Design Guide for the Siting and Design of Single Houses within the Leitrim Countryside

1. Page 11

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   • Avoid the use of inappropriate materials and colours.Traditional materials and finishes to elevations are generally successful. • Avoid the importation into the countryside of suburban type elements and features such as, concrete boundary walls surrounding front and rear gardens, the overuse of brick or a riot of external finishes.The use of red brick is generally to be discouraged in rural areas. • Avoid whimsical features and elements such as concrete baulstrading, non-functional shutters, columns, colonnades, mock Georgian and Tudor elements and features, Spanish arches etc. • Avoid the use of open porches and the use of mock Georgian columns. • Avoid the "pastiche" neo-Georgian and art-deco style front door. 8 5

2. Page 12

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   SITE BOUNDARIES The roadside boundary and entrance is an important element in securing the integration of the house into the landscape. • Existing hedges, stone walls should be retained, augmented and protected during development works. Normally the house should be located in close proximity to existing field boundaries. • Generally, where new boundaries are being created use unpainted treated timber post and rail fencing backed with indigenous hedgerow material. • Retain and augment or reinstate roadside hedgerows, trees, banks and stone walling in order to maintain the local character of roadways. Roadside planting screens the house from public view, creating privacy, intrigue and helps integrate the house into its surroundings. Plant within the first planting season after the commencement of development work and use half standard trees to achieve early integration. • Where for traffic safety reasons it is appropriate to set back the front boundary the new boundary should reflect the original form in so far as practical. 9 3

3. Page 13

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   • Avoid the destruction of hedgerows, trees and existing field stone walling. • Avoid complex, overly ornate fence designs. • Avoid the over use of non-indigenous planting. • Avoid the use of red brick and unplastered concrete boundary walling with light capping. • Avoid overly ornate gates and other whimsical features such as excessive outdoor lighting, garish garden furniture and garden features unsympathetic to the area. • Garden lighting should not give rise to a traffic hazard. 10 5

4. Page 14

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   EXTENSIONS AND CONVERSIONS • Extensions should look Subsidiary to the main house. • External finishes should match those of the main house. • Avoid forms and external finishes that are incongruous with the main house. 11 5 3

5. Page 15

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   • Extensions should be in harmony with the main house. • Extensions to the rear can provide a sheltered patio space/supervised play area. CONVERSIONS • The retention of the original architectural character of the building to be converted is an important consideration. • Structural alterations should be kept to a minimum. • Extensions or new buildings should only be contemplated where they reinforce the architectural integrity of the existing building. • Special care should be taken with buildings of obvious architectural distinction e.g churches, schools, listed buildings etc. • Disused farm buildings located close to a house may be successfully converted to a use ancillary to that of the house. 12 3

6. Page 16

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   WINDOWS Traditional houses almost universally had windows with consistent and satisfactory proportions. Generally traditional windows were narrow and had a vertical emphasis and this design feature provides a good reference for modern house. Preservation of sliding sash timber windows should be encouraged in preference to PVC. See Appendix1 for details on window proportions. To achieve vertical emphasis the overall height of the window should generally be greater than, but never less than its overall width, the subdivision of a square window with a glazing bar will achieve vertical emphasis. A feature window whose overall width is greater than its height and that is divided by visually strong vertical members may be acceptable provided that the balance of the windows on the elevation have a vertical emphasis. 13 3 3

7. Page 17

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   • Windows and doors that occupy a large proportion of the elevation can weaken the elevation especially if they are brought too close together or too close to the corner. • Wide windows if required, should be subdivided in order to maintain a vertical emphasis.Wide windows should not be the general form of windows on the elevation but may form a feature window. • Energy conservation should be considered in the design and location of windows. • Avoid windows with a horizontal emphasis. • Avoid windows close together or close to a corner. 14 5 5

8. Page 18

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   3 5 DORMER WINDOWS • Windows should have a vertical emphasis • Window at first floor level should have a generous wall surround • Avoid PVC finish to gable ends • Roof pitch should be in excess of 350 • Window openings to comply with Building Regulations The mid point of the windows at first floor level shall be position at a level near that of the eaves line • Avoid inappropriate window proportions • Avoid red ridge tiles • Avoid too many divisions in window • Avoid low roof pitch 15

9. Page 19

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   Window located too high in main roof Avoid arched windows Little or no wall surround to window At first floor level Avoid P.V.C. sheeting to window surround 16 5 5

10. Page 20

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    • Simplicity of elevations is a familiar characteristic of traditional houses and should be retained. • Dormers located midway along the line of the eaves and flush with the front wall of the house are a feature of traditional houses and can be successfully adopted.They should have a generous surround of walling towards the front elevation and the cheeks should be finished to match the wall or roof. 17 3 3 3

Source Leitrim County Council: Design Guide for the Siting and Design of Single Houses within the Leitrim Countryside · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.