March | 2016 | Isabel Barros Architects

Archive for March 17, 2016

barros | March 17, 2016

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Isabel’s Picks for Spring 2016

NO MORE RAIN

Make way for the sunlight

1. GARDEN SCULPTURE

Artist: Emma Jane Rushworth

Name: Sitting Garden Hare

Price range: €450

Material: Hand woven in wire rusted and sealed.

Available in Ireland from: Emma Jane Rushworth

2. PERGOLA

Manufacturer: Renson

Name: Algarve Roof

Price range: n/a

Material: Aluminium

Features: When closed, the blades form a waterproof roof in normal showers. A gutter system drains the rainwater away towards the corners. Available in all RAL colours. Electrical control.

Available in Ireland from: Renson

3. WALLPAPER

Designer: Piet Hein Eek

Name: Scrapwood PHE-01

Price range: €199

Material: Heavy-duty wallpaper with paper top-layer and non-woven backing.

Features: No repeat. Colourfast and washable with a soft cloth.

Available to Ireland from: NLXL

4. ARMCHAIR

Brand: Slide

Designer: Marc Sadler

Product name: Kami Ichi Low armchair

Price range: €468

Material: Polyethylene

Key facts: Indoor/Outdoor. Available in a selection of finishes : lacquered, total white, in green, orange, red and grey.

Available to Ireland from: Made in Design

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barros | March 4, 2016

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Old Buildings: Why Things Go Wrong

Old buildings do not behave like new ones. Taking proper care of them requires skills that most owners (and contractors) do not have.

When things go wrong with an old building it is most often associated with:

Improper repairs;
Lack of maintenance;
Lack of understanding of how the building works.

There are a number of interventions that can have an adverse effect in old buildings. Typical examples are:

External or internal cement rendering.
Cement pointing.
Introduction of heating at too high temperatures.
Impermeable plastic paints.
Waterproof coatings.
Sealing up disused chimneys.

Brick damaged by cement render at Brandon House Hotel

Improper cement pointing in brickwork, Wexford town Post Office

Brickwork with improper cement pointing at Wexford town Post Office

Lime pointing well visible behind this improper cement pointing at Wexford town Post Office

Spalling of brick and inadequate cement repairs at Spawell Road, Wexford. Luckily the brick cornice survives!

Inadequate cement repairs at Brandon House Hotel, New Ross

Blistering and peeling of a non-permeable paint. Image courtesy of Historic Scotland.

A fine example of lime pointing at Kilmainham Court, Dublin

A fine example of lime mortar pointing at Kilmainham Court, Dublin

A fine example of lime pointing at Brandon House Hotel, New Ross

A fine example of lime mortar pointing at Brandon House Hotel, New Ross

There is little point in covering up problems if you do not find the source of them and repair the real problem.

It is important to know when specialist advice is needed. It is a false economy not to get the best advice before having work carried out. Bad repair works can be difficult and expensive to undo. They can damage a building in the long-term and devalue your property.

Isabel Barros is a RIAI Architect Accredited in Conservation at Grade 3.