Weatherboarding


is reminiscent of fishing net huts on the south coast


People end up over- engineering spaces to compensate for the lack of insulation


meant ‘the cost and hassle of needing a three-phase electricity supply’ says Smyth. ‘By downgrading to a single-phase supply we saved on the cost of cabling.’ Anybody familiar with the fishing net huts


of Hastings will recognise the bathhouse exterior’s painted black weatherboarding, which has been nailed onto plywood. The black boards helped rooms retain the


day’s heat. In one room, inspired by pebble beaches, mounds of gravel trapped more heat, which helped the space retain warmth into the evening. As a Passivhaus certifier, Smyth understands how the building’s fabric and orientation can be used to maximise solar gain. The gravel bay faced south to increase solar gain, and special attention was paid to the insulation of the ice room. ‘We wanted to create the experience of


an ice house using less energy than usually required,’ says Smyth (see box, The ice men cometh). He increased the insulation of the door, wall and floor of the chiller from the recommended 19 mm to 300 m. ‘We insulated the room ourselves to make sure the details were right.’ Smyth believes that over reliance on building services means not enough effort is made in the thermal design of buildings. ‘It’s ridiculous,’ he says. ‘People end up over- engineering the space to compensate for


14 CIBSE Journal October 2012


the lack of insulation in place.’ Insulation was applied to the walls of the


‘store rooms’ where the treatments take place, and insulation ensures the sauna maintains a constant temperature of at least 60 O


C with minimum intervention from a


24kW wood-burning stove. On an average day the sauna, which can accommodate eight people, uses ten 20 cm logs. These are sourced less than a 45-minute drive away. Somebody & Son chose to build


a hatch into the sauna roof, in case the room overheated and to provide further temperature control. ‘The stove manufacturer said the boiler would be suitable for rooms between 15 and 30 m3


,’


says Smyth ‘and with such a wide range we didn’t know what temperature our room would reach so designed in buffers.’ In case the sauna temperature fell,


Smyth also built in a roof space where more insulation could be installed. The only other issue Smyth noted was the


boiler’s two-hour start-up time. ‘We would be better to throw a couple of logs on to keep it going through the night,’ says Smyth. Somebody & Son has successfully applied


to extend the life of the Barking Bathhouse from mid-September into the winter months. The colder months will be a real test of Somebody & Son’s approach and whether users will respond to chillier days by putting


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