COMMENCEMENT ON SITE
The project is to upgrade an existing private residence in Co. Wicklow. The original house is a timber frame bungalow built in the late 1970’s. For its time, the existing house was a well insulated dwelling. However, with advances in various sustainable technologies, the client wishes to significantly improve the energy efficiency and performance of the dwelling and in doing so make the house a significantly more comfortable place to live.
The main area of focus is to significantly improve the thermal performance of the house, reducing the loss of heat as much as possible. In order to achieve this, the insulation will be upgraded throughout the full extent of the walls and roof. Coupled with this, an intelligent airtight membrane, a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system and solar heated hot water system will also be installed. With a view to optimising solar gain within the dwelling, additional south and south-west facing ground floor and roof glazing will also be introduced.
Due to the scale of the work required to achieve the desired level of performance, the existing house will be stripped back to expose the timber frame internally with the existing inefficient internal layout making way for a new bright spacious open-plan layout, which will take full advantage of the dwelling’s southern orientation and magnificent views to the rear.
The project is due for completion at the end of August 2010. You can follow the progress of the build here in our blog.
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