Episode 09
(About The House s7/e9)
On Site: Sampson
This is our third visit back to Miles Sampson and his modern, eco home in Co. Clare. On this visit we have a chat to Miles Mum to see how she feels about the build and the work that has been taking place.
The windows are being installed, as are the under floor heating pipes and the wood pellet boiler. Miles fills Duncan in what else is being planned, including the proposed grass-roof. We will be back in three weeks to see if the house is ready for the Sampson family to move into.
House Visit: Westport
Dermot McCabe and Orla Murphy appeared in ‘About the House’ a few years back when they renovated their home in Long Lane, Dublin 8. Since then they have decided to leave the rat race altogether and move to the picturesque coastal town, Westport, in Co. Mayo. They bought a well designed, and spacious duplex apartment on the outskirts of the town and designed the interior themselves, including fixtures and fittings which were not included in the build. Being architects they had very clear ideas of what they wanted so this gave them the opportunity to opt for high standards and to put their own mark on the place. Dermot and Orla feel very strongly that high-density living should not mean people have to sacrifice on the quality of their home. With this in mind, they designed a near by housing development that takes design issues like orientation, layout, space, infrastructure etc into account in a way not seen by most of today’s developments.
Information strand: Attic conversions
With the SSIA’s coming to fruition and the continuing rise of house prices, extending is now more popular then ever. We look into the phenomenon of Attic conversions in Ireland today. Through investigating what is out there we find out that one major problem is that the majority of Attic conversions simply don’t comply with building regulations, mainly for reasons of fire safety. We take a look at a typical attic conversion and point out some of the more common difficulties as well as offering advice and solutions for anyone thinking of heading down this avenue.