Episode 01
(About The House s7/e1)
On Site: Thatch Cottage
The first story of the year brings us to County Clare to a traditional thatch cottage owned by a gentleman called Alan Galvin. Alan has done an impressive amount of work on the house already and renovated the place in a way that remains true to the original character of the house. Alan shows Duncan pictures of the cottage when he first bought it. It was completely dilapidated and run down but Alan saw the potential and after a lot of hard work and dedication has managed to turn it into a comfortable and cosy home. He now has some ambitious plans to extend the cottage, giving him the extra space he needs for a proper kitchen and open plan dining area along with a master bedroom and ensuite upstairs. The plans for the extension are to keep it sympathetic to the old structure, using as many traditional and local skilled crafts people as possible.
Alan also brings Duncan to see his forest and bog and speaks to him about his plans to get a wood chipper. Alan is installing a wood chip boiler in the house and plans to supply his own fuel from his forest. He is also planning on installing solar panel to heat his water supply in a cost free and ecological way.
In this visit we also get introduced to Flan Garvey, Alan’s friend who was born and reared in the local area. Flan is the person who inspired Alan to become as self sufficient as possible and he is able to inform Duncan about the history of the area and of Alan’s cottage.
Next time we drop in on Alan again, building work be underway on the new extension
Revisit : The Nickels
Peter and Diane Nickels returned from Hong Kong 6 years and bought 2 up 2 down Victorian house in Dublin 8. About the House visited them in 2003 as they extended their house. With a growing family they decided to open up and extend the ground floor area into the garden. The result is an example of what can be done with a modest extension. We revisit them in 2006, meet the new addition to the family and see how it’s all turned out!
On Site
This is our first visit to the 1950’s semi-detached home of Gerard and Aoife O’ Brien and their son Sean. This home is quite typical of the kind you would find dotted all over cities and towns around Ireland and as a result makes the project very relevant to a lot of people. The aim is to upgrade their house by adding a quality attic conversion and improving the level of insulation throughout. They are doing this work on a tight budget and are hoping that this will give them more space to live in and a more efficient home in terms of energy consumption. In this first visit, Duncan meets the family. He also meets the project manager, Pat Frain and the architectural technician, Derek Squire. The family show Duncan around and Pat and Derek explain to him what the plans are. We will be back in a couple of weeks to check on progress.