Atlantica   |  Baltica  |  Nordica  |  Hibernia  |  Traditional  |  Two-storey  |  Passive

While many people are attracted to the warm and spacious interiors of Scandinavian houses they would prefer the exterior to have a more traditional Irish look. So what is a traditional Irish look? An Irish cottage with thatched roof and whitewashed walls and very small windows could be considered to be the most widespread traditional house-type. Is it possible to create a modern, spacious and ecological house while still retaining important cultural elements? The house must be opened up to embrace the light and heat from the sun on the south (east & west as well!) elevation. The important solar-gaining windows should ideally be incorporated into the design so as not to disturb the traditional ethos. This can be achieved by choosing a house shape appropriate to the specific location.

Traditional Nordica with 40 degree roof pitch

There are certain features which we believe lend a house a traditional appearance. By incorporating some of these in the design of the house you get a traditional house with a modern twist.

• Simple classic proportions
• White plastered exterior
• A steep roof-pitch 35-45° with
• real slates or flat black tiles
• Windows of traditional proportions with painted wooden frames
• Barged gables coming up above the roof
• Careful positioning of windows and doors
• Closed entrance porch with the door sheltered from the prevailing wind

Traditional version of an single storey Atlantica 372 with 372m2 floor area. Near passive specification.

Traditionally, the orientation of a house was of prime importance. The prevailing wind, the path of the sun and the micro-climate around the house was all carefully considered. This is still important and must be taken into account when planning the interior layout of a house. As can be seen on the computer created pictures the Traditional series of houses look traditional. To make this credible, the internal layout, to a certain degree, has to be dictated by the external look, at least on the side of the house facing the road. Another drawback is that the short roof-overhang gives no protection from the high summer sun and overheating in summer can occur if the windows are not blocked with curtains.


Traditional version of a Baltica 82 including an integrated porch. 82m2 ground floor area + 54m2 upstairs = 136m2 floor area.

From an ecological / sustainability /life-cycle point of view the natural timber external cladding is superior to the plaster version. From a technical performance / life expectancy / maintenance perspective the plaster system is as good or better than the timber version. The initial investment is definitely higher with the plastered version.

Scandinavian Homes Ltd’s. philosophy of building with clean compact shapes is well in harmony with the real traditional older house types in Ireland.


Traditional version of a Nordica 125 with 40 degrees roof-pitch. 125m2 ground floor area + 72m2 upstairs = 197m2 floor area. Near passive specification.

The single storey houses incorporate the timeless design elements derived from the traditional cottage. The classic design principles are amalgamated with modern Scandinavian techniques for energy- efficient and ecological building.
Two-storey Traditional rendered houses can be made with hipped roofs without attic conversion, traditional 30° roof pitch and rain-gutters all around. Talk to us about this! We are quite fond of the two-storey traditional Irish farmhouse with the door in the middle. The difficulty is to generate passive solar heating through large windows while maintaining the traditional look.

Features of Scandinavian Homes Ltd’s Traditional houses:

1) White coloured through silicone-silicate plaster by STO GmbH applied to a ventilated fiber-cement facade-board. This is the same method used on many Scandinavian Homes Ltd. houses built in Ireland during the last 12 years. The exterior wall requires very little maintenance. White walls, white barged gables, white windows, brightly painted entrance door and white rain-gutters give the Traditional houses a crisp and very clean look. Two factors make the Scandinavian Homes Ltd. plastered wall extraordinarily durable:
a) The fact that the external skin of the wall is ventilated. The fiber-cement board is installed with a 28mm ventilation gap behind it. This ensures that no moisture can ever penetrate the wall and enter the layer where the insulation is.
b) The silicone-silicate plaster system is extremely water–repellent and stays clean from growth of fungi and algae much longer than any other render.

2) A unique technical detail is the barged gables coming up over the roof. Scandinavian Homes Ltd’s prefabricated wall combined with Plåtisol galvanised steel flashing, covered with our silicone-silicate plaster system ensures a good function of this detail which is usually considered problematic. Ordinarily, massive amounts of poisonous lead are used for flashing, leaks are common and rapid ageing with growth of algae on the barge occurs necessitating frequent replastering and repainting.
3) All windows triple glazed with low emission shield and argon fill as usual. The window frames are factory-painted white and the shapes are a little different compared to the other house-types.
4) The external doors are highly insulated wood construction with factory-painted white finish.
5) Rainwater system by Lindab AB. Sturdy hot dip galvanised steel with white Plåtisol cover.
6) Optional traditional closed entrance porch with a pitched roof connected to main roof. The size can vary in increments of 600mm. In a large house, a larger porch can create a better external harmony. Remember that the cost of an outbuilding like this is relatively high and a small one costs about as much as a big one! The shape can vary and a tall one featuring a several windows above each other could look well on a larger house.

7) Optional dormer windows. The small dormer windows are designed to fit in between the roof-trusses with minimal cold bridging. This means that they should be moved sideways in increments of 1200mm. For balance and harmony they should also line up with the ground floor windows below. All flashing are pre-manufactured in black Plåtisol-covered hot-dip-galvanised steel. No PVC or lead used!

ROOF GABLE DETAIL TRADITIONAL BARGED GABLE