O'Leary Sludds Architects -Passive House Extension, Wexford

Passive House Extension, Wexford

John & Clare contacted us in 2013. Their 1970’s house was damp, cold and had very poor natural light. They wanted to refurbish, re-organise and extend their home to create a well-lit “L” shaped open plan living, dining and sitting area to enhance their lifestyle and add value.  

The extension is a play on “boxes” that allow the rooms to have a dual aspect and corner windows maximising the natural light throughout the day. The extension wraps around a raised outdoor terrace area which is accessed from the sitting area, and overlooks the rear garden. 

Single storey extension with external terrace and raised planting beds for herb garden.
Flat roof with parapet detail over series of white painted aluclad corner windows.
Contempory well lit open plan living area with accent cushions on the sofa and arm chair with yellow flowers on the coffee table.

John & Clare’s wish to have as much natural light as possible throughout the whole day helped with achieving the EnerPHit Standard (the Passive House Certification for Retrofits), as the large glazed elements to the south and east facing elevations allowed for ample solar gain.

The U-values of the external envelope were as low as 0.12 W/m2K.

The airtight level achieved at the time of construction was 0.96 h-1 air changes at +/- 50 pascal 

Blurred image of man on raised external terrace with single storey flat roofed extension in the background.
Kitchen sink with black plates on side drainer with glazed splash back.
Pet dog standing on external terrace with aluclad triple glazed corner window.

‘Fluffy’ the dog loves his new home, which we accommodated under the new terrace. Unfortunately it was not Passive, but Fluffy still thinks it is nice and cosy

White bowl wash hand basin on counter top with wall mounted taps, flush mirror and glazed shower screen.

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