Irish House Oddities

jester77 · 22-10-2015 1:20pm #1

I was talking to someone recently and got talking about the state of Irish houses and how badly built they were over the last 20 or so years. For example, you can clearly hear the neighbour doing his business next door in a lot of modern houses. We got talking about some weird things that Irish houses have, like the immersion. It was hard to explain what this magical switch does and the financial danger it poses.

Another oddity is having a tank in the attic and pumping water into it to feed the taps around the house. I wasn't able to explain this one as it made no sense. It had been suggested that the pressure could be the reason but this was quickly ruled out. You only have to stand under an Irish electric shower (another oddity) to realise that pressure is definitely not the reason, you are better off just standing out in the rain. So what is the purpose of this tank?

And what other oddities do Irish houses possess that you wouldn't find in other countries?

fizzypish · 22-10-2015 1:22pm

Nevermind.....

Lu Tze · 22-10-2015 1:25pm

jester77 wrote: »

Another oddity is having a tank in the attic and pumping water into it to feed the taps around the house. I wasn't able to explain this one as it made no sense. It had been suggested that the pressure could be the reason but this was quickly ruled out. You only have to stand under an Irish electric shower (another oddity) to realise that pressure is definitely not the reason, you are better off just standing out in the rain. So what is the purpose of this tank?

And what other oddities do Irish houses possess that you wouldn't find in other countries?

You will be damn glad of that tank during any interruptions to the mains supply!

SEPT 23 1989 · 22-10-2015 1:26pm

gravity

Scipio_Hib · 22-10-2015 1:30pm

To stop your central heating blowing up.

The great oddity of Irish houses......THE IMMERSION, and the obsession with it!

Matt_Trakker · 22-10-2015 1:32pm

Two taps! One for hot one for cold.
Why?
Why?
One is enough.

Tap

Oh also, using a washbasin in a sink to wash dishes.
The sink is a basin!
WTF is wrong with people?

whisky_galore · 22-10-2015 1:35pm

The sacred heart lamp and accompanying spooky holy picture.

Medusa22 · 22-10-2015 1:35pm

There is no hot water in the taps unless you turn on the heating/immersion, and also what others have said - immersion/ electric showers. These devices have caused great confusion for my German OH's friends and relatives who have come to stay.

An abundance of fireplaces compared to continental properties, and a lack of double glazing in older properties. I also wondered why the Germans were always asking me to put on the fire, it seems that it's unusual to have a fireplace in Germany too. Well, it could also be because of the shyte insulation here as they are always cold when they stay here too!

Duckworth_Luas · 22-10-2015 1:35pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Two taps! One for hot one for cold.
Why?
Why?
One is enough.

Tap

One for cold, one for molten lava you mean!

Medusa22 · 22-10-2015 1:36pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Two taps! One for hot one for cold.
Why?
Why?
One is enough.

Tap

Oh also, using a washbasin in a sink to wash dishes.
The sink is a basin!
WTF is wrong with people?

My OH is German and she absolutely despises the washbasin and she often takes it out of the sink but I refuse to be parted with it, I just can't fathom not having one!

Stranger Danger · 22-10-2015 1:37pm

jester77 wrote: »

Another oddity is having a tank in the attic and pumping water into it to feed the taps around the house. I wasn't able to explain this one as it made no sense.

Jesus Christ.

Matt_Trakker · 22-10-2015 1:39pm

Medusa22 wrote: »

My OH is German and she absolutely despises the washbasin and she often takes it out of the sink but I refuse to be parted with it, I just can't fathom not having one!

Hahaha

But why not? They're totally useless.

The Backwards Man · 22-10-2015 1:40pm

No need for immersion with a back boiler.

Medusa22 · 22-10-2015 1:41pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Hahaha
But why not? They're totally useless.

I don't know, I can't quite articulate my fondness for the basin. Its like the sink is.....naked without it, a bit like having a bin without a binbag or having your dinner on the table without a plate.

Scipio_Hib · 22-10-2015 1:41pm

Had visitor once remark on the lack of bidets in Irish houses - implication being that we all must have mucky arses!

jester77 · 22-10-2015 1:42pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

No need for immersion with a back boiler.

What is a back boiler? And how is it different to a front boiler?

Matt_Trakker · 22-10-2015 1:42pm

Medusa22 wrote: »

I don't know, I can't quite articulate my fondness for the basin. Its like the sink is.....naked without it, a bit like having a bin without a binbag or having your dinner on the table without a plate.

hahaha, Medusa, I'm crackin up here

:D:D

Ri_Nollaig · 22-10-2015 1:44pm

I doubt the water tank in the attic is a uniquely Irish thing. It as a buffer before needing to use the external supply, otherwise you would be drawing on the mains/well every time you turn the tap/flush the toilet.

deseil · 22-10-2015 1:44pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Hahaha
But why not? They're totally useless.

I have a Belfast sink so if i didnt use a basin Id be replacing glasses and delph everyday!!

spurious · 22-10-2015 1:44pm

Medusa22 wrote:

I don't know, I can't quite articulate my fondness for the basin. Its like the sink is.....naked without it, a bit like having a bin without a binbag or having your dinner on the table without a plate.

Scrapey plates on stainless steel sounds - perhaps the basin is to protect our lovely delph.

Conall Cernach · 22-10-2015 1:45pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

No need for immersion with a back boiler.

Ahh but then you have to light a fire if you want hot water. What if it's Summer and the Sun is splitting the stones and you fancy a shower?

TheNobleKipper · 22-10-2015 1:47pm

No sockets in bathrooms but an electric shower inside the wettest part of the room!

jester77 · 22-10-2015 1:48pm

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

I doubt the water tank in the attic is a uniquely Irish thing. It as a buffer before needing to use the external supply, otherwise you would be drawing on the mains/well every time you turn the tap/flush the toilet.

What is wrong with this? That's how it works in my house, water is fed into the house through pipes in the basement and it goes direct to all the taps, showers and toilets over 3 floors. There is no pump and there is no problem with pressure.

gutenberg · 22-10-2015 1:49pm

Have been living in the UK for 5 years, and no English house I've been in has had a hot press. I miss it...

Ri_Nollaig · 22-10-2015 1:49pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Hahaha
But why not? They're totally useless.

If you had a ceramic sink, it could be damaged without one.
This might be an example where the original reasoning is long forgotten but the habit has remained

Fr_Dougal · 22-10-2015 1:50pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Hahaha
But why not? They're totally useless.

Sink full of dishes and someone comes along with a cup to be washed that's half full of cold tea. What do you do?

Badly Drunk Boy · 22-10-2015 1:53pm

Medusa22 wrote: »

I don't know, I can't quite articulate my fondness for the basin. Its like the sink is.....naked without it, a bit like having a bin without a binbag or having your dinner on the table without a plate.

You want to control your sink. Without the washbasin, the sink is free.

FREE YOUR SINK!!

Badly Drunk Boy · 22-10-2015 1:56pm

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Sink full of dishes and someone comes along with a cup to be washed that's half full of cold tea. What do you do?

The dishes!!!

Ri_Nollaig · 22-10-2015 2:00pm

jester77 wrote: »

What is wrong with this? That's how it works in my house, water is fed into the house through pipes in the basement and it goes direct to all the taps, showers and toilets over 3 floors. There is no pump and there is no problem with pressure.

Are you asking a question...?

Its in the attic so its can be gravity feed later. Obviously if you want a power shower its needs to be pumped but for normal taps/toilets its fine.

whisky_galore · 22-10-2015 2:01pm

TheNobleKipper wrote: »

No sockets in bathrooms but an electric shower inside the wettest part of the room!

Usually a shower unit that requires a degree in thermodynamics to operate without being scalded/frozen to death.

It wouldn't be a proper Irish home without a permanent damp patch, with stuff growing on it.

KERSPLAT! · 22-10-2015 2:02pm

TheNobleKipper wrote: »

No sockets in bathrooms but an electric shower inside the wettest part of the room!

:eek:
I hope this is a joke, for your sake.

tricky D · 22-10-2015 2:04pm

jester77 wrote: »

What is wrong with this? That's how it works in my house, water is fed into the house through pipes in the basement and it goes direct to all the taps, showers and toilets over 3 floors. There is no pump and there is no problem with pressure.

You'd better make bloody sure all your fittings are brass not plastic, otherwise you might need an emergency plumber (up to €400) when the plastics ones fatigue and crack, usually in the small hours of the morning when mains pressure is highest and you're probably asleep. Not fun at all fighting a flood, despite a good bit of luck when it happened to me.

22-10-2015 2:04pm

Two taps, the whole immersion thing, and the existence in older houses of The Boxroom.

A boxroom is a tiny room that's too small to be a bedroom and too large to be a cupboard. It often has a bed stuffed into it, two sides of which are
jammed into the walls, and there's perhaps one metre clearance around the edges. An inexplicable use of space.

Carpeted bathrooms are still to be found in Ireland too, usually old houses in the sticks. Because you really need something absorbent and unwashable around a toilet!

sbsquarepants · 22-10-2015 2:07pm

Do foreigners not have immersions or something?

What possible benefit would not having an immersion bestow - they are immensely useful devices. Instant showers are all piles of shíte no matter how much they cost, what you want is a pumped shower with an immersion to heat the water - you could never go back to an instant shower once you've experienced the luxury! It's like washing in a warm Niagara falls.:D

whisky_galore · 22-10-2015 2:07pm

Candie wrote: »

Carpeted bathrooms are still to be found in Ireland too, usually old houses in the sticks. Because you really need something absorbent and unwashable around a toilet!

Yeah the little shag pile carpet yoke that goes around the jacks bowl!

buyer95 · 22-10-2015 2:07pm

Candie wrote: »

Two taps, the whole immersion thing, and the existence in older houses of The Boxroom.

A boxroom is a tiny room that's too small to be a bedroom and too large to be a cupboard. It often has a bed stuffed into it, two sides of which are
jammed into the walls, and there's perhaps one metre clearance around the edges. An inexplicable use of space.

Carpeted bathrooms are still to be found in Ireland too, usually old houses in the sticks. Because you really need something absorbent and unwashable around a toilet!

The scourge of all college students.

KERSPLAT! · 22-10-2015 2:08pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

Yeah the little shag pile carpet yoke that goes around the jacks bowl!

It's a toilet bib

22-10-2015 2:11pm

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Do foreigners not have immersions or something?

What possible benefit would not having an immersion bestow - they are immensely useful devices. Instant showers are all piles of shíte no matter how much they cost, what you want is a pumped shower with an immersion to heat the water - you could never go back to an instant shower once you've experienced the luxury! It's like washing in a warm Niagara falls.:D

Where I live there's a hot water heater. You turn on the (mixer!) tap, and lo and behold hot water comes out. Kitchen, bathroom, anywhere you want it. When you turn the tap off, it stops!

Its like magic, so it is.

Medusa22 · 22-10-2015 2:14pm

Candie wrote: »

Where I live there's a hot water heater. You turn on the (mixer!) tap, and lo and behold hot water comes out. Kitchen, bathroom, anywhere you want it. When you turn the tap off, it stops!

Its like magic, so it is.

This luxury that you speak of.....you must be living in paradise..

jester77 · 22-10-2015 2:16pm

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Do foreigners not have immersions or something?

What possible benefit would not having an immersion bestow - they are immensely useful devices. Instant showers are all piles of shíte no matter how much they cost, what you want is a pumped shower with an immersion to heat the water - you could never go back to an instant shower once you've experienced the luxury! It's like washing in a warm Niagara falls.:D

I've 2 pipes coming into my house in the basement, one brings in warm water, the other cold water. They feed all the taps around the house. There is one tap on my shower, just need to lift it in the 6 o'clock position and I have instant warm water with lots of pressure, I can turn it to the right for cooler water or the left for warmer water. No pumps, immersions, electrics or magic involved.

22-10-2015 2:17pm

Medusa22 wrote: »

This luxury that you speak of.....you must be living in paradise..

I live in a grace and favour apartment on campus where I work, and I pay a nominal rent of a few dolla a week. All my utilities are included, also my meals.

Real life is going to bite me hard on the backside when I leave.

BattleCorp · 22-10-2015 2:19pm

jester77 wrote: »

I've 2 pipes coming into my house in the basement, one brings in warm water, the other cold water. They feed all the taps around the house. There is one tap on my shower, just need to lift it in the 6 o'clock position and I have instant warm water with lots of pressure, I can turn it to the right for cooler water or the left for warmer water. No pumps, immersions, electrics or magic involved.

Who heats your hot water?

donegaLroad · 22-10-2015 2:20pm

this guy that people put in their windows facing out

jester77 · 22-10-2015 2:20pm

BattleCorp wrote: »

Who heats your hot water?

We are supplied using district heating

BattleCorp · 22-10-2015 2:26pm

jester77 wrote: »

We are supplied using district heating

No pumps, immersions, electrics or magic involved.

So that's where your pumps and tanks and electrics are located.

redbel05 · 22-10-2015 2:28pm

The compulsory sacred heart picture in rural homes. Extra Irish if it has a red light attached that flickers subtly. Just to give that homely feeling, ya know

asherbassad · 22-10-2015 2:28pm

Matt_Trakker wrote: »

Two taps! One for hot one for cold.
Why?
Why?
One is enough.

Tap

Oh also, using a washbasin in a sink to wash dishes.
The sink is a basin!
WTF is wrong with people?

And what do you do with the cups that are still half full of tea or milk that are waiting to be washed? Do you just fcuk the tea dregs into the water that you are using to wash everything else or do you empty a perfectly good sink-full of hot, sudsy water, pour the dregs down the drain and then refill the sink to wash the cups?

Or do you yourself gulp down all the slops and then wash the empty cups? Most people don't want to do that.

pxdf9i5cmoavkz · 22-10-2015 2:29pm

I've been waiting for this thread to appear.

I've been living in Ireland for just over 6 months now and Irish housing is utterly atrocious. Seriously Ireland, what the hell? Did the architects / builders all have a couple of pints before arriving at work?

As the OP mentioned, what is up with all the hollow walls? You can hear everything your neighbour or even room mates do and trying to sleep in a place like that is unpleasant. This was the most miserable 5 months of my life.
The layout of most of the places I've seen. It smacks of insanity, I've seen houses where you need to walk past your neighbour to go to the bathroom / shower. WTH??!
Some units had a bathroom basin sitting in the middle of a room, literally in the middle.
Places are so stupidly small (two steps and you've reached the other wall) but you can be damn sure someone will try rent it out for 900 quid.
Flooring not properly flush with the walls. I could feel a breeze coming from between the floor and walls.
Immersion tanks that screech at you if you use the water for too long.
Wooden floors are great for insulation, but please do it properly! Even a Ninja would struggle to walk across these wooden floors quietly.
Privacy in your own home or yard? Bwahaha! Completely non-existent.

Look, I like living in Ireland, but the housing situation is my one and only complaint about Ireland. It truly is terrible and this is from someone who lived in deepest darkest Africa...

Effects · 22-10-2015 2:30pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

No need for immersion with a back boiler.

Yeah, that's true. Nothing like putting on a fire on a warm July night to make sure you have warm water for the following morning.

the_barfly1 · 22-10-2015 2:32pm

jester77 wrote: »

We are supplied using district heating

Thats a nifty system. According to wikipedia it's pretty widespread across europe. Of course, only two instances of it in Ireland, a few apartments in Tralee and a school in Limerick.

I'm guessing the urban planners here have never heard of it.

PolaroidPizza · 22-10-2015 2:34pm

Whatabout bathrooms without a window and whose only source of ventilation is a fan the size of a matchbox. ..or even worse...bathrooms that open into the kitchen! Unheard of in most countries. We end up with very damp houses as a result.

Irish House Oddities

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