoife chose a concrete build as it 100 BLOCK INNER LEAF

25mm FLOOR FINISHES ON 75mm SCREED ON POLYTHENE SHEET ON INSULATION ON 150mm CONCRETE SLAB

boasts excellent thermal mass as well as fire and sound resistance.

All the stone/concrete/blocks/ hollowcore/cement/thermal screed/render and rooftiles were sourced within a 10km radius of the site, cutting down on the environmental impact of heavy haulage.

The cavity walls consist of 100mm blocks each side with a 150mm cavity in the middle. The walls are finished inside and out with a sand and cement render.

150

100 BLOCK OUTER LEAF

DPC

DPC

75

INSULATION UPSTAND

50mm BLINDING 200mm COMPACTED PERMEABLE LAYER 100mm CRUSHED ROCK. TAKEN DOWN TO SUITABLE GROUND

DAMP PROOF COURSE

950mm (600mm Min)

50

RADON MEMBRANE

150

RADON MEMBRANE

The upper storey floor consists of precast concrete hollowcore slabs which were craned into place.

Floors

“I initially considered an EPS passive foundation system but, with the help of the energy assessor and the technical team at the insulation company, we delved a bit more into actual thermal performances.”

“That’s the main reason we chose a traditional strip foundation system with a medium density (thermal) block, and PIR riser panels,” says Arthur.

Using a thinner material than EPS was also important to reduce construction waste.

“The vast majority of concrete materials are now recycled, but dig out materials end up dumped,” he adds.

The floor insulation was a hot topic of debate. “We first considered using two layers of the typical 2.4m x 1.4m board insulation – staggering the joints and using two different thicknesses, and using a tape to seal it all off, making sure all the areas were filled.”

Instead, his technical advisors suggested a 150mm PIR tongue and groove insulation board

OVERVIEW Bedrooms: 5 House size: 3,500sqft Airtightness: 1.14m3/h.sqm Thermal bridging (Y-value): 0.021 Heating and hot water: 16kW air to water heat pump, with underfloor heating throughout on 15 zones Ventilation: mechanical with heat recovery BER: A2

installed over the 150mm concrete floor slab, which delivered a U-value of 0.12W/sqmK. “We have large open square areas and the installation was quick (we got it done in a day), and straightforward with the boards all clicking into each other. It was a tight fit, there was no taping required, and there was very little cutting.”

Because hot air rises, the hollowcore upper floor was insulated with 50mm of PIR insulation. This created a buffer between the upper and lower storey heating zones.

A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 119

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / NEW BUILD PROJECT ROI

Play Room Roadstone

Bathroom

Utility

Dining

Kitchen Island Unit

Living

Sunroom

Hall Family Room

Walls

The cavity was insulated with 150mm full fill PIR boards, including pre-formed corner PIR boards to ensure continuity of insulation at the corners, achieving a U-value of 0.13 W/sqmK. But with cavity wall insulation, installation can be tricky. “The

“There were cross sectional videos of where everything went, the important little DPC strips, and the corners.” With the videos fresh in the block layers’ minds, the energy consultant along with the insulation suppliers followed up by arranging toolbox talks on site.

This meant the block laying team was aware of the importance of good detailing, and carefully recorded that the thermal envelope was built in accordance with the Department of Housing’s Acceptable Construction Details (ACDs).

To minimise thermal bridging, thermal blocks were also used in the walls. Specifically, above

SUPPLIERS Insulation design service and products Xtratherm, xtratherm.ie Thermal blocks, screed, roof covering Roadstone, roadstone.ie Systems Maynooth Plumbing and Heating, maynoothplumbingandheating.ie

insulated cavity closer to ensure continuing of insulation between wall and roof,” adds Arthur.

Other than tapes and membranes at junctions and windows, the main airtight layer in the walls is a 25mm sand and cement render on the inner face

block layers watched all the installation videos that the insulation suppliers provided, which were absolutely invaluable because they broke down the process,” says Arthur.

50x25mm C16 TREATED TILING BATTENS EAVES VENTILATOR OVER INSULATION ROOFING FELT

INSULATION BETWEEN JOIST AND OVER WALL PLATE FASCIA, SOFFIT AND GUTTERS

50mm DEEP BIRDSMOUTH IN RAFTER 100x75mm C16 TREATED TIMBER WALL PLATE ON CONTINUOUS MORTAR BED

BLOCK OUTER LEAF

30x5mm GALVANISED HOLDING DOWN STRAP AT 1.2m CTRS.

BLOCK INNER LEAF CAVITY INSULATION

1 2 0 / S E L FB UIL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

and below the hollow core first floor, at the eaves, underneath the window board and sitting on top of the concrete lintels.

The window jambs fit snugly on thermal L blocks as well.

“We then used an L-shaped

of the walls, with paint-on airtight membrane used at wall chases.

The ends of the hollowcore floor, wrapped in membrane, sat in a bed of mortar and taped to blockwork.

Guide Selfbuild

Bedroom

Roof

The pitched roof, for its part, was insulated with 150mm PIR board insulation between the rafters, allowing a 50mm gap above for the windtight membrane and roof tiles. A 75mm PIR board follows below, directly screwed onto the rafters. The combination results in a U-value of 0.11 W/sqmK. Then came the awkward bit: how to detail the seven dormers.

These are a direct result of the planning officers wanting a storey and a half design.

“We boxed the dormers in, made them a bit smaller to get a robust detail and to get more

insulation over and around the window units,” says Arthur, as dormers are notoriously tricky to detail for airtightness and continuity of insulation.

“Anywhere there was any sort of a cavity, it was filled with the pitch roof insulation.

The dormers and pitched roof ceiling were then sealed with airtightness tapes and membranes. A lot of time and care was taken as it really was intricate detailed work.”

The verdict: the house is warm and comfortable with minimal heating bills.

Bedroom

Bathroom Bedroom Hotpress

Dressing Room

Ensuite

Ensuite Bedroom

Bedroom

Project Supplier

087 202 3816 info@maynoothplumbingandheating.ie

Established in 2009, Maynooth Plumbing and Heating is a highly respected and leading Plumbing and Heating company in the Leinster region.

We have a skilled team offering an extensive range of plumbing and heating services specialising in complete new build installations using the market leading Samsung Air to Water Heat Pump supplied by Joule.

All information is available at www.maynoothplumbingandheating.ie A U T U M N 2 0 2 1 / S E L FB UI L D / 121

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / NEW BUILD PROJECT NI

As warm as toast Our choice of insulation products, and our airtightness strategy, were based on our build method and our desire to pre-empt any mishaps on site, writes self-builder Brian Corry who’s on a mission to build himself an eco house in Co Down.

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In my article in the Spring edition, I explained why we had chosen a single skin glulam timber structure as our build method. One reason was because it allowed moisture to escape.

So when it came to choosing how to insulate the structure, there would have been little point choosing an insulation product that would lead to interstitial condensation between the wood structure and the insulation.

I am sure you know what would happen if you tried to make toast in a microwave – you’d end up with a soggy lump of bread because the steam cannot escape!

Insulation

The single skin glulam walls are 100mm thick so the insulation needs to be fixed externally as a board, although it is possible to insulate internally too. This limited our options somewhat, as it ruled out all cavity fill products.

The obvious choice was wood fibre insulation. Not only is it a pretty good insulator, it is also carbon neutral and some manufacturers even claim carbon negative. So it is in good company with the glulam walls.

To meet our target wall U-value of 0.16 W/sqmK we needed 200mm of wood fibre insulation fixed externally in addition to the insulation provided naturally by the glulam walls themselves. Similarly, the roof will be insulated to achieve 0.14 W/sqmK with wood fibre, which means that the house should be as warm as toast.

For the floor we took a different tack because our primary concern here was to ensure that there would be no cold bridging, as well as achieving a U-value of 0.15 W/sqmK. Vapour permeability was not a consideration, so we had a lot more options available to us.

In the end we made the decision to go for a precast insulated (EPS) concrete flooring system for ease of installation with the minimum chance of errors that could lead to unintended thermal bridges or gaps, and confidence that it will meet our thermal target.

Airtightness

Despite specifying the correct amount of insulation, it could be largely wasted if we did not ensure that the house was airtight and free from draughts.

The HBE glulam we chose

Guide Selfbuild

is a tongue and groove system and naturally offers significant airtightness in itself however we still need an airtight, yet vapour permeable membrane, to envelop the walls and roof. We will do this by sandwiching an airtight membrane between the insulation and the external face of the HBE glulam walls.

The insulation effectively pins the membrane to the wall and similarly on the roof. Our cladding then attaches to timber battens that are themselves screwed back to the glulam wall with a further membrane to protect the external face of the insulation should any water get past the cladding.

Whilst every effort has been made to maximise the vapour permeability of the structure, it still requires Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation to ensure

that the air is kept fresh, and the moisture generated from bathrooms and the kitchen is removed efficiently.

Site proof

Having a plan is one thing, making sure it survives contact with joiners, electricians and all the other trades is another.

The placement of the membrane between the external wall of the structure and the insulation will mean that it will be pretty much inaccessible to most trades. Indeed, they would need to drill a long way to hit it!

In addition, we have dedicated ducts to bring in all the cables and pipes so there is no need for anyone to drill a hole through any part of the structure.

The trades will be pretty much able to nail, screw and drill to their

“Whilst every effort has been made to maximise the vapour permeability of the structure, it still requires Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation...” heart’s content inside without fear of accidentally piercing the membrane. Having said that, I still intend to brief everyone thoroughly so that they are aware of the situation.

Read up on Brian’s journey so far in his Building the Dream series on selfbuild.ie

Corner wall section (View from the top) Horizontal treated batten to suit timber cladding Vertical Timber Cladding fixed with stainless fixings to horizontal treated batten Nailband behind batten for airtightness Huettemann HBE structural timber

12.5 Plasterboard - skimed or jointed

140mm Pavatherm Insulation - Shiplapped and fixed with STR-H fixings

Pavatex DSB2 Membrane fixed and taped

60mm Pavatherm Plus T&G connection - fixed with thermowasher fixings

140mm Treated Timber battens for fixing insulation with Thermowasher fixing

Pavatex ADB Membrane

Thermowasher and Fixing - minimum 40mm lumber penetration.

Render Board 12mm with minimum ventilation gap of 38mm fixed to battens over insulation. Shown with 45mm Treated Thin Coat Through Colour Render system Timber batten to provide fixing for render board

AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 2 3

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / RETROFIT STRATEGIES

Energy upgrades The single best way to make your home consume less energy is to insulate it and make it airtight, before you even consider upgrading your heating system or replacing the windows.

As seen at the start, the first step will be to evaluate what state your home is in.

To determine what level of insulation and airtightness it already has, and what would be the best way to go about upgrading it, you will need an energy assessment done.

In many cases, for an existing house, the assessment will make assumptions depending on the year the house was built and what type of construction it is. Your house may in fact be more energy efficient (old stone houses apparently perform better than previously thought) or indeed less energy efficient in practice than what the report says on paper (which might be the case if the insulation wasn’t installed very well at the time of building).

Despite this limitation, your energy upgrade will very much depend on the results of the energy assessment report as that is the only data available to you. The report will be based on a site survey, and can be carried out through your insulation supplier or an independent energy assessor that you hire directly yourself.

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To avoid interstitial condensation, your construction drawings need to be put together so that the insulation and airtightness strategy will avoid any moisture build up.

Your energy assessor or your insulation supplier will do this condensation risk analysis for you.

It’s best practice to hire your own independent advisor, to avoid conflicts of interest but also so you can have a second opinion if there are any questions that arise in the design or on site.

As with a new build, if one area of the house is weaker than another in terms of energy efficiency, e.g. because there are a lot of windows or they have a poor performance, you can compensate for it by increasing the insulation in the walls next to it. In the case of windows, draughtproofing can help (see below).

Again, as highlighted earlier, a crucial aspect to bear in mind if you plan to upgrade the energy efficiency of your home is how you will ventilate it. Natural ventilation may no longer be adequate.

Deep vs. shallow retrofit

A shallow retrofit is a small upgrade, such as, say, adding insulation to the attic space. As warm air rises, it is the lowest hanging fruit and the most cost effective measure. But to get down to really good energy efficiency levels you need to look at the house as a whole and consider how every element contributes to your goal of low energy bills or works against it.

Therefore a deep retrofit will upgrade the entire building fabric, based on a thorough energy assessment of the house, and will include not just an insulation upgrade but also an airtightness upgrade, window replacement, and a new centralised ventilation system. This can include a new heating system too. Deep retrofits require invasive work,

which people often use as an opportunity to re-plumb and re-wire the property at the same time.

Fabric upgrades

Floors can be especially disruptive to upgrade so are only usually done when there’s a complete renovation, oftentimes to accommodate underfloor heating pipes. But even with a deep retrofit, floors may not necessarily be insulated.

However in that case, other parts of the house will need to compensate for the floor’s relatively poor performance.

Where an insulation upgrade is necessary in the floor, there is digging to do, with digger access issues to consider, hardcore, blinding and radon barrier as you would a new build, then the insulation boards. The depth

Guide Selfbuild

Compiled by Astrid Madsen with Patrick Waterfield.

reduction in internal volume.

As the method of applying plasterboard and painting directly over it is known as drylining, some refer to this method of insulating internal walls as drylining too. This method requires a robust condensation risk analysis and depending on the situation, you may need to add a cavity between the internal wall and the stud wall you will insulate, further decreasing room size.

Grants

€£ € £

Grants for energy upgrades in NI are modest when sought through utilities, but there are some attractive grants available to low income earners though the Affordable Warmth scheme for which you can apply through your local authority. These are focused on shallow retrofits.

In ROI there are attractive grants that can fund almost all of the cost of an insulation upgrade – this is only open to those on social benefit, including pensioners. Everyone else who owns a house that was built before 2006 can avail of more modest cash grants.

Apart from these shallow retrofits, the SEAI’s One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme is targeted at deep retrofits and will usually fund around of 35 per cent of the cost of the works, including windows and doors.

As the homeowner, you will apply for the shallow retrofit grants yourself. In the case of deep retrofits (ROI) you will need to go through an approved OSS.

Top 3 tips for a successful home energy upgrade Keep an open mind about what the best type of installation might be for your home. Even if you have a set idea of what kind of insulation upgrade you want, the best solution will be determined by the house itself and the energy assessor’s report. For example, if your house has solid walls, external insulation might be a good option: EPS for concrete, rockwool for stone walls. If your house has cavity walls, pumping them with EPS bead is usually very effective but only if the cavity is more than 40mm wide and the house isn’t in an exposed area. There are many other factors to consider, so these guidelines may not always apply.

1

Look for credentials.

Make sure the insulation contractor you are going to hire is reputable, i.e. do a background check on the company by speaking with previous clients and checking how long they have been in business for.

2

Check the Agrément cert. External wall and cavity wall insulation systems are certified by Agrément certificates. Ask your insulation contractor what system they will be installing and check the NSAI (ROI) / BBA (NI) website for the cert. This will detail how the insulation system is to be installed to the proper standards.

3

Roadstone

you can go to will depend on the depth of the house foundations – this can be readily checked if there are suspended floors, or may require an inspection from the outside by digging down.

Another option is to add insulation onto the existing floor, but this will have considerable knock-on effects on things like ceiling height, door opening heights, socket placements, etc.

For the roof, while insulation rolls above the ceiling are often the most straightforward and cost effective solution, it may not be possible to do so if the floor is sloping or hard to access.

In that case insulating from the underside of the ceiling, in the room below, may be the best option. Insulating at rafter level is also possible but a more complex job, and usually involves introducing insulation between the rafters and underneath. Spray foam and cellulose insulation are among the alternatives.

When it comes to the walls,

you can insulate any which way: on the outside (external wall insulation or EWI), inside the cavity if you have one, or indoors.

EWI is a specialist product so you will need to buy a system from a reputable manufacturer and make sure the installer is trained in installing that product.

There are two types of EWI: EPS or rockwool sheets which are mushroom fixed onto the wall, and a proprietary coat of plaster is applied on top.

There are restrictions using EWI, for instance your windows and soffits need to be able to accommodate the extra depth, and rainwater goods will need to be repositioned. Window sills may also need to be extended, e.g. with a new uPVC one overlaying the existing concrete/ stone – if this solution is not acceptable then sills may need to be replaced.

In an existing home, the most common way to insulate a cavity, even if it has insulation in it already, is to pump EPS beads, along with a binder, into it through a series of holes. Blown fibre can be sucked out before new material is blown in. Again, check what make is being used and that your installer is trained in its installation. Some exposed locations aren’t suitable. Spray foam insulation is an alternative, albeit generally more expensive, and is installed in the same way – same checks apply.

Often the least expensive, and most open to DIY, is to insulate on the internal wall, usually with insulated plasterboard (usually a PIR board glued onto a sheet of plasterboard) although most insulation types can accommodate this method.

Disadvantages include disruption inside the house while works are going on, issues in relation to detailing around openings and any existing plasterwork features (cornicing, etc.) as well a slight

Minimum regs In both NI and ROI energy upgrades are subject to the building regulations.

Chris Garry Breffni Insulation, breffniinsulation.com

AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 2 5

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / RETROFIT STRATEGIES

In NI, when renovating existing thermal elements, where more than 50 per cent of the surface area of an individual thermal element or more than 25 per cent of the total building envelope is being renovated, where the U-value of existing thermal elements (walls, roof, etc.) or fittings (e.g. windows) is worse than a certain threshold level the whole of that element should be upgraded to improved U-values as stated in Technical Booklet F1 (subject to economic feasibility defined as simple payback period of 15 years).

Extensions can be addressed using either the “Standards Based Approach”, whereby

minimum standards are met as above, or the “Equivalent Carbon Target Approach”, where SAP is used to demonstrate that the overall performance of the dwelling with the proposed works is no worse than it would have been under the standards based approach. This approach can be used, for example, where an extension is proposed and the Standards Based Approach cannot be achieved. In that case measures can be carried out to other parts of the building to compensate.

Where the work involves replacement of controlled services (e.g. heating system components) minimum

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1 2 6 / S E L FB UIL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

performance levels must be achieved. Refer to the UK “Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide” for more details.

Particular requirements apply for a change of use (e.g. dwelling being created in previous commercial/industrial/ agricultural premises) and change of energy status (e.g. previously un-conditioned space becoming conditioned). Refer to Technical Booklet F1 for details.

In ROI there is a requirement for “Major Renovations” to meet a “cost optimal” energy performance standard (a minimum BER of B2) insofar as this is “technically, functionally and economically feasible”.

“Major renovation” means the renovation of an existing dwelling where more than 25 per cent of the surface area of the existing building’s thermal envelope undergoes renovation.

Thermal envelope meaning the entire surface area of a building through which it can lose heat to the external environment or the ground, including all heat loss areas of walls, windows, floors and roof.

As an example, if you install external wall insulation combined with say upgrading existing windows and doors, then this could very easily add up to 25 per cent of the surface area of the thermal envelope.

Unlike the planning requirement, that states that anything more than 40sqm needs to apply for planning permission, the 25 per cent rule is not intended to be aggregated over time.

In all cases you must get your energy assessor, architect or other suitably qualified building professional to determine whether you fall above or below this threshold.

If your project does upgrade

more than 25 per cent of the building thermal envelope then the entire upgraded dwelling must either achieve a B2 Building Energy Rating or implement a package of pre-defined energy performance improvements set out in Part L’s Table 7.

Table 7 shows that achieving compliance in existing dwellings typically may involve adding a minimum 100mm of external wall insulation, 300mm of attic insulation and upgrading old boilers to 91 per cent efficiency gas boiler with full time, temperature and zone controls.

Improving airtightness

If you plan to carry out a deep retrofit, an airtightness and ventilation strategy will be included. But if you are not looking at a big job and want to reduce draughts yourself, then it’s a question of reducing unintentional air paths as far as is practicable.

Where possible, fit draughtstripping in the frames of openable elements of windows, doors and roof lights. Ensure boxing for concealed services is sealed at floor and ceiling levels and seal piped services where they penetrate or project into hollow constructions or voids.

The addition of a draught lobby may be advised in some instances. Address air leakages into the attic from the attic side, considering pipes and cables.

Also seal around loft hatches.

Remember that the more you seal off your house, the more you need fresh air circulation, i.e. need to make sure the indoor air quality remains high. This means looking at whether your current ventilation system is still adequate after the upgrade.

www.midlandheating.ie Tel: 046-9430529 Email: sales@midlandheating.ie

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INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / NZEB ENERGY UPGRADE Photography: Denis Vahey Words: Astrid Madsen

Operation renovation This 1940s Co Waterford cottage was upgraded to become a super energy efficient home in 2019. The renovation was such a success it won the Sustainable Tipperary NZEB Design Competition. Here’s how they went from a G to an A3 eneryg rating.

WC

BEFORE 45sqm

Kitchen

BEFORE

Bedroom Bedroom

Bedroom

Living

Dining rl over

Kitchen

AFTER 153sqm Living

Utility a/w heat

pump

hrv

Bedroom

HALL

Wardrobe Bedroom

Bedroom WC

Bathroom

Most people don’t decide to heavily invest in upgrading the energy efficiency of their home unless they have bigger plans, such as, say, adding an extension.

Their motivation also tends to be quite clear. They may have just bought a house, wanting to make it comfortable for their family. Or they may want their existing home to be more comfortable and maintenance free.

James and Phil Hallinan are a case in point. Nearing retirement, the couple inherited an old cottage which they decided to do up by increasing the floor area. To make the house warm, healthy and efficient to run, they also invested in an energy upgrade.

The extension

The house was an L shaped 1 2 8 / SE LF BUILD / AU T U MN 2021

cottage containing three compact bedrooms, a living area and previously added extensions with small kitchen and bathroom.

The concept of the redesign was to orientate the living spaces around a south to west facing patio, which would also act as a new entrance to the home.

Budget constraints, and not wanting the extension to be visually obtrusive meant the

THE BRIEF ü Bigger living area that retains the views ü Seamless connection between extension and existing cottage ü Retain the total of three bedrooms, but with a new master bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe ü New kitchen and new main bathroom ü New utility room with plenty of storage

Guide Selfbuild

Insulation strategy

couple agreed to incorporate the circulation spaces, where possible, within the main living areas. Therefore the size, and costs, of the extension were kept to a minimum.

There was no insulation at all in the existing cottage.

For the walls, the most efficient and cost effective solution was to insulate internally with a proprietary insulation system which included 100mm rockwool. The existing timber floors were removed, with a new concrete slab and fully insulated (150mm PIR board) floor screed on top.

The roof was stripped back to the existing rafters, luckily providing good ceiling heights, and a new warm roof (insulated with 70mm PIR and 150mm mineral wool, and made airtight, at rafter level) was installed.

“Mineral wool is typically the only thing we use between rafters,” says Alan the architect.

“We would always use warm roof construction so having a good quality product that you know won’t shrink is important.”

“My preference would always be external insulation if the

budget and design suits,” adds Alan. “We did actually externally insulate the old porch with PIR and used a vented rainscreen detail over.”

The extension, for its part, was built to passive standards with thermal breaks and cold bridges detailed out.

For the extension floor, a standard build up was the most cost effective consisting of 150mm PIR insulation with screed over, and thermal blocks to the perimeter.

Then a 200mm full fill cavity with EPS beads turned out to be the most cost effective to achieve a good quality insulated wall, with 30mm insulated plasterboard internally to negate the issue with wall ties causing thermal bridging.

When using some rigid boards in the cavity wall, installation is critical to get the U-value you are aiming for. “Unless they are specifically trained, block layers should not be installing insulation,” opines Alan.

“The other advantage of the

bead is that there is no waste and it helps with airtightness; we would usually expect an airtightness result of 1 to 1.5m3/h.sqm at 50Pa on a new build. Anything under 2.5 is usually respectable on an existing extension refurb.”

Airtightness strategy

Preliminary air tests showed results of approximately 2.4 m3/hr/m2 for the whole house, achieved by careful and thoughtful design, and meticulous construction procedures.

The existing fireplaces and chimney stacks have also been removed, drastically reducing the opportunities for air leakage by infiltration.

Junctions and details were kept as simple as possible, to provide clarity for the contractors, and to reduce the possibilities of unintended air leakages.

Before and during the construction process, all trades involved were made aware of the intent to make the house as airtight as possible.

Regular on site meetings with the contractors allowed for continuous monitoring of the construction standard.

This ensured that mistakes could be avoided, and that the contractors could be advised as to how to properly construct details and junctions. By doing this, the airtightness could be

AU TU MN 2021 / SE L F B U IL D / 1 2 9

INSULATION AND AIRTIGHTNESS GUIDE / NZEB ENERGY UPGRADE

Roadstone

maximised as much as possible, and construction processes that would have led to air leakage were avoided.

Systems

Builder Gerry and Sean of Byrne and Byrne Construction, byrneandbyrneconstruction.ie

For ventilation, the house relied on the opening of windows and doors for air changes. As the energy upgrade made the home airtight, a new heat recovery ventilation system was installed to provide ample fresh air and keep the indoor environment comfortable for the occupants, without the need for opening doors and windows.

1 3 0 / S E L FB UIL D / A U TU MN 2 0 2 1

provided by a wood burning stove, with dedicated supply air, located in the new living room.

Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland grant for insulation upgrades, but for some reason the grant would not cover the warm roof detail – they wanted us to insulate at ceiling level/on the roof space floor.”

“For the walls, older buildings have difficulty availing of the scheme because solid stone walls do not compute in calculating the BER,” he adds.

Phil and James are however in the process of applying for their heat pump grant, which they are thankfully eligible for.

“The advice we would give to others thinking of going down a similar route is to check what

grants are available before starting the project,” says Phil.

“Ensure you go over every detail with the contractor before works begin. And have everything completed before moving in, this includes the landscaping, lawns, fencing and entrance gates.”

Grants

Despite the amount of insulation that went into this renovationcum-extension project, there was no grant available for the insulation upgrade.

“I did speak to Superhomes, which is a one stop shop energy upgrade centre run by the non profit Tipperary Energy Agency,” says Alan. “But as the grant would only cover works to the existing house, and because the extension was larger than the house, it would not qualify.”

“We then looked at the basic

Roadstone

All the main living spaces have ceiling heights in excess of three metres, which allows for greater air movement and greater control of the internal environment. A rooflight purges hot air on very warm days.

Shading is provided to the South West facade, to control solar gain.

For heating, the existing 1920s house had an oil boiler with radiators throughout the house. Secondary heating was provided by two fireplaces, which as outlined above were removed.

These were replaced with an air to water heat pump, as well as underfloor heating throughout.

Further heating is now also

Top 3 tips for a successful Architect home energy Ed and Alan Walsh of Walsh+Walsh, wwarchitects.ie upgrade SUPPLIERS

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