For Alan and Karen Campbell renovating a century old farmhouse in Co Derry – and building their very own family home next to it – meant they could care for elderly parents.
This new build, built next to the family farmhouse, was a labour of love for Alan and Karen. Here they chat about:
- Challenges of designing a new build next to a 100-year-old farmhouse
- Re-roofing the farmhouse
- Insulating the farmhouse from inside (drylining with steel stud walls)
- Delays with CTY10 planning permission for the new build
- Ridge height restrictions for the new build
- Tender process and choosing a builder
- Terms of the contract with the builder
- Cost engineering to keep the build within budget
- Hot water system plumbing for renewables
- External render and cladding tips
- Landscaping choices
- Issues with utility connections
New build overview
House size: 1,990 sqft
Plot size: 9 acres
EPC (SAP): B (86)
Costs: Original forecast was £127,000; spent £134,500.
House value estimate: £350,000
Heating and hot water: oil boiler
Ventilation: natural
Walls: cavity walls 100mm blocks filled with 90mm graphite EPS beads, insulated plasterboard with 50mm insulation on inner leaf, U-value 0.15 W.sqmK
Floor: 150mm subfloor, 2x50mm PIR board, 100mm screed, U-value 0.14 W/sqmK
Roofs: pitched roof total 150mm PIR insulation, Spanish natural slate roof covering U-value
0.16 W/sqmK; flat roof 2x 300mm mineral wool U-value 0.14W/sqmK
