The bungalow, just as when it was built back in the 1970’s, is full of opportunities. We teamed up with Niki & Davin to overhaul their home in Co. Galway. Located on a beautiful site near Oughterard, this project was featured in the RTE series “My Bungalow Bliss”.
A series of extensions had been added to the original footprint over the decades, and the circulation had become very confused. Whereas the previous owners had use for multiple small rooms, Niki & Davin wanted to live in an open-plan, airy space. Their goal was to create a warm, energy efficient and contemporary home.
To establish strong connections to the beautiful setting we dropped nearly all the existing window cills to ground level – blurring the threshold between inside and out. A green corrugated panel was used to roof the bungalow, with deepened eaves and a large agricultural gutter.
A full energy retrofit was carried out. The house was brought from a BER rating of F to an A2, with an air tightness value of <1. A new concrete floor was installed with underfloor heating run by an air-to-water heat pump, insulation was installed at floor, wall and attic/roof level, and a humidity controlled air ventilation system was incorporated to maintain air quality.
Niki & Davin were able to avail of SEAI energy grants, administered through Electric Ireland Superhomes. For more information on the retrofit measures carried out please see:
We would like to thank all the team who worked hard to produce the end product.
