40 Square Metre House Extension:

Many people ask Marr Construction the question , what does it cost to build a house extension, usually single storey of 40 square metres, which is exempt of planning permission if it is to the rear of the building.

Marr Construction have  calculated that a house extension usually built using a  timber frame construction can cost in between €1900 to €2150 per square metre (of internal floor area) depending on the specification and materials used in the build.

For example in a house extension, the differences between using pine flooring verses oak or walnut  flooring are quite considerable. Using oak or walnut flooring can TRIPLE your costs!
Kitchens can vary in price from one kitchen supplier to another. Using Inhouse-Panelling centre verses IKea or Kube for example, this is all down to personal preference.
Roofing materials from concrete tiled roof to a Zinc metal roof vary greatly, with zinc being roughly 4 times more expensive.

On the lower end of the scale, to build a house extension or below 1000euro per square metre, there is a danger that the materials used would be sub- standard without the correct insulation and not to the required Irish specification of current building regulations. If this is the case, the Engineer or Architect if involved would not be able to sign off for bank loan requirements.

Marr Construction are interested to help customers with the ever increasing need to adopt better energy saving measures, reduce heating bills and increase home comfort levels, we need to improve insulation levels and ventilation levels at the same time in our homes.

Retrofitting or refurbishments to homes, needs to consider measures such as improved insulation levels to homes, airtightness of the building to eliminate leaks and draughts which allows heat loss and increase our fuel bills, improvement in better window and door design usually triple glazed systems, care should be taken to remove any cold thermal bridges in a wall or roof which are zones in a building where condensation, heat loss and mould growth will occur. Also (HRV)Heat recovery ventilation systems should be employed to allow for better air quality for the inhabitants. These will reduce problems such as asthma and allergies. Overall a better indoor climate which one notices when they walk from the existing house room to the new extension.

Other cost saving measures with grant aid available by SEAI in Ireland that Marr Construction are involved in are Solar for reducing your hot water heating and Solar PV Photovoltaics for self generated electricity and storing of that electricity in batteries for running lights in the evening. This along with the HEMS Home Energy Management System allows you to monitor your energy generation and usage on your computer.

By Philip Marr

Contact Us Today for more information on your House Extension!

Passive house and off grid house.  Self generation of your electricity for self sufficiency, independence and no more utility bills!  Off grid sustainable living!

Philip Marr of Marr Construction has Designed a completely off grid house to passive house standards with high levels of insulation and comfort and also generating your own power and having no more household utility bills.

He has designed and priced for supply and installation of a timber framed, 83 square metre house, with two bedrooms, bathroom, open plan kitchen and living space with outhouse storage and sauna from €225,000 including vat.

The house is totally off grid and generates its own power from PV photovoltaic modules for electricity to power lights & sockets for appliances, and backup heating of hot water. The house is so well insulated with heat recovery ventilation you only need a wood burning stove with a back boiler to heat the domestic hot water and heat the house via a few radiators at certain times of the year in cold weather. The wood burning stove has diverter valves to distribute heat either to the large hot water cylinder, radiators or the sauna room for relaxing or drying clothes.  The south facing roof of the house has 4 kWatt solar PV modules and an inverter for self generating power and with a battery bank for storing excess electrical energy which will run the lights and sockets day and night. It will electronically divert excess electrical energy to an immersion heater which will heat a large hot water cylinder as an extra water heating source. An alternative is to install a cedar hot tub beside the sauna room which will also take any excess energy to heat the water in the hot tub and act as a heat dump as a safety mechanism if the house is unoccupied .

The heavy electrical loads such as cooking are not on the electrical circuits as they use up too much electricity, so all cooking is done with bottled gas or a wood fuelled Aga type oven and hob.  

This may not appeal to everyone as it requires some lifestyle changes such as being more aware of wasteful energy usage, collecting, chopping and storing of wood. But we should do our bit for the protection and non pollution of the environment.

Water supply is by means of a water well and an environmentally friendly puraflow waste water/ sewerage treatment system would be installed pumped by solar pv . Rain harvesting tank is another option for using water to supply toilets or watering plants.

For Marr construction’s floating house pontoon designs we filter the river water through a series of water filters with either UV filtration or electro positive filters to take out bacteria. The latter using no electricity.  This water is perfect for washing.  Another series of filtration is required for drinking the water using the “Grander water revitalization” system.  Safety water monitoring devises are incorporated and water is automatically drained off and refilled if the storage tanks are unused for long periods of time. The passive house floating house designs have holding tanks for grey water ( waste kitchen and shower water ) with either another separate holding tank for sewerage waste or using a compost toilet, which may not be the most favourable.  

We use a structurally certified and engineered reinforced concrete pontoon filled with polystyrene for buoyancy designed to take the house loads.

For more information contact Philip Marr on the passive house off grid independent and sustainable living house and we will be pleased to chat about design and materials and off grid living. This house can be built anywhere in rural or even urban areas. We can design and cost the house for free if you agree to complete the house building project with us.

The solar energy arriving at the Earth's surface each year is capable of providing 10,000 times our current power demand. So why don't we harness this huge source of free energy, instead of burning fossil fuels and creating toxic nuclear waste?
Even in Ireland and the UK, not a place particularly well known for its sunny weather, we receive many, many times more solar energy than our annual electricity consumption. If we were to make use of all the buildings in the country, we could meet Ireland's total electricity requirements with photovoltaics (PV).
SOLAR PANELS that convert sunlight into electricity may represent the world’s best chance of supplying energy needs into the future. No other technology holds the same potential, a conference in Dublin has heard.


If we made full use of our homes, schools, offices and factories, total global demand could be met with the equivalent of one 10 x 10m array of PV per person.
According to European Photovoltaics Industry Association and Greenpeace, 26% of global energy could be met with PV by 2040. In doing so, this level of usage would bring power to the one billion people around the globe who do not currently have access to electricity and create two million new jobs by 2013.

The new CIS technology solar module supplied by Barrettsolar and fitted by Marr Construction is 12.6% more efficient than crystalline silicone standard solar modules on the market. It features a light soaking effect which is unique to CIS modules which provides higher output than standard modules. They are also black in colour which can blend in with other roofing materials and are more preferable to Architects and clients. The energy payback time can be less than one year compared to 2 and a half years.
They absorb a wide spectrum of light energy and ensure maximum energy generation also under unfavorable weather conditions.“

HOME ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (HEMS)
The "HEMS" as supplied by Barrettsolar  is a system which is ideal for the situation in Ireland where we have unfavourable "feed in tariffs" from our Electricity suppliers. Self-generated solar electricity is generally much cheaper than domestic electricity. In most cases the tariff is only 9cent when we have to pay Airtricity or ESB 15cent per Kilowatt hour.
With the home energy management system we use all our power generated by our solar modules in an intelligent manner. The system will store the power generated in Batteries so we can have electricity at night and in cloudy grey skies. It has computer software which will monitor the daily output generated and is user friendly. If the system cannot produce enough power during unfavourable weather , the back up system will kick in and the normal electricity supply will take over.   With the HEMS  a consumption rate of 70% is possible, i.e. only 30 per cent of the solar electricity you generate is exported to the grid- the remainder can be used in the home.
A standard  "HEMS" system of 3 kilowatts supplied and fitted would cost €15,600 plus vat. This includes a solar array of 20 CIS modules with battery storage and the intelligent Home Energy Management system.
Barrettsolar  and Marr construction also supply the ARRES  "Solar roof tiles"
Ideal for new builds where there is no need for conventional roof tiles or slates.
Please enquire for additional info HERE