Design guide · Mayo County Council
Mayo Rural Housing Design Guidelines
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Mayo County Council · 2008 · 31 pages
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- 19 Figure 21 Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 22 4.4 H O U S E C O N S T R U C T I O N & D E T A I L ‘Roof Details’ • Exposed rafters can add attractive detail. • Traditional flush eaves where soffit is omitted and slate does not project beyond face of wall. • Traditional concrete barge. Avoid: • Projecting soffit and barge at gable. • Box eaves detail. Figure 20 •Solid full or half dormer is acceptable. Avoid: •Dormers projecting through roof plane. •Lean to dormers. •Flat roof dormers. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 20 R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL 5.0 M A T E R I A L S The aim of this guidance is to provide clear recommendations when designing and constructing our homes to avoid alien & unsympathetic materials, and to act as a reminder of the intrinsic value of traditional materials used for generations and their relevance in the modern context.
- 21 5.1 M A T E R I A L S Simplicity of form and the use of a limited palette of materials, window types and roof features will ensure the finished house will merge rather than clash with the landscape. Wall finishes • Nap /Smooth Plaster—always suitable. Cement based plaster should be painted. Self coloured plasters or long life paints remove the need for regular maintenance. • Wet / Dry Dash Plaster— not recommended generally. Difficult to paint, collects dirt and generally appears very dull in the landscape. However, depending on its location, specialist lime and stone mixes may give an attractive aged appearance especially when combined with smooth window and door reveal details. • Artificial stone / Brick is not acceptable. • Metal and other cladding is not generally recommended. • Hardwood sheeting is not considered a vernacular detail and may not weather well. However, it may be suitable in a wooded location. Roof Finishes • Natural Slate – traditional roofing material, particularly recommended for its durability and aesthetic qualities. Recently Artificial Slate have been produced to imitate the texture, weight and colour variety of natural slate. They do however, reflect light in a completely different way to natural slate and its colour fades eventually. • Plain Black Concrete Tiles— These have a heavy appearance and will eventually discolour. Natural slate should ideally be used in preference at every opportunity. • • Clay & Profiled Concrete Tiles—these are not considered acceptable. • Thatch—should be used on traditional style single storey cottages only. Care should be taken to ensure traditional Irish Type thatching. Note: Thatched houses in Ireland rarely had dormer windows. Seek expert professional advice. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 22 5.2 M A T E R I A L S Roof Finishes contd. • Corrugated Metal Sheet—this traditional material should be pre-coloured deep dark red or green and have barrel vaulted profile typical of traditional examples. • Plastic Profile Sheeting is not considered acceptable. Zinc or Copper sheeting: This will be considered in the context of each individual application. Windows & Doors: • Timber—Hardwood windows have generally a long life. A hardwood window may be painted any colour and is repaired easily. • PVC—White plastic PVC appears artificial within the rural context. They can never be painted a different colour and are difficult to repair. Woodgrain coated PVC with a selected colour may be acceptable. • Aluminium— Aluminium windows should be colour coated, preferable to a non-white colour. Hardwood should ideally be used in preference. A note on Colour: • White / Cream White: White nearly always looks good in rural setting. • Cream / Grey: This may appear dull and lifeless. • Bright Strong Colours—should be avoided. • Pastels: Pale Pinks, Yellows, Blues, Greens etc. are essentially an urban palette. They should be avoided in the Rural context.. • Deep Dark Strong Colours— Deep red or green, these may look well where a house is set among trees or where there is a tradition of strong colours in the immediate area. • Precoloured Dash —carefully selected dark brown or sand coloured dark finishes may look well and merge successfully with the landscape. White dry dash and grey wet dash finishes should be avoided. • Precoloured Plaster—choose carefully, some make fade very quickly. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 23 R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL 6 . 0 E N V I R O N M E N T A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y The aim of this guidance is to highlight the importance and benefits of appraising our natural environment when designing and locating our homes, so that they can be designed to merge and adapt to our environment in the interests of the local & global context. All new houses are now required to carry a ‘Building Energy Rating’ (B.E.R.) reflecting its insulation quality and fuel efficiency. The Irish Building Regulations now require very high insulation standards. The B.E.R of a house will greatly affect its market value and saleability. Again, good design following simple sustainability guidelines will ensure a warm comfortable house, low energy bills, and a good re-sale value. For further Guidelines see www.sei.ie
- 24 6 . 1 E N V I R O N M E N T A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Aspiration: A development should aim to: 1. Minimise C02 emissions and environmental pollution in both its construction and use. 2. Minimise the requirement for artificial heating and lighting. 3. Be constructed of natural and preferably locally sourced materials. 4. Use renewable energy for heating and possibly lighting. 5. Visually enhance rather than detract from our countryside and natural heritage. 6. Merge into the natural environment rather than stand out from it. 7. Minimise the removal or alteration of natural plant and animal habitats. 8. Be adaptable to changing use/lifestyles and long lasting. Site: Choose as sheltered a site as possible, avoid sites exposed to prevailing winds. Retain as many trees, shrubs, hedgerows and stone walls as possible on the site. Minimise the required road set back to the minimum allowed. Replant hedgerows that have had to be removed and relocate behind new road boundary line. Provide new planting of indigenous trees and shrubs on site to provide wind shelter and privacy to your house. Site Location: Position and design a house to maximize enjoyment of the sun especially in the main living areas. Locate the house to maximize on wind shelter by adjacent hills and trees. House Design: Remember, the larger the house, the more heating it requires and the greater the C02 emissions. A smaller well designed house will be offer a far more pleasant and comfortable environment than a large house with a lot of unused empty space. Good design will make up for lack of size. Provide walls and planting to give shelter to house and patio area from prevailing south-westerly winds. Face larger windows in a southerly direction. Arrange buildings such that an area of roof slopes as near to directly southwards as possible to accommodate solar roof panels. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 25 6 . 2 E N V I R O N M E N T A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y House Design contd. Locate and direct your living and kitchen spaces to face somewhere between Southeast and Southwest to maximize passive solar heat gain. Position larger windows to the South elevations and smaller windows of limited number to the North. Avoid excessive amounts of glazing on the colder North, North Easterly & Westerly elevations. Specify ‘Low Emissivity’ Argon filled double or triple glazing. Avoid elaborate projecting features such as dormer and bay windows. These projections are difficult to insulate and greatly increase heat loss. Plan part of your roof slope southwards that it may accommodate solar panels now or at some stage in the future. Fit a hot water cylinder designed to allow for the later investment in solar water heating panels. Use a solid fuel stove instead of an open fire, most heat is lost up open chimney. Provide a designated air supply to feed the stove in order to prevent drafts. • Construct using natural and preferably locally produced products and materials. • Use recycled materials. • Ensure a well sealed draft free house by careful construction. Consider using a heat recovery ventilation system. • Allow for later fitting of sustainable energy sources eg. solar, wind generating, heat pump. • Insulate, insulate, insulate. • Install a good effluent treatment unit and maintain regularly. • Collect and re-use rainwater. • Plant lots of trees and sheltering indigenous hedges. Benefits of Good Sustainable Design Greatly increased re-sale value due to higher B.E.R Rating. Greatly reduced heat and lighting bills. Greater comfort and warmth within the house. Greater enjoyment of natural light. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 26 R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL 7 . 0 B U I L D I N G R E G U L A T I O N S The aim of this guidance is to highlight and remind in a brief manner, all those seeking to d e s i g n a n d construct a house, of the modern Legal & statutory context that exists in the Irish construction Industry today.
- 27 7.1 A NOTE ON THE BUILDING REGULATIONS It is often assumed that Planning Permission also means that you have complied with the Building Regulations. This is not the case! Later attempts to achieve compliance may compromise your original planning permission and be very expensive to rectify. The building regulations should be fully considered at the pre-planning design stage and will result in a warmer, dryer, safer and more accessible and more valuable house in the future. Noteworthy aspects of the Regulations are: Part ‘M’ - Access for People with Disabilities. It is now the law that all dwellings be accessible and visitable by persons with disabilities. The regulations set down requirements such as level threshold at main entrance door, appropriately sized ground floor W.C etc. The site approach to the main entrance should be no steeper than 1 in 20. Refer to section 1B of Technical Guidance Document—Part ‘M’. Conservation of Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations & Part L Regulations (Conservation of Fuel & Energy). The new ‘Building Energy Rating’ (B.E.R) requirements for all new houses will affect the amount of glazing your house accommodates. Elaborate features such as dormers, bay windows & conservatories particularly those positioned at inappropriate locations may lower the H.E.R rating. Whereas correctly oriented larger windows will greatly improve it. A good H.E.R value will greatly improve your resale value. Other important regulations on Fire Safety (Part ‘B’) and Ventilation ( Part ‘F’) may also compromise your planning permission. R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
- 28 R U R A L H O U S I N G D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL 8 . 0 M A K I N G A N A P P L I C A T I O N The aim of this guidance is to provide clear recommendations when submitting a planning application to construct a house, in o r d e r that a full, complete and concise application is submitted and that all such matters that were generally considered trivial are now given the due and proper attention that is warranted.
Source Mayo County Council: Mayo Rural Housing Design Guidelines (2008) · 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.