Building Ireland’s most eco-friendly house?

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448359#Comment_121448359

The issue as you describe it is consistency of the founds. It's not good enough to say that one area will be stable enough and coherent enough to avoid issues. If the whole foundation doesn't behave as one stable base then you will get significant subsidence cracks as you load it. The house may have been stable for centuries with its existing load but you have absolutely no way of knowing if a different and uneven load will behave the same.

I would argue that the engineer is justified in his approach of insisting on underpinning before certification. Unless you have a single slab of granite under the whole of your house it's a crap shoot and I would argue that shale would be the worst of the lot for potential differential settlement.

Old buildings such as yours are very forgiving and light on the land, but once you start adding to them in any way you are just praying for good luck. I know of a friend in a similar situation to you who bought a house with an extension on the back - the extension is pulling away from the house and creating inch wide gaps at the join. I myself built an extension onto the back of our house and the change in ground loading has created hairline cracks in the massed concrete main building.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448384#Comment_121448384

Consider building the whole thing on piles and above the existing walls.

It cannot be said enough - it's really really difficult to get old walls to perform in an energy efficient way. Very few people who live in old houses would recommend the experience to others.

looksee

Gloomtastic! this is a fascinating project that everyone will have an opinion on. There are bound to be observations and discussion that are not directly relevant to you actual situation, you may glean some ideas but don't feel you have to take them all on board 😁

looksee

Meanwhile, the suggestion that you leave the stone walls in situ and build beside them - I do feel that they would tell the story of the site better like that than incorporated into, and probably lost in, a house.

And of course, the planners may have a view on this. Your architect should know how to approach it but I strongly recommend working up a lot of arty/archi stuff about 'preserving the integrity of the gardens by juxtaposing the dwelling with the historical remnants thus carrying forward etc' you get the idea, but it does go down well, kind of blind them with waffle. Demonstrate that you have a deep appreciation of the history and value of the place. Quote your research, but don't quote me, that was the first rubbish example I came up with 😁

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448450#Comment_121448450

Like this idea. A lot! Thank you.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448621#Comment_121448621

My kind of thinking. Love it. 😋

Leg End Reject

I actually think it would be lovely to still be able to see the old walls, what a unique feature to have alongside a new eco-friendly house. Preserving the past while building for the future.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448384#Comment_121448384

So you’re not gonna use the existing walls?

So why not build a passive house+?

Will you get planning for that though- that’s the issue.

looksee

I went and looked at these modular/passive houses https://www.scanhome.ie/ a few years ago (around 2018) and they are certainly interesting.

My main issue with them was that the show house, which was doubling as an office, while attractive to look at and certainly seemed to be good quality, seemed to be 'dead' feeling with the recycled air. I am an 'open windows' person and am very suspicious of totally passive houses, its just my opinion but I reckon in a decade or so there will be a conclusion that they are not the best idea.

Also the building of the house depended on some amazing timing - you get foundations/water treatment etc dug, on a specific date they come and put up the building, then you get it tiled (I think, bit hazy at this stage) and they came back and did installation of interior, then you get painting etc done. It all depended on 'split second' timing of everyone so if you found yourself with one of the 'sorry missus can't get there Monday, it will be the end of next week' builders it could end up messy and expensive. There was a lot not included in the price they gave.

sydthebeat

There is absolutely no reason you cannot open windows in a passive house.

Plus, the air is not recycled. It's always fresh air that is coming in

looksee

I am aware that windows can be opened, I am simply saying that the atmosphere in the house seemed 'dead' to me. It is possible that I was wrong, but while I found the house visually attractive and well built, I did not feel comfortable in it.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449364#Comment_121449364

It may have been a phychological response to the uncannily dead acoustics of these buildings. Triple glazing cuts out an amazing amount of external noise, and combined with high levels of insulation they have a dead sound to them.

looksee

That's interesting, its a possibility.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449364#Comment_121449364

as @sydthebeat said, it's always fresh air coming in but if it's all going through a heat exchanger then it can be very dry and that may be what you're feeling. My BIL built a super insulated, super airtight passive house and all of the incoming air goes through the heat exchanger. The air is very dry and the bedroom windows are left open at night when we visit (he hates that!). If I were building a similar house, I'd mix a proportion of 'cold' fresh air in the incoming air to raise the humidity a bit. Otherwise, I think he did a fine job. He has a stove which gives him hot water in the winter if there's not enough solar energy to provide it, otherwise there's no heating system. The fridge, oven, dishwasher etc provide more than enough heat to keep the house comfortable.

Gloomtastic!

While I’m all for passive house. I’m not a fan of same as houses. Whole estates with identical houses, such a lazy way to build. I want unique.

I haven’t mentioned it yet but I’m very keen on 3D printing my house. It’s perfect for houses with access issues and perfect for hempcrete. It’s quick, it’s cheap and you can design one-off houses no problem.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449364#Comment_121449364

That dead sense you get is what an incredibly well built eco friendly house feels like.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449770#Comment_121449770

Well, with your site you won't have to worry about the neighbouring houses being the same😀. But I get where you're coming from - even conventional houses are being built to an architectural fashion which a decade ago looked fresh and innovative but now looks bog standard

As for 3D printing, wouldn't a timber frame design equally do what you want?

Shoog

As I mentioned before, a SIP house can be erected in a few days. Designed and built in a factory to whatever spec you want. Kingspan have a company they work with that build extensions in about 10days - ready to move into.

If I were building from scratch the only two options I would consider are straw bale and SIP.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449889#Comment_121449889

SIP= ? Insulated Panels

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449898#Comment_121449898

Yes structural Insulated Panels.

The system involves two sheets of OSB sandwiching a layer of insulation, the better ones use urethane insulation. Rated to be 4x as strong as timber frame. Airtight by design so no need for taping. Finish outside with cement board or cladding and plasterboard inside. Incredible unsupported roof spans are possible.

In Ireland the materials are expensive but the savings in labour more than compensate.

ptyloch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449889#Comment_121449889

Is that something that will get a planning permission for a full sized family home? 3 bedrooms, living room, etc? I know planning can be a nightmare

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121449982#Comment_121449982

SIP is well tested at this stage.

roosterman71

Straw bales are becoming a scarce commodity nowadays. If you were going that route, you'd need to order well in advance

gk5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448417#Comment_121448417

I though you were speaking with authority but was mistaken. Shale is softish and delaminates but is sufficient in compression which is what is needed. The bedrock is limestone so no need for granite. Forget modern foundation concepts in old houses - it doesn'td need to behave as one, just as long as its suffificent to carry what's above it - and yes it may move slightly - hense the self healing properties of lime mortar. And obviously don't change the loading properties above it - but why would you? And joining buildings is a different issue altogether - and I would say keep the new foundations well separate from the old.

OP - any chance of the original advertisment or brochure? - pm if preferred.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121451966#Comment_121451966

Who doesn't intend to build an extension on their tiny old cottage ? Who isn't intending to pour in new floors ? These are all changes in loading and building a separate foundation doesn't mean that it isn't going to change the loading on the old structure. The whole subsoil out to a few meters away from the existing structure have to be considered.

It's a minefield and that is why structural engineers exist. As in everything it's up to the individual to make choices but they should make them in full grasp of the issues they might meet down the line. Also without that cert no claim on insurance will ever be honoured.

Gloomtastic!

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/bungalow-moydrum-castle-estate-athlone-co-westmeath/1142142

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121451667#Comment_121451667

You need to put in a special order anyway as the bales need to be compressed to a higher level than normal.

gk5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121452042#Comment_121452042

Fantastic Gloomtastic!

Haven't totally figured out what I'm looking at.... but I like it, well done...and free renewable firewood for a long time if you are careful.

gk5000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121452027#Comment_121452027

Jees Shoog.... we're off topic...but...I did'nt say anything about a tiny cottage - and am not planning extension. New floors yes, but they are separate to walls/foundations and effectively float.. wheter on insulation or not - so negligible impact. (Digging down, different story.) And old buildings never had a cert to start with.

Homebond/Insurance/Regulation/Engineers/Architects etc, weren't up to much in Donegal/Mica, Priory Hall and all the other myriad house/apartment issues, and that's with modern building which is supposed to be understood - so I would not have huge confidence.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121455356#Comment_121455356

Self certification will get you that, whats your plan again ?