External Style Guide

Guide Selfbuild

THIS ISSUE: EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE

102

112

INSPIRATION

WALL COVERINGS

108

120

100 OVERVIEW OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS 118 FRONT AND BACK DOORS / 124 LANDSCAPING 128 CHOOSING EXTERNAL FINISHES IN CO DOWN

ROOF COVERINGS

WINDOWS

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / OVERVIEW

First impressions An important part of the design process is deciding what the house will look like when you drive up to it.

This External Style Guide shows you what’s possible.

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Guide Selfbuild

he external appearance of your house sets the tone, not just for the internal finishes but for prospective buyers if you ever plan to sell.

First impressions are everything, writes Selfbuild magazine editor Astrid Madsen.

T

Irish self-builders tend to build with masonry. Back in the day we had stone, now it’s concrete blocks, a building method that continues to have a considerable knock-on effect on our expectations for external wall finishes.

And so the traditional finish today is what’s referred to as render, which is an external coat of plaster commonly made up of sand and cement – although there are many variants on the theme (see page 112).

Render is traditional in that it’s a method that’s been widely adopted and for which skilled tradesmen are in plentiful supply. With the caveat that skilled tradesmen can be hard to find nowadays, being in such high demand.

Traditional also in that lime renders were once the only choice for external wall finishes.

This archetype continues to be a strong favourite and has adapted especially well to contemporary designs and highly glazed elevations.

But there are other options that are increasingly finding favour, from timber panelling to metal roofing – with architectural designers often opting for a mixture of materials.

Will the roof or the walls dominate? Or will they complement each other and form a visual whole?

It all depends on what you and your architectural designer are trying to achieve. The more materials, the more skilled the designer needs to be to produce a coherent arrangement.

In the overall scheme of things, don’t forget the landscaping – how the house sits within the site, and what it is surrounded with, can make or break the look you are trying to achieve.

Of course it all boils down to personal choice: see what you like

and bring photos, magazine cutouts and any other source of inspiration to your architectural designer. They will be able to turn your vision into a workable, building regulations compliant home that is to your liking.

Restrictions

There are two things that will restrict your choices. As with everything there’s the budget, which you will have to determine early on.

Stick to it so you don’t fall into the trap of cost creep. One thousand euros or pounds here and there will quickly add up.

Consider too that the product on its own may just be a small part of the budget. How easy it is to get your hands on, (think delivery costs from abroad and potential delays this may cause on site), will inflate the price.

How easy the product is to install must also be factored in. If it’s a commonly used material with an abundance of tradesmen able to fit it correctly then the labour cost should be minimal.

Specialist installers cost more and may also lead to your schedule slipping behind if they can only come to site months down the line.

And inevitably, there is the need to get planning permission. In other words, your local authority needs to approve your plans before you can start building. The good news is, as

Astrid Madsen

“

Above all don’t settle for anything. There will inevitably be compromises but you need to be happy with them...

long as the style you choose can show a connection to the area, (a local type of stone for example), or if you can argue the house displays true architectural merit, the planning authorities should be positive.

If you have strong ideas, a preplanning meeting can be

useful to gauge whether what you have in mind fits in with the planners’ interpretation of the local development plans.

Above all don’t settle for anything; there will inevitably be compromises but you need to be happy with them.

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / INSPIRATION

Broadstone Architects

House styles overview A compilation of typical house styles popular in Ireland today, and further afield.

Contemporary Some of the most popular house designs in Ireland today incorporate an element of contemporary architecture. Part of a clear international trend, what is loosely described as contemporary oftentimes translates as large expanses of glazing.

In form, contemporary designs often rely on geometric shapes with clean straight lines. A twist

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Simple Architects

“

...contemporary designs often rely on geometric shapes with clean straight lines.

on this theme is to use slates or shingles as external cladding but there are many interpretations of this somewhat catch-all style.

Catch-all because contemporary technically means “of the time”, reflecting current tastes and trends. Which gives it carte blanche as a stylistic movement to reflect what is happening in all spheres of society,

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BGA Architects

be it economic, environmental, cultural, artistic, or even political.

Case in point is the trend towards eco house building.

Even though the pandemic has yet to make its mark on residential architecture, there’s little doubt that at the minimum the home office will be on most self-builders’ wish lists and that these will be incorporated, architecturally, in clever ways.

Reducing costs will no doubt also drive changes in appearance.

Lastly, it’s useful to point out that contemporary is not to be

confused with modern, even though colloquially the two terms tend to mean the same thing. Modernism is a late 19th and early 20th Century

movement that brought about, in architecture, large expanses of glazing and the concept of open plan living.

Paul Lindsay Photography

Rojo Architects

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / INSPIRATION

Farmhouse/cottage/ bungalow

Of course today what we have in mind when we think of the traditional bungalow is straight out of the pages of Bungalow Bliss, the first popular book of plans published in Ireland. These sprawling single storey designs have adapted over time, and now tend be on a storey and half to make the layout even more cost effective to build (and heat).

Log cabin style This category generally refers to two types of buildings.

Most of the time it is used to describe a small prefabricated house with a log cabin exterior style (visible stacked logs).

But it can also describe a full size house, built on site, log by log.

The cost of the prefabricated version is low but planning permission can be excruciatingly hard to get. The more traditional building method will require wrangling with the Andrew O’Brien Architects

uniquehomestays.com

10 4 / SE LF B U ILD / W I N T ER 2020

Paul Lindsay Photography

The humble farmhouse has gone through many iterations over the years. Utilitarian in nature, farmsteads in the past were arranged in what’s referred to as a clachan formation whereby the house itself was often grouped with outbuildings, which themselves reached out to nearby farmsteads.

Courtyards appeared from this, and nowadays L or U shaped designs tend to reference farmhouse designs. Two storey variations became popular and blend well into the landscape to this day.

Another housing style that evolved from the meithal tradition of local people helping each other building their homes is the bungalow, which in many ways is an evolution of the traditional Irish cottage.

One room deep and compact in shape, cottages are no longer built but many contemporary styles draw inspiration from its vernacular style. Renovating these properties is rewarding for those able to retain the original structure while incorporating contemporary additions.

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“

Honka Log Homes, photography by

Gareth Byrne

planners as well.

But as with any type of design, a well argued case that relies on the local development plans and that references vernacular styles, will often win favour with the planners.

There is also the option of using logs as cladding, as shown in this example of a shipping container converted into a home office.

...log cabin designs tend to lead to wrangling with the planners.

Plank effect Boyd Cody Architects

This style can be resolutely contemporary or hark back to yesteryear, depending on the materials you choose. Distinct from the log cabin style, timber clad self-builds are often the preserve of extensions but can be used on the entirety of a new build as well.

Most common is to mix the cladding with a render and possibly stone.

Planks of timber are installed

horizontally or vertically in varying widths and lengths; these are usually tongue and grooved for ease of installation and to ensure no water gets behind the cladding.

Fibre cement and uPVC are alternative materials that also come in tongue and groove planks to yield a variety of effects, e.g. mimicking wood or metal for example.

McGarry Moon Architects

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / INSPIRATION

Barrel/barn type T4 Architects,

photography by Paul Lindsay

<credit> Suzy McCanny

Photography

The barrel roof house style emerged from a desire to fully blend into the rural landscape, thereby pleasing the planners, and to drive costs down on external finishes. Mimicking the appearance of an outbuilding, corrugated metal or alternatives such as uPVC or fibre cement are common finishes for the roof, walls or both.

From mock Georgian to Art Deco, you can be responsible for the mini revival of any architectural movement. The key here is whether you want to go all out and fully copy the period features or give it your own interpretation. Planning restrictions may also apply, but again a well argued case can win favour.

A word of warning, the cost for internal finishes tends to be higher in these buildings if you plan to follow through with the theme. Everything from door locks to architrave as likely to be on the higher end of the cost scale.

Paul McAlister Architects

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Jane Burnside, Architects

Historic

Signature styles Many architectural designers work off their signature style. Striking international examples include names like Antoni Gaudi or Frank Gehry.

Even though each design is unique, there are common themes you will find throughout their body of work. In other words, the houses they design are almost always identifiable as belonging to their practice.

When specialist materials and finishes are used, these designs can cost more than what the average person can afford to build, but some of these architects specialise in self-builds as well at the going rates.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well worth having a chat as their fees are likely to be more reasonable than you might at first think.

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Trends in house styles

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The neo-classical style has made a comeback.

Irish house styles have drawn on local and global styles in equal measure. In the 1980s, Irish homes were heavily influenced by the advent of American television, from soap operas to sitcoms.

Everything was supersized.

In truth it wasn’t so much a style as a need to increase the floor plans to an absolute minimum of 3,000sqft/300sqm – for a four bedroom house! Perhaps with a balcony, a few concrete porch columns and a pair of eagle clad pillars to complete the look.

This trend carried through into the 1990s with a paring back of the porch detail and birds of prey, and with an improvement in general quality, yet still suffering from a lack of professional design input.

The scene was now set for a new entrant into the home building arena, the Architect. Architects of course specialise in the professional design and styling of buildings but for many years architects concentrated their efforts and talents in the commercial building arena. For individual homes, they were the preserve of the rich.

However during the naughties Ireland had become a wealthy country and a new trend had taken off in selfbuilding, what estate agents refer to

Architect Designed Homes. Architects were given free rein with most defaulting to a simple contemporary style: pared back with grey windows, zinc and cedar palettes.

At this point we had never seen anything like it on Irish soil and it set a new bar for house design.

When the economic crash happened, what first emerged in the countryside was a modern but simple architectural take on the rural Irish cottage.

Narrow windows (particularly to the front) and narrow gables (one room deep) for more light in the hall coupled with a more contemporary living space to the rear. This approach aligned with planners’ expectations as well as providing a cost-effective solution to a young family seeking a smart architect designed home in the countryside.

In the cities, there was a trend towards turning our back on our immediate past (Celtic Tiger Fuelled Contemporary Architecture) in favour of looking back to a more classically influenced era. And so the Georgian style made a huge comeback.

Sliding sash windows, mouldings over windows and under roof soffits, imposing portico (porches) and

elaborately detailed roofs are now in vogue. This style has now taken a firm hold on society and in some rural architecture too. Even humble house extensions are leaning towards the neo-classical.

Certainly a new trend will arrive, likely adopted initially by the wealthy, possibly in line with a new global political or economic shift.

It is also likely that, as our penchant for unique and well-thought-out design remains, we will need to become more creative in how we deliver on value for money.

An architect led design will be more complex in terms of floor plan and therefore more expensive to build so a quantity surveyor and perhaps even a project manager will ensure that your new home ticks all the necessary design boxes whilst still driving value for you and arrive on budget, to keep the bank manager happy.

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / ROOF

Bangor Blue Slates

Roof coverings The external appearance of a building is literally dominated by the roof covering, with the exception of flat roofs which instead make the windows and wall coverings stand out. Choose your roof covering early as the weight will have an impact on the structural calculations for the roof structure.

Natural slates

Slate or tile?

ionary the Oxford dict According to n, or ee gr as a grey, slate is defined easily ck ro ic ph metamor s, on le bluish-purple Ti . th, flat plates split into smoo e defined as a thin ar the other hand or other of baked clay ab sl r la gu an ws for rect ro g in pp la in over gnals material, used si e s. The term til rms covering roof te e th t bu e, mad they are man y el larg have become ble. interchangea

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Considered the most durable option, and also one of the heaviest and most expensive, natural slates (shown left) are expected to last 100 years wheras pretty much all other alternatives are about half that. Commonly quarried in Spain, they can come from as far afield as China, with the higher end products coming from Wales, e.g. the famous Bangor Blue slate. Quarrying is, however, a water intensive activity that has environmental impacts.

In terms of installation the roofer will have to grade the slates, i.e. sort them as they will be of different thicknesses and you will need to make a choice as to what elevation to place the thinner / thicker ones. There is virtually no maintenance, and repairs tend to be straightforward by replacing the damaged slate.

Fibre cement

A cost effective alternative to natural slate is the engineered fibre cement slate that is made to look like the real thing. Installed in the same manner as natural slates and with the same level of maintenance, they have the advantage of all being the exact same size and thickness. Check warranties for peace of mind on longevity and colour discoloration.

However, Cementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s embodied energy is high.

Fibre cement sheeting is a cost effective alternative that is gaining in popularity with the advent of barrel roof designs and a plannerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nod to agricultural buildings.

Corrugated metal, as seen on agricultural buildings, are an option too but for residential use, these will have been treated and should come with a warranty.

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Concrete

The most cost effective option, concrete slates and tiles have their own particular aesthetic although they can be made to imitate the colour, form and texture of clay tiles. Cement has an embodied energy that is high and there will be some maintenance associated with the covering to keep it in good condition.

Clay

Another alternative to natural slate are clay tiles, which can come in a range of slate effects.

As with other manmade products they come in predictable shapes and sizes, making them easy to work with. They are durable and installation is quick and easy with interlocking systems. Check of any maintenance requirements as well as warranties.

Shingles

Shingles come in a variety sizes, from 200mm squares to rectangular ones that are almost one meter in length, and in a range of materials.

Usually installed to overlap as

Fibre cement example by Cedral Thrutone Endurance

with slates, they can be asphalt (engineered with fibreglass and ceramic), metal (zinc, copper, aluminium, stainless steel) or wood.

Asphalt shingles tend to be found on sheds and outhouses but even at that, are not that a common option in Ireland but popular in the US for example. Metal and wood, e.g. treated cedar, can provide

interesting architectural detail but the cost can rack up quickly for the product and specialist install.

Note that treated roof coverings may contaminate rainwater (an issue if planning to install rainwater harvesting); also check the maintenance requirements to maximise lifespan.

Example of clay tiles by Lagan Building Solutions

Cedar shingle roof covering Paul Lindsay photography

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / ROOF

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These days zinc is most common but lead and copper are also traditional finishes.

ArchitecturalDesignServicesNI.com

Standing seam

Metal seam roofs consist of large sheets of metal clamped together, usually in a standing seam.

Meaning it has a distinctive finish with the line protruding from the roof. These days zinc is most common but lead and copper are also traditional finishes.

Proprietary products, often made with uPVC, can look like metal at a fraction of the cost.

This choice of covering tends to be at the highest end of the cost scale, for the product, associated fixings and the specialist installation. Leads needs to be treated with a patination oil; check of any maintenance requirements to ensure longevity as repairs can be expensive.

to UV light and subsequent leaks, giving flat roofs a bad name.

EPDM is a rubber like material, applied with a proprietary glue, while uPVC alternatives can copy a variety of effects and are a popular

Flat

11 0 / SE LF B U ILD / W I N T E R 2020

2020 Architects

Flat roofs are never totally flat, as they allow for a gentle incline designed to drain rainwater. The most common covering options are EPDM, uPVC composites, and fibreglass. The days of asphalt applied onto a concrete roof base, by blow torch, are pretty much gone as the material was prone

and cost effective alternative for the zinc look. Fibreglass is much like what you would find on a boat, and when set the product is painted with a proprietary paint. Green roofs are possible

but require extra structural supports and may need specialist installation too, usually making them more expensive than the alternatives.

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / WA L L S

Wall coverings

Your choice of building method will have an impact on the application method for your wall coverings, but all options are on the table, regardless of how you build your house. A mix of render with stone or wood panelling is common but remember that this will add to the cost as you will be bringing in different trades.

Also great attention to detail, on the drawings and on site, will need to be given at the junctions.

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Render

A straightforward and traditional finish, a render is a coat of external plaster. Cement renders are applied in three coats (the undercoats are called scratch coats â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the scratches provide a key for the following coat), as are traditional lime renders. Cement will seal the wall (waterproof barrier) while lime is breathable (allows moisture to escape); cement is more prone to cracking than lime, which is more flexible but less strong.

Cement is cheap and in plentiful supply, labour is also readily available but the application of three coats will lead to higher cost than single render finishes. Lime renders are made up of natural hydraulic lime (NHL) mixed in a similar fashion to cement, with sand and water. Both cement and lime renders require painting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the case of cement two coats of a regular external masonry paint tends to be the finish, with a maintenance schedule of repainting.

Lime render require a limewash, best applied in three coats and then one coat yearly after that; this

maintenance regime means lime is most commonly used on older properties that need breathable walls, or on eco building such as

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Silicone and acrylic based renders are most common today...

limewash is relatively inexpensive (lime putty mixed with water) but labour costs and scaffold hire all add up to make lime renders the most expensive option. A PC sum for a render starts around the ÂŁ40/â&#x201A;Ź50 per sqm mark but you could spend double that amount.

All images on these two pages courtesy of Internorm

one made of hemp or straw. Clay is an alternative but requires a large roof overhand to prevent any rain from getting at it.

Silicone and acrylic based renders are most common today; more expensive to buy per sqm they can usually be applied in one layer and are more water repellent than cement. Some claim to be self-cleaning. They also do not usually require much maintenance or painting (colour of your choice is mixed into the render at application) but with time will require some freshening up and specialist paints are available for this purpose. These tend to be proprietary systems, meaning each manufacturer has its own secret recipe, so do your due diligence on warranties and checking previous work.

In terms of costs, polymer renders tend to be on par with cement renders when labour, material costs and paint are factored into account. While NHL is more expensive than cement,

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / WA L L S

What about external wall insulationte?rnal wall

install ex If you plan to gh u will need a hi yo n, tio la su in ting ar st n te of render; spec polymer . m 0 per sq around ÂŁ70/â&#x201A;Ź8

Stone as a building method has fallen out of favour because of cost â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the material itself, the need for stronger foundations and specialist labour. Stone, however, remains a popular finish for porches, or mixed in with render.

A popular method of application today are sheeting products that have cut stone, or manmade products made to resemble stone, stuck on a mosaic-like sheet and applied as you would a tile directly on the wall surface. You can also fix it onto battens. Maintenance is minimal and replacement fairly straightforward. Costs will vary greatly depending on the material and application method.

Cedral fibre cement cladding

Stone

Wood

Dekton facade by Cosentino

Cedar is the most common wood panelling system, but you can opt for anything from larch to fir. You can opt for shingles as well. The boards are treated to protect them from the elements; this is usually done with chemicals but a trendy alternative is to char the timbers as they have been doing in Japan for centuries. There will be some level of maintenance depending on the system; some woods will change colour with time so check previous projects. Applied onto battens, cost will depend on the wood, treatment, and origin.

Sheeting

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Craftstone 2000

Fibre cement comes in panels, often applied on battens, and can look like wood or slate, depending on the finish you choose. uPVC usually imitates metal and applied through specialist means, often directly onto the wall surface.

Composite surfaces, which include resins, are an alternative for contemporary builds as well; either fixed to the building or applied with a battened system to allow for ventilation between the structural wall and the cladding.

Maintenance should be minimal but check warranties and previous work. Metal sheeting will be the

most expensive; the material itself will have the same options as the roof coverings but considering the surface area of external walls are large, this is not a common option for walls.

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EXTERIOR STYLE GUIDE / G R E E N WA L L S

Green Walls

A ‘green’ or ‘living’ wall can create a wonderful feature that not only enhances local architecture but has many other environmental benefits too, writes self-build expert Andrew Stanway.

Andrew Stanway

11 6 / S E L F B U IL D / W I N T E R 2020

Since the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon nearly 2,600 years ago, this wonder of the ancient world has stimulated our delight in gardens in the sky.

Though scholars debate whether they actually hung or were, more likely, to be overhanging from terraces, they exert a sense of wonder, especially in a desert location. Today’s hanging gardens still surprise and give pleasure.

What is a living wall?

A green (living) wall is a structure containing plants that can be created for indoors or outside. They have all kinds of qualities: Aesthetics A living wall looks wonderful, bringing Nature into the home or enhancing the outside of a building, especially in a built-up area where greenery is hard to find and land scarce to create it. Ugly walls can be wholly transformed by a living one.

Improved air quality Many plants trap particulate matter in the atmosphere and then release it as rain washes their leaves. Such plants act as a sort of pollution filter. The best species have sticky, waxy or hairy leaves that trap the particulates (PM10, PM2.5, and PM 1) which are increasingly being found to be injurious to health.

The best living walls use plants of various sizes and structures to break up air flow, thus ensuring that the maximum number of particulates are removed by the system.

Temperature control A large surface covered by living plants can reduce the effect of direct sun and thus help keep a building cool.

Improved biodiversity The vertical garden that is a green wall enables all manner of other plant and animal life to thrive. This is especially true of insects, bees and other pollinators. But adding nest boxes, bat boxes and other retreats can encourage certain much larger species to make a new home.

How are they built?

The principle is simple. In an existing house, an already built wall is covered with various types of structural grids that, in turn, support the individual container modules that hold the plants. The best green walls have planting modules of various sizes, some of which can support the growth of substantial bushes or even trees.

Individual plants can be given their own special soil and also their own feeds.

The process starts with a consultation with a specialist company who can suggest what species will grow best in your planned environment and then create a digital representation of how it will look.

At this stage you can change your mind about exactly what it is you want to achieve. Much of this will be dictated by cost. And living walls are not cheap. You’ll need to think about whether it’s literally a ‘green’ wall you want, or one that has different flowering patterns throughout the year.

When it comes to design, almost anything is possible. Everything will be grown off site, ready to install so your green wall looks great from Day One. An indoor living wall can usually be installed within three to four weeks and an outdoor one in around six to eight weeks, depending on size.

If planning a green wall on a totally new build, ask your architectural designer to discuss with the company exactly what they’ll need by way of underlying structure so they can fix their steel or timber frames effectively. It would be crazy to cover a building with expensive brickwork, for example, only then to obscure it at once with your green wall.

Thinking about this well in advance could make your green wall a lot less expensive than you’d think as you’ll be saving on wall covering materials you’d have otherwise installed.

Although creating a green

wall of a meaningful size will require the services of a specialist company, it’s possible to make your own by constructing a suitable grid, then attaching planters made for the purpose.

Kits can be found online.

Maintenance

As with most living systems, maintenance is vital. The best irrigation will trap rainwater in a tank, then recirculate (pump) it to the top of your wall. Special fabrics and pipes then distribute the water evenly through the modules. In many systems, each plant has its own irrigation supply. The excess water is then collected from the base, filtered and reused.

A green wall will also need servicing from time to time. Your installer will suggest a suitable schedule. Bear in mind that this will require good access, so keep the area at the base free from other planting or structures that would make access difficult. Ideally, a small scissors lift, or similar, should be able to drive right to the base of the wall.

The ‘aerial gardening’ can then be done quickly and easily. This means that should you decide on changing your planting pattern or species types, the process will be easy and less expensive.

Just as with any other garden, weeds will need to be dealt with, bushes and trees pruned, dead material removed, and pests and diseases controlled. All this means easy access is vital.

If all this talk of maintenance causes concern, how about creating a green wall from artificial ‘plants’?

These walls have some of the same effects as true living walls but are, obviously, not biologically active in any way. Some people, both in domestic and commercial situations, find artificial green walls more practical for indoor use.

Some are now so realistic that it’s near impossible to tell the plants from living ones unless they are examined close up.

It’s, of course, possible to integrate both natural and artificial plants in the same wall. Which route you choose will reflect your motivations for having a living wall in the first place.

Selection of wall plants including ferns and stinking hellebore

Pollution busters

White lamb’s ear

Silver bush

Creeping pine

English ivy

Wildflower turf

Hebe

Christmas box

Lamb’s ear

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EXTERIOR STYLE GUIDE / DOORS

Front and back doors Most front and back doors are made up of composite materials which include insulation and reinforcement for security. Glazed doors – patio, slider or bifold – have arguably more architectural merit but present their own set of challenges in terms of energy efficiency and security.

Craftstone, www.craftstone.co.uk

Paul Lindsay Photography

Materials

Most front doors nowadays are made of fibreglass, aka Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), with a steel or timber structural frame filled with insulation inside. These composite doors are higher on the cost scale, averaging around €800/£750 or more. Alu clad options are also popular, especially for back doors to match the sliding glass doors (known as sliders), meaning they are timber doors clad in aluminium in the same way as windows are and are insulated on the inside also.

Alternatives include solid hardwood and softwood doors but these can eventually warp. Accoya is a stable alternative but much more costly. The cheapest options start as low as £300/€250 up to well in excess of 1k for higher quality. uPVC built around a steel frame is cheaper again but not inherently strong. Solid metal doors such as steel can dent, they also do not perform well to retain energy.

Remember that the cost of the door will only be part of the outlay; you need to add installation, hinges, handles and any other door furniture, as well as delivery. Make sure the quotation includes everything, as well as the VAT. 1 1 8 / S E L F B U IL D / W I N T E R 2020

Guide Selfbuild

Paul Lindsay Photography

Green Door Leitrim

Performance

The thermal performance of doors will be included in your energy calculations; depending on how much real estate they take on your elevations, (some designs incorporate up to four back doors!), poor performance will be noticeable so make sure to compare the rating when shopping around.

Then of course there is the security aspect and here, you need to think about your weakest link. In the case of doors, the frames are often the culprit but also think of the hardware (hinges and multipoint locking) and glazing (glass should only be removable from the inside).

For security, the doors must be PAS 24:2012 certified; also choose toughened glass. Two separate locks are standard with the deadlock five lever. Accessibility is another element to factor in, which ties in with the building regulations. You will need a level threshold to access the house through the front or back door which usually means a lip of no more than 15mm without steps directly inside or outside the door.

at What about c flaps?

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Styles

Internorm

The standard width for a front door, for accessibility, is 838mm but contemporary designs tend to go wider than that. There are loads of styles to choose from, everything from barn doors that open in two sections (top and bottom as per the old cottage style) to sliding patio doors for your porch.

Arrangement with glazing within the door or at the sides, can work well to throw light into what would otherwise be a dark hallway but these clearly add to the cost.

French doors, sliders and bifolds are considered doors in that they allow you to get in and out of the house but can in essence be considered glazing, having so much of their area taken up by glass.

Bifolds by their nature have more moving parts than sliders. You can also have sliders meet at a corner. Thermal performance plays a greater role due to surface area, and so does security.

WINTER 2020 / S EL F BU IL D / 119

EXTERIOR STYLE GUIDE / GLAZING

VELUX and Hive Architects Studio Ltd

Eyes of the house Vertical windows and roof lights are key features in any home; find out what different styles look like on real homes.

Carey Glass, careyglass.com

12 0 / S E L F B U IL D / W I N T E R 2020

Materials

All window types can perform well for thermal efficiency, and most popular is uPVC. Cost wise, the entry level uPVC options are the cheapest you will find on the market, offering a limited colour range. Higher end uPVC windows come in at a high price point but are sturdier (always check there are steel structural supports) and can successfully copy the look of wood. uPVC generally can’t cover large spans and may not look as cutting edge as the alternatives.

Solid timber windows cost more but require maintenance (painting at least every 10 years in a sheltered location) and are now uncommon for this reason.

The contemporary alternative, but also the most expensive, is to clad uPVC or timber with aluminium. This is what’s referred to as aluclad.

Thermally broken aluminium windows (with an insulating layer inside the frame) offer slimmer profiles and also score high in the cost range. Both aluminium and aluclad come in RAL colours as standards but some manufacturers may charge extra for some tints.

Rooflights

Skylights or roof windows are a great way to add light from a different angle into a room; in some cases, along with sun tubes (which are pipes that reflect sunlight down to a room below in an opening the size of the pipe), they are the only way to add natural light.

These, along with solar panels, will have a visual impact on the roofline, but it can be minimal depending on the type of rooflight and style of roof. They can work especially well in otherwise dark hallways, staircases and loft/attic conversions.

Performance

Because most new home designs have so much of it, glazing is an important part of the building’s overall energy strategy. This may in turn limit the size of windows openings you choose. That said, higher end products, which will cost significantly more than standard ones, will help you meet the building regulations’ energy efficiency requirements for pretty much any design.

Triple glazing (three panes of glass, making it more energy

Guide Selfbuild

Internorm

efficient) is now very cost effective as compared to double glazing, and their look is very similar. Installation is the key to success, where the frame meets the wall, so make sure the quotation includes delivery and installation costs as well as any extras such as handles or child locks, and VAT.

Opening mechanisms

Internorm

How you open your windows will have an effect on the overall look of the house â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sash windows

keep everything flush but have a distinct visual style which will mostly suit period styles. Turn and tilt will allow the window to jut out at an angle and also open from the inside.

Windows that only open outwards make it cumbersome to clean at a height. Note that there are minimum distances between floor and openable windows on the upper storeys, usually 800mm, for fall protection. You can of course also decide to have some windows that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t open, to only allow light in. Windows on upper storeys also

Sash windows Image supplied by Cedra Velux WINTER 2020 / S EL F BU IL D / 121

EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / GLAZING

Architectural styles

Corner windows look stunning but do add significantly to the cost. The most common way to reduce the hit on the budget is to include some form of structural support in the corner.

For period properties, or the mock Georgian ones that are currently in fashion, sash windows come as standard. These can be timber or uPVC and the glazing bars going across the window can either be stuck onto a solid pane of glass, or actually serve their function in holding up small single panes.

Usually the most energy efficient is the former.

Wilson McMullen Architects

serve a function as escape routes in the case of a fire, so there are minimum requirements there as well.

Brise soleils

KMC Homes

Advances in window technology, and compensating for energy losses through other methods, mean that it is possible to have a large amount of windows in the house.

However overheating is becoming an issue with these designs, and external shading devices on the southern elevations have become de facto additions. If wide enough, these can add value to your patio area in that it can still be used when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drizzling.

Ventilation, in the form of openable windows and cross ventilation, e.g. with roof lights, and in the form of mechanised systems, form part of the strategy to mitigate overheating.

Remember too that you may need to dress the windows, i.e. add blinds or curtains internally, which must be factored into the cost of the glazing.

But you will also need to consider what impact this will have on the aesthetic of the building when viewed from the outside.

KMC Homes, kmchomes.ie

12 2 / SE LF B U ILD / W I N T E R 2020

MANUFACTURERS OF BESPOKE ARCHITECTURAL CAST STONE AND CRYSTAL PRODUCTS

+44 (0)28 9269 9777 info@craftstone.co.uk www.craftstone.co.uk

Super Seal Windows – Northern Ireland’s leading manufacturer of PVC and aluminium windows and doors.

Exceptional quality, outstanding service.

Contact us for more information.

www.supersealni.com Castledawson, Northern Ireland, BT45 8HN E-Mail: sales@supersealni.com Phone: +44 (0) 28 7946 9606

EXTERIOR STYLE GUIDE / LANDSCAPING

What surrounds your house will add value and make it easier to sell. But the benefits of a carefully crafted landscaping strategy will also reward you on a daily basis.

Exposa Decorative Concrete (Tuscan Pebble) by RTU

Kerb appeal

Put a plan in place

Thomond limestone blend and Verona Midnight setts by Roadstone 12 4 / S E L F B U IL D / W I N T E R 2020

To get the most bang out of your buck, invest in designing the garden as you would love to have it, as part of your house plans.

Consider how you want the inside and outside spaces to interact.

What will you see out of that giant wall of glass? Will you need to get to the back of the garden without soaking your feet?

Then come up with a staged plan to get it done as funds allow, most of which you will do after youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve moved in. You can prioritise what you want done first and plan accordingly. There is no point in investing in what seems like a cheap way to add a patio only to remove it five years down the line because you dislike its location and/or looks.

Planting trees can start as soon as you own the site; it will be much more cost effective than buying mature trees later down the line.

Also make sure that when you are laying the foundations, you also get the ground ready for your tarmac, paving, patio and other hard landscaping areas. This will save having to bring the diggers back in. Ask the person who is doing the groundswork to add this to the job. Preparing the ground usually means compacting it, then adding a layer or crushed stone,

also compacted. The person doing the groundswork can also work out the depth at which to go depending on what finish you will put on top, and the angles for drainage.

Car access

The reality is, most of us need to access the house with a car at some stage. The good news is, the choice of surfaces to drive on is endless.

Common is the use of tarmac, the type of asphalt you would see on a public road. Even though the product itself may have dubious eco credentials, the surface is very durable. However it can look out of place in the countryside when overused.

Concrete, which has a high embodied energy, is a popular alternative that can be cast in different shapes. Unless it is treated it will require maintenance and will be prone to cracking.

Resin based alternatives, which may include cement, are therefore more robust and come in a much wider variety of styles which can imitate other materials.

Gravel can be hard to drive on unless combined with a proprietary system, and not all paving types are suited to the weight of a car.

Helping you through your home buying journey

FROM COMPLETED APPLICATION

TO MORTGAGE CREDIT APPROVAL IN HOURS

72

That’s permanent support 72 hours start once your application is completed and submitted for credit assessment during business hours.

Excludes weekends. If any documentation is missing or additional information is required to reach a credit decision, we will notify you which may impact decision time.

WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP YOUR REPAYMENTS YOU MAY LOSE YOUR HOME.

WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT MEET THE REPAYMENTS ON YOUR LOAN, YOUR ACCOUNT WILL GO INTO ARREARS. THIS MAY AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING, WHICH MAY LIMIT YOUR ABILITY TO ACCESS CREDIT IN THE FUTURE.

Lending criteria, terms & conditions will apply. Mortgage approval is subject to assessment of suitability and affordability. Applicants must be aged 18 or over. Security is required and credit agreement will be secured by a mortgage or by a right related to residential immovable property. Life and Home Insurance are also required. For First Time Buyers, a maximum Loan to Value (LTV) of 90% will apply to a property’s purchase price. For Second Time Buyers a maximum LTV of 80% will apply. The maximum LTV for customers who hold their current mortgage with another bank but wish to switch their mortgage to permanent tsb while also releasing equity is 85%. Maximum loan amount will typically not exceed 3.5 times an individual’s gross annual income. The monthly repayment on a 20 year mortgage with Loan to Value (LTV) greater than 80% with variable borrowing rate of 4.20% on a mortgage of €100,000 is €616.57 for 240 months. Total amount repayable is €148,336.98.

If interest rates increase by 1% an additional €54.48 would be payable per month. For this example, Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC) of 4.32% applies and consists of variable borrowing rate of 4.20%, valuation fee of €150, Property Registration Authority (PRA) fee of €175, and security vacate fee of €35. Please note –this APRC does not factor in the €6 monthly fee for maintaining the Explore Account. Warning: The cost of your monthly repayments may increase – if you do not keep up repayments you may lose your home. Informationcorrect as of 08/07/2020 but is subject to BMK5361 (07/20) change.permanent tsb p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

EXTERIOR STYLE GUIDE / LANDSCAPING

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Craftstone 2000

A patio will draw attention to itself so the choice of floor covering will be important...

The lawn

You may be tempted to seed the majority of the site and put up with mowing on a regular basis.

But consider the visual impact one patch of green will have, and also the missed opportunity to add biodiversity to your garden.

Wildflower meadows are handy alternatives in that they require a lot less maintenance, add colour, and attract pollinators. Fake grass can be a good solution for a small area if you want the feel and look of a lawn with less maintenance.

cushions and other accessories, not to mention a dry place to store furniture to overwinter.

Outbuildings

Sheds, garages and garden rooms contribute to the overall aesthetic

Outside living areas

12 6 / SE LF B U ILD / W I N T E R 2020

Andrew Dunne, acdesigns.ie

A patio will draw attention to itself so the choice of floor covering will be important, as well as the size and shape of the footprint. How it connects to the house will dictate how practical a space it is to use as well, but you can create areas that are entirely separate from the house. Consider also if you want it fully covered, uncovered or half and half. Design it to add home comforts; all the rage at the moment is the outdoor fireplace.

A storage area may be handy for

of the property which is why their location shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come as an afterthought. Their design and overall footprint can complement or overwhelm the house. After all, your home should be the star of the show when approaching it from the driveway.

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EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / BUILDING THE DREAM

Good looks

Brian Corry

Having a storm proof roof and external façade is a necessity in Ireland but my wife Karen and I, like most people I think, were more focused on the aesthetics and ensuring that our house blended in to its surroundings, writes self-builder Brian Corry who is on a mission to build himself an eco house.

The West Coast of Scotland is a beautiful place to sail, and in August 2019 I was with some friends on their boat when the forecast of an impending storm came in. We very quickly decided that lying at anchor or sailing through it would not be wise so we made our way to Croabh Haven marina on the Mull of Kintyre to see Storm Ellen out.

Now there isn’t a lot to do on a boat in a marina in the middle of a storm so I decided to go for a run, over the hills to the bay on the other side of us where there was another marina. The weather was horrendous with torrential rain but as I descended into Ardfern, a recently built home with timber cladding caught my eye.

Siberian larch

Karen and I had been scouring the web looking at different façades – we had ordered all sorts of samples but we couldn’t find one we liked.

We liked the look of cedar cladding but were concerned about how it would weather and while there were some fine composite timber effect boards, we just didn’t feel that the colour was natural enough.

Similarly there were some plastic wood effect boards which in small areas looked fine but we didn’t think it would be successful over a larger area.

It was here, in the midst of a storm, that I found something that could work on our house.

I knocked on the door, dripping in my shorts and running jacket to ask what type of wood they had used and where they had sourced it.

They kindly let me stand just inside the door whilst they wrote down the details of the Siberian 12 8 / SE LF B U ILD / W I N T ER 2020

Larch for me and I thanked them and left them a large puddle where I had waited.

Karen and looked up the suppliers’ website and found lots of images that really impressed us.

What we couldn’t decide upon was how much to use. Karen quite liked the idea of having part of the house rendered and she felt that if the whole house was clad in larch that it might look a bit heavy and dull or too much like a barn.

We consulted our architect and he suggested half and half for the front of the house, full larch cladding on the sides and the back fully rendered. When the computer simulation was created, it seemed a good balance.

This was after we had requested planning permission but we had left the actual material choice vague on the application.

I subsequently made enquiries with the Scottish supplier but soon found that the cost and especially the shipping was quite high – the wood itself was coming in at close to £10K, with the secret fixings at £2.5K and the delivery at £1.5K. At £14K plus VAT it was well over budget.

Shortly after, I happened to pass a stand at Selfbuild Live Belfast and they showed me samples of some very nice Siberian larch. Machined in eastern Europe, it had very few knots and was also significantly more economical as it was sawn in a rhombus shape, which removed the need to overlap the timbers, thereby significantly reducing the quantity required.

Zinc alternatives

The decision for the roof covering was another difficult one.

Siberian larch this page and next from iDomus

Guide Selfbuild

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

I happened to pass a stand at Selfbuild Live Belfast and they showed me samples of some very nice Siberian larch...

Rockpanel cladding

Alkorplan PVC standing seam

WINTER 2020 / S EL F BU IL D / 129

EXTERNAL STYLE GUIDE / BUILDING THE DREAM

Our roof is a low angle curve making it unsuitable for traditional slates or tiles. We loved the look of zinc standing seam having seen countless of examples in magazines and whilst out driving.

We also felt it would work really well in our rural location, however cost was a major issue given how large our curved roof was with all the overhangs.

At the beginning I had asked for a price per square meter from a local supplier and used this as a basis for my budget which came out at approximately £100 per square metre. Naively, when setting the budget, I hadn’t factored in the build-up materials required underneath the zinc nor all the trimmings and guttering which proved to be a significant extra cost.

The end result was that when I priced the roof properly it came back 50 per cent more than I had allowed for.

We began to look at alternatives and came across an PVC product at SelfBuild Live Belfast that provided a very similar look but was much more economical.

We looked carefully at the guarantees and warranties and were happy that the product would not fade and would last as long as we needed it to. Compared to zinc, it came in about half price.

This however isn’t the final word on the issue as we are also currently looking at a corrugated fibre cement profiled roofing sheet as an alternative. Decisions, decisions…

schedule according to our wishes and helped us specify the right types of tree species.

The hard landscaping planned for around the house was fairly straightforward as we wanted a patio at the rear and a reasonably sized garden.

There was a lively debate between Karen and I over how big the garden should be. I wanted to keep it relatively compact but Karen had visions of a large, well trimmed lawn. Because Karen gets hay fever from cut grass it would be up to me to do the cutting.

In my teenage years I spent countless hours cutting the grass of my parents’ large garden and I had no desire to repeat this. We did of course come to an amicable compromise!

For the driveway and parking area at the front of the house we decided on a mixture of tarmac drive and then a gravel area held together in a plastic grid system, allowing for the water the drain while keeping the gravel in place.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Siberian larch, rhombus cut: iDomus, idomus.ie PVC roof covering: Alkorplan by Renolit, renolit.com

Landscaping

When is the best time to plant a tree? The answer is 20 years ago, but the next best time is today!

Planting a lot of trees was high up on the priority list, for both privacy and the desire to create a woodland within our eight acre field.

We planted whips in areas away from the site before starting any other work so that they would have the chance to grow as the project proceeded. This was accomplished with the help of a landscape architect who drew up a planting

13 0 / SE L F B U IL D / W I N T ER 2020

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