Architect specifies Marley profiled sheeting

Architect Mary Arnold-Forster has selected fibre cement profiled sheeting from Marley Eternit for her second self-build on the Isle of Skye.

Arnold-Foster compares her new home to a shed because it has a corrugated roof and walls, sliding shed doors, it is low-lying and long - almost 20m - and it is thin, with a narrow span of 6m.

This comparison aside, it is a modern, low-maintenance take on a shed, with the equivalent of triple glazing and solar panels that pre-heat the water used in a pump that recycles hot air from the three walk-in showers.

Marley Eternit's fire-resistant fibre cement sheeting has been used on the roof and parts of the elevations, complementing the full-height glazing, storm shutters and larch wood from nearby Fort Augustus.

The storm shutters are now proving popular with her clients, although she used them at Tokavaig House for practical reasons.

'I wanted the shed look and have worked with other corrugated materials such as steel and aluminium but there were aspects of both I wasn't so happy with,' she said.

'The Marley Eternit product appealed because of its thickness, resistance to erosion, self-sealing around fixings and its sense of solidarity,' she added.

Arnold-Foster is just one of an increasing number of architects who have taken Marley Eternit fibre cement profiled sheeting away from its roots in agriculture, where its vapour permeability (which minimises condensation) and acoustic insulating qualities make it ideal for livestock buildings.

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